Children with mental disabilities, including those with intellectual and psycho-social (mental health) disabilities are perhaps one of the most marginalised groups in the European Union, frequently overlooked by policy-makers, lawyers, judges and broader society. Through research, Validity (formerly MDAC) and our partners have found that children with disabilities experience multiple… Read More
Validity (formerly MDAC) expresses its unequivocal opposition to legislation passed this month in Hungary which undermines the rule of law, freedom of association and respect for fundamental rights of independent non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in this country. The law, which directly affects Validity and many other human rights organisations operating… Read More
We would like to share a few words on hearing the news that our dear client, collaborator, friend and hero Rusi Stanev has died, at the age of 61. Our hearts go out to people whose lives were touched by Rusi, to the Bulgarian disability rights movement, and to our… Read More
Peter* has intellectual disabilities and lives in Poland. Ten years ago he was 33, and one day came home from attending a day-care centre and told his mother that he had been raped by a therapist at the centre and that he had been beaten with a belt. They went… Read More
Today the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova called time on guardianship, an outdated and unjust system that harms people with disabilities. This follows an international trend away from removing rights, and towards providing supports for people to make decisions about their own lives. Guardianship entraps around 4,000 people… Read More
Today, the European Court of Human Rights found that 55-year-old Jaroslav Červenka from the Czech Republic was deceived and wrongfully held in a social care institution for eight months (judgment here). Validity (formerly MDAC) calls on the Government to prohibit disability-based incarceration, and to evacuate the more… Read More
The Polish Constitutional Court has ruled that laws allowing guardians to detain people in social care institutions without court’s supervision are unconstitutional. This landmark judgment should change the law for an estimated 12,500 people under guardianship living in institutions. In 2002, Mr Stanislaw Kędzior’s brother was his guardian and sent… Read More
Today, the European Court of Human Rights ruled against the Russian Government in a Validity (formerly MDAC) case – Kocherov and Sergeyeva v. Russia. It is the first time in European legal history that stripping parental rights from a person with an intellectual disability has been found to breach… Read More
Validity (formerly MDAC) has provided detailed recommendations to the African Commission on Humans and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) as it develops a regional Protocol on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Africa. The submission draws on Validity’s extensive research on the lives of people with mental disabilities in Kenya,… Read More
Validity (formerly MDAC) and lawyer, Dmitri Bartenev, have submitted legal arguments to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on behalf of Russian citizen, Lyudmila Shakulina, after she was placed under guardianship in an unfair procedure. Ms. Shakulina also seeks recognition and redress for involuntary detention authorised… Read More
Validity (formerly MDAC) has returned from a mission to Ireland. On 29 November 2011, Oliver Lewis, Validity’s Executive Director, with colleagues from Amnesty International Ireland, met with the Chair and Vice Chair of the Justice Committee of the Dáil Éireann (the House of Representatives, the lower chamber in the Irish… Read More