Under this campaign, we call for recognition of equal citizenship of people with mental disabilities, including their right to make decisions about their own lives. Too often, people with mental disabilities are labelled as “incompetent” or are denied the right to decide by punitive guardianship systems. They may be denied the right to vote, to marry, to manage their own money, and even to decide where to live. Instead of systems based on restriction and control, we push governments to provide support to people to make their own decision – so that they can be the authors of their own lives.
In a ground-breaking judgment today, the European Court of Human Rights (“the Court”) condemned Hungary for failing to protect the lives of institutionalised persons with disabilities. States must effectively investigate the context and conditions in which people in institutions die, the Court also said. The judgment sends… Read More
Az Emberi Jogok Európai Bírósága („a Bíróság”) a mai napon közzétett úttörő ítéletében elítélte Magyarországot, amiért nem védte meg a fogyatékossággal élő, intézményben elhelyezett személyek életét. Az államoknak hatékonyan ki kell vizsgálniuk az intézményekben elhelyezett emberek halálának összefüggéseit és körülményeit – mondta ki a Bíróság. Az ítélet… Read More
On July 26, the UN Committee against Torture issued its Concluding Observations on the sixth periodic report of the Republic of Korea under the UN Convention against Torture. The Committee called on the Republic of Korea to provide remedies to victims of torture with… Read More
In July 2024, the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) published its first-ever general comment on Article 4 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (places of deprivation of liberty). To effectively fulfil the legal obligations… Read More
During the 17th Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (COSP17), the Validity Foundation and the Network of Independent Experts-NIE internationally launched a new monitoring report on torture and ill-treatment of persons with disabilities in Bulgarian institutions, including in small… Read More
UPDATE We remember Gábor Gombos, who passed away on 5 June 2022. Gábor’s work shaped the Hungarian and international disability movement, and his stories, presentations, speeches, and thoughts went to the heart of his audience. The book titled ’The World – Without Cage Beds: World-Shaping Narratives by Gábor Gombos’… Read More
Today, in collaboration with the Network of Independent Experts-NIE and the KERA Foundation, the Validity Foundation launched two major reports in Sofia, Bulgaria, during an international conference titled “Unveiling Injustice: Deinstitutionalisation and intersectionality in disability rights.” One of the reports is the outcome of a series… Read More
At the end of March 2024, the European Committee of Social Rights published its Conclusions 2023 and Findings 2023 and called on Council of Europe Member States to introduce proper inclusive education and deinstitutionalisation processes. The European… Read More
Today, the European Court of Human Rights issued a ground-breaking judgment in the case of V.I. v Moldova, highlighting critical issues of discrimination on the basis of disability and age which resulted in ill-treatment against a child with an intellectual disability. The Court found the problems to be systemic,… Read More
The Budapest Capital Court today issued a judgment finding three state authorities responsible for multiple, grave violations of the rights of 220 adults and children with disabilities detained in the notorious Topház Social Care Home. Validity first exposed the shocking abuses in 2017, reporting on filthy… Read More
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… Read More
For the first time, the European Court of Human Rights has found that the Czech Republic violated a young man’s right to life due to wrong and violent interventions by the staff of a locked psychiatric hospital and police, tragically resulting in his death. Read More