Category: Countries
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Hungary, Topház: Names of public guardians of persons with disabilities must be made available on request
Hungarian court orders the Guardianship Authority to disclose to Validity the names and addresses of the public guardians responsible for the 220 victims of torture and ill-treatment in Topház social care institution. More than 25,000 people with disabilities live in residential social care institutions in Hungary, most of them placed there against their will. These…
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‘Urgently close Topház’ – says the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
18 February 2020, Budapest. Last week the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC Committee) published its Concluding Observations for Hungary. In November 2018, the CRC Committee requested the Hungarian Government to submit information on how Hungary has progressed on implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Child to which the…
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Czechia: Validity and Forum for Human Rights call for abolition of “netted cage beds”
In December, Validity and Forum for Human Rights filed an international complaint against the use of netted cage beds in psychiatric hospitals in the Czech Republic. The case, which was filed at the European Committee of Social Rights, tackles the ongoing use of this practice which conflicts with international human rights law. Read the full…
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Moldova: Doctor guilty of raping 18 women, compensation ordered
Eighteen women who were systematically sexually abused by their doctor at the Balti institution for a period of almost a decade in Moldova have finally achieved justice. Earlier this month, the Moldovan Supreme Court pronounced judgment in one of the most grievous cases of gender-based violence Validity has come across. Following 6 years of litigation,…
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Romania: Justice denied for Ştefan Stoian after a decade of legal action
Earlier this week, the European Court of Human Rights ruled against Ştefan Stoian, a young man with quadriplegia, who took a case against Romania for denial of his right to education. The disappointing verdict came after almost a decade of legal action to secure the supports he needs to participate in mainstream schools. The judgment…
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Czech Republic rolls back on inclusive education for children with disabilities
Validity is concerned that the Czech Republic is rolling back on its commitments to ensure inclusive education for children with disabilities in the country. This week, the Minister of Education signed a regulatory amendment reducing the support made available for children with special educational needs to receive a quality education in mainstream schools. The amendment…
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Bulgarian court finds guardian responsible for harm of forced institutionalisation
Georgi Tsenov spent most of his life in horrible conditions in an institution, fighting to be able to make choices about his own life. Now he has finally achieved recognition by the State for the ill-treatment he suffered over decades. Sofia City Court affirmed that the guardianship authority caused him harm by failing to prevent…
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Validity condemns exclusion of teenager from his school in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Slavko Mrsevic has Asperger’s syndrome – a highly functional form of disability from the autism spectrum. Slavko attended an inclusive elementary school for nine years and made strong friendships. In 2015, he moved, with his friends, to secondary school with clear recommendations for accommodations to ensure he can get the educational support he needs. Numerous…
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Statement on abuse uncovered in another Hungarian disability institution
Validity expresses our deepest concern about the ill-treatment of residents of an institution for persons with disabilities in Mozsgó, which was recently reported by the Hungarian Commissioner for Fundamental Rights. The Commissioner investigated following a complaint from the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (TASZ), a national human rights NGO. According to the report, the complaint filed against the…