I have reached the end of a precious year spent with the Validity Foundation. This piece is a brief record of the activities I participated in and the moments I witnessed during this short yet eventful year at Validity. It is also an attempt to reflect on what this… Read More
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
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… 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
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
The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights has published an eagerly anticipated report following her visit to Czechia in February 2023. Validity welcomes that the Commissioner’s report highlights key human rights violations experienced by persons with disabilities in Czechia. The… Read More
The following is an open letter on behalf of the Validity Foundation to the Government of Romania and international bodies concerning recent events in Romania (list of recipients below). On 4 July 2023, the Romanian Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (Direcția de Investigare a Infracțiunilor de Criminalitate Organizată… Read More
On 15 March 2023, the Human Rights Committee, the United Nations body that monitors the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by its States parties, issued a decision, so-called views, in communication No. 3171/2018 and condemned Bulgaria for violating… Read More
A key cross-cutting objective for Validity is to contribute to the global push to end all forms of torture and ill-treatment faced by persons with disabilities. In this context, Validity works with partners to represent numerous victims with disabilities in Europe and Africa, with the strategic goals of ending… Read More
A psychiatric hospital in Opava, Czechia, kept a young woman in mechanical restraint for over 12-years. The story was exposed by a Czech human rights activist, supported by Validity, who managed to obtain reports of monitoring visits in 2018… Read More
At the beginning of June, Validity intervened in the case H.H. v. Finland in which the applicant complained of coercive treatment in a psychiatric hospital. She was medicated against her will but could not turn anywhere to complain and try to stop it. The courts refused… Read More