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.
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
Ms. Catalina Devandas, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Disabilities has welcomed greater respect for the rights of people with disabilities in Zambia since 2010, but says the country must go further and abolish abusive practices against people with mental disabilities. In her report to the UN… Read More
The UN Human Rights Committee has recommended that the Slovakian Government abolish cage beds and restraints in psychiatric institutions and speed up the evacuation of people with disabilities out of institutions and into the community. More than 40,000 people with disabilities live in Slovakia’s social care… Read More
Today in Bălți, Moldova, a psychiatrist was found guilty of several counts of rape that he committed during the course of a decade against 16 women under his care in a 400-bed social care institution. Dr. Florea Stanislav was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment. Ana (not her real name) recounted… Read More
After six years of litigation at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, the Russian Government has admitted violations of our client, Rafael Usmanov’s rights. He was detained in an overcrowded secure psychiatric hospital and denied any opportunity of having his detention reviewed. It is the first… 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
Slovakia’s disability rights record was scrutinised by the UN’s disability expert committee this week. Validity (formerly MDAC) and Slovak NGOs sent information to the committee so that it could recommend to the Government to make progress on community-based services and make sure each child with disabilities gets an… 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