Category: Content type

Ann Campbell leaves Validity

in Article

After more than eight years at Validity, Ann Campbell leaves the organisation on 15 August 2022. The Board and staff take this opportunity to thank her for all her work and dedication to Validity and our mission to enhance equality and justice for persons with disabilities. During her time as Co-Executive Director, Ann has jointly…
Joint statement on suspension of the draft Additional Protocol to the Oviedo Convention

in Article, Belgium, Bulgaria, Campaigns, Content type, Countries, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Hungary, I’m A Person, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, My Home, My Choice, Poland, Press Release, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom

Joint statement welcoming the suspension of the adoption of the draft Additional Protocol to the Oviedo Convention We, organisations of persons with disabilities, non-governmental organisations, international and human rights bodies, including national human rights institutions and equality bodies, welcome the decisions taken by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe that suspends the…
Romani man wins unlawful detention case against Slovak Police

in I’m A Person, My Home, My Choice, Press Release, Slovakia, Uncategorised

Bratislava, Brussels, Budapest, 4 May 2022: The Bratislava I District Court have ruled in favour of a 30-year-old Romani man with an intellectual disability who was illegally held in police custody for four weeks in 2013. The Court, in its first instance judgment, awarded the man from Moldava nad Bodvou €4,000 in compensation for his…
Uganda: High Court orders Government to ensure community services for children with autism

in My Home, My Choice, Press Release, Uganda, Uncategorised

The High Court in Uganda has found the Government in violation of the human rights of children with disabilities in a case related to a child with autism. In a landmark judgment, Justice Winifred Nabisinde found that failure by the Government to provide rehabilitation and habilitation services to the child amounted to a violation of…
Hungary: István is finally free! – As a result of Validity’s efforts, our client regained control over his life

in Article, Hungary, My Home, My Choice

István, our client, is a talented tennis player who successfully competed at the 2018 Special Olympic Games and won a silver medal. But, for almost 40 years, István had been required to live in an institution for persons with disabilities. Although István has never been under guardianship, and he had the right to decide on…
Hungary: Budapest Court confirms Government must release the names of public guardians on request 

in Article, Hungary, I’m A Person, My Home, My Choice, Uncategorised

Topház Social Care Institution became widely known after Validity revealed the inhumane and horrific treatment of its residents in a 2017 report. 220 residents were subject to torture and ill-treatment in Topház. Children as well as adult residents were put in metal cage beds, routinely chemically and/or physically restrained, were underweight, and physically, mentally and emotionally neglected.  Topház is a closed institution and almost all residents are placed under guardianship. Validity made several attempts to get access to victims in…
Involuntary Detention and Treatment: European Court of Human Rights Rejects Request to Provide an Opinion on Interpretation of Oviedo Convention

in Article, I’m A Person, My Home, My Choice

The European Court of Human Rights has rejected a request from the Council of Europe’s Committee on Bioethics (DH-BIO) to provide an advisory opinion on questions related to involuntary treatment and involuntary detention of persons with psychosocial disabilities under Article 29 of the Oviedo Convention. DH-BIO’s request for an advisory opinion came in the midst…
Commission Fails to Stop Romania and Estonia from Segregating Citizens with Disabilities

in Article, My Home, My Choice, Romania

In 2019, the European Network on Independent Living – ENIL and the Validity Foundation submitted two separate complaints against the Managing Authorities in Romania and Estonia, for using European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI Funds) to build new institutions for persons with disabilities. After almost a year, the European Commission responded to both complaints, finding…
COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor calls on governments to ensure access to food, medication and essential supplies for persons with disabilities

in Article, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, France, Kenya, My Home, My Choice, Nigeria, Philippines, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Uncategorised, United Kingdom, USA

Easy-to-read version: Click here It is with grave concern that the COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor (DRM) calls on governments to take immediate emergency measures to ensure that persons with disabilities have access to food, medication, and other essential supplies. Analysis by the COVID-19 DRM has revealed that government failure to take measures to protect the…
Statement of the Coordinating Group of the COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor at the Opening of the Twenty-Third Session of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

in Article, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Honduras, Hungary, I’m A Person, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lithuania, Mexico, Moldova, Mozambique, My Home, My Choice, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Schools For All, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Switzerland, Uganda, Uncategorised, United Kingdom, USA, Zambia, Zimbabwe

At the opening of the 23rd session of the CRPD Committee, on 17 August 2020, Validity’s Co-Executive Director, Steven Allen spoke on behalf of the COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor Coordinating Group and shared some preliminary findings of the global survey, which was translated into 25 languages and received more than 2,100 responses from 134 countries.…