Category: Article
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Russia: For first time Russia admits overcrowding and injustice in psychiatric hospital
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 psychiatric overcrowding case in the Court’s history. In 2002,…
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Polish Constitutional Court says stop segregating people with disabilities
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 him to a social care…
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Why won’t the Romanian government let 15-year-old Stefan go to school?
Stefan Stoian is a 15-year-old boy and lives in Bucharest, Romania. Because of his physical and learning disabilities, access to education was never easy. In 2011 his impairments got worse but the school Stefan was going to refused to make any adjustments to accommodate his disabilities, resulting in him not being able to continue to…
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Russia: landmark judgment on parenting rights for persons with disabilities
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 international human rights law. The Kocherov family gave…
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Regional African Treaty has Potential to “Strengthen Implementation” of Disability Rights on the Continent
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, Uganda and Zambia and calls for “effective remedies” for…
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Russian woman with mental health issues takes fight to Strasbourg to challange guardianship
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 by her guardians. Ms. Shakulina was placed in a psychiatric hospital against her…
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All children have the right to inclusive education
Despite significant pressure from civil society and the international community, the Czech Republic still denies inclusive education to tens of thousands of children with disabilities and from the Roma community. Few steps have been taken and there continues to be a lack of understanding about how to achieve full inclusion for all. Inclusive education was…
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Why was a boy with autism repeatedly denied an inclusive education?
This month, MDAC and our partners at the League of Human Rights submitted an application to the European Court of Human Rights on Jan’s behalf. The case challenges the Czech Republic’s denial of Jan’s right to an education on grounds of discrimination, and the refusal to provide him with the support he needs to access mainstream education. Jan…
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Challenging the denial of inclusive education for children with disabilities in Flanders
Read our press release about the launch of the collective complaint here On 25 April 2014, in partnership with the Flemish organisation Gelijke Rechten voor ledere Persoon met een handicap (Equal Rights for Each Person with a disability – ‘GRIP’), Validity (formerly MDAC) sent a collective complaint to the European Committee of Social Rights, challenging the policy of segregating…
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Ireland: Legal Capacity in Ireland
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 Parliament) and then with senior…