Category: I’m A Person
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Empowering Advocacy: Ivana Jankovic’s impactful week with Validity in Budapest
Validity had the honour of hosting Ivana Jankovic, a passionate young disabled activist, for a week as part of the Youth Leadership Programme organised by the European Network on Independent Living. Joining us from her come country Montenegro, Ivana has been actively involved in the disability rights movement since her early youth, with a focus…
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Ukraine Recovery: Statement by the Global Coalition on Deinstitutionalization and Ukrainian Disability Rights Organisations
The signatories to this letter are the Global Coalition on Deinstitutionalization and Ukrainian organizations of persons with disabilities dedicated to the protection of rights and full community inclusion of children and adults with disabilities. The Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on establishing the Ukraine Facility is a step…
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Cage Beds, Human Rights, Dignity: Commemorating the Life and Works of Gábor Gombos
In November 2023, Validity and our partners at the Bárczi Gusztáv Faculty of Special Needs Education at the Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) published a unique collection of materials commemorating the life, work and thought of Gábor Gombos, a leading figure in the Hungarian and global disability rights movements and survivor of psychiatry. Gombos, who passed…
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Hungary remains responsible for “grave and systematic violations” of disability rights
The United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD Committee) has recently published its findings concerning Hungary’s progress on implementing recommendations following its findings that the country responsible for grave and systematic violations of the rights of persons with disabilities. The Committee highlighted that Hungary has failed to undertake systematic reforms required…
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Zambia: Courts Miss Opportunity to Extend Equal Protection Before the Law for Persons with Intellectual and Psychosocial Disabilities
The Supreme Court of Zambia has handed down a judgment ruling against a petition challenging the constitutionality of Section 4 of the Zambian Mental Health Act 2019. While applauding the petitioners, Sylvester Katontonka of the Mental Health Users’ Network of Zambia (MHUNZA) and Wamundila Waliuya of Disability Rights Watch (DRW), the court upheld a previous…
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Statement on Mainstreaming Disability in the European Parliament’s Vote on the Ukraine Facility
We, the undersigned, acknowledge and applaud the European Parliament’s Committee for Foreign Affairs (AFET) and the Committees on Budgets (BUDG) for their pivotal vote on the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on establishing the Ukraine Facility, which took place on October 5, 2023. This proposed regulation is a…
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Strengthening the rights of victims with disabilities
Validity and the European Network on Independent Living (ENIL) have published a joint submission to the European Commission in response to the redraft of the Victims’ Rights Directive. Our work and research over many years have shown how victims with disabilities are all but invisible in the justice system – see in particular the Voices…
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Are you deprived of your right to political participation? Let us fight for your right!
3rd of October, 14:00 – 15:30 on Zoom. Register here For an easy-to-read version of the text, please click here. Our Right, Our Vote! Legal action to dismantle barriers to political participation for persons with disabilities at the EU elections In 2024, the European Union will hold elections to select Members of the European Parliament…
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Romania: Victims of Ilfov Must Receive Reparations and Redress – Public Letter of Concern to the Romanian Government and International Community
The following is an open letter on behalf of the Validity Foundation to the Government of Romania and international bodies concerning recent events in Romania (list of recipients below). On 4 July 2023, the Romanian Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (Direcția de Investigare a Infracțiunilor de Criminalitate Organizată și Terorism, DIICOT) together with other…
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UN Human Rights Committee condemns Bulgaria for seriously violating the rights to life, freedom from torture and ill-treatment, and respect for inherent dignity
On 15 March 2023, the Human Rights Committee, the United Nations body that monitors the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by its States parties, issued a decision, so-called views, in communication No. 3171/2018 and condemned Bulgaria for violating the Covenant. The communication was drafted by lawyers of the Bulgarian Network…