Disability Rights are Human Rights
Disability Rights International is a human rights organization dedicated to protecting the human rights and promoting the full community integration of persons with disabilities worldwide.
Families Find A Way: Children with disabilities in war-torn Ukraine
Date
Disability Rights International (DRI) and our affiliate Disability Rights Ukraine (DRU) have, over a ten-year period¹, documented the human rights concerns of more than 100,000 Ukrainian children – with and without disabilities – placed in congregate settings and left to grow up segregated from families and society in orphanages, boarding schools, psychiatric facilities, and other institutions.
New DRI Report - Families Find a Way: Children with disabilities in war-torn Ukraine
DRI asked more than 500 brave and courageous families living in Ukraine what they are now experiencing during the war and what they need. These interviews provide a blueprint of the change that must occur – by governments, donors, policymakers, caregivers, and communities during the war and recovery process. We must hear their stories and listen to their voices.
The disabled Ukrainians facing a lifetime of mistreatment and abuse – BBC News
Warning: Viewers may find some images in this report distressing.
BBC News has gained access to institutions in Ukraine where widespread abuse and mistreatment of disabled people has been uncovered. Around 100,000 children and young people live in these institutions, which pre-date the war with Russia. Human rights investigators say Ukraine should not join the European Union until it closes these institutions. The Ukrainian government has promised a series of reforms over the past few years, acknowledging that its system of institutionalisation needs to change.
NYT Op-Ed: Stop Abduction of Ukrainian Children
DRI President Laurie Ahern's letter to the New York Times, regarding children with disabilities during Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
UN CRPD Committee Approves New Guidelines on Deinstitutionalization, including times of emergency.
We Want To Go Home (30 sec PSA)
30-second PSA for Disability Rights International's (DRI) Worldwide Campaign to End the Institutionalization of Children.
We Want To Go Home (60 sec PSA)
60-second PSA for Disability Rights International's (DRI) Worldwide Campaign to End the Institutionalization of Children
NBC News Highlights DRI’s Work in Ukraine
Russia’s War Creates Orphanage Crisis In Ukraine. More than 11 million people have fled Ukraine as a result of Russia’s invasion. But many of most the vulnerable — mentally and physically disabled children — have been left behind.
Left Behind in the War: Dangers Facing Children with Disabilities In Ukraine’s Orphanages
Date
In late April 2022, Disability Rights International (DRI) brought a team of people with disabilities and family activists, including medical and disability service experts, to visit Ukraine’s institutions for children with disabilities. DRI visited three facilities for children aged six to adult, and one “baby” home for children from birth to age six. DRI finds that Ukraine’s children with disabilities with the greatest support needs are living in atrocious conditions – entirely overlooked by major international relief agencies and receiving little support from abroad.