A Mandate to End Placement of Children in Institutions and Orphanages: The duty of governments and donors to prevent segregation and torture (2017)

A product of a three-year investigation by Disability Rights International (DRI) into the egregious human rights violations perpetrated against nearly 100,000 children – with and without disabilities – who are left to grow up segregated from society in orphanages, psychiatric facilities, residential boarding schools, and other institutions. For children with disabilities, orphanages are a gateway to lifelong institutionalization in abusive adult facilities.

Behind the closed doors of Mexico City’s institutions for people with disabilities, atrocious abuses are taking place that amount to nothing less than torture. Children and adults are denied treatment and are left to languish covered in their own urine and feces in filthy dehumanizing conditions.

Detrás de las puertas cerradas de las instituciones para personas con discapacidad en la Ciudad de México, ocurren abusos atroces que constituyen nada menos que tortura. A los niños y adultos se les niega cualquier tipo de tratamiento médico, éstos languidecen cubiertos en su propia orina y heces, en condiciones deshumanizantes e inmundas.

The present report is based on the results of a year-long study carried out by Disability Rights International (DRI) together with the Women’s Group of the Colectivo Chuhcan –the first organization in Mexico directed by persons with psychosocial disabilities.

Between March 7-11, 2017, investigators from Disability Rights International (DRI) visited Guatemala. DRI visited Hogar Seguro Virgen de la Asunción (Hogar Seguro), a public institution where more than 700 children were detained. During the visit DRI interviewed the survivors of a fire that took place on March 7, 2017 and has killed more than three dozen girls (the number has been rising in recent days).

Lessons from international experience in responding to the urgent human rights needs of children with disabilities in Ukraine’s orphanage system

For any criminal justice system to work effectively, it is essential to take into account the rights of persons with mental disabilities given that they are more likely than the rest of the population to be involved in criminal proceedings – either as defendants, victims or witnesses.During criminal proceedings, these persons with physical and mental disabilities face numerous obstacles to effective exercise of their right to justice.

Con base en lo observado en la visita al Hospital Federico Mora y en la información recabada en numerosas entrevistas –realizadas tanto a personal actual y pasado de la institución, pacientes, y a otras personas relacionadas con el tema en Guatemala–, concluimos que el Hospital Federico Mora es la institución más peligrosa que DRI haya documentado en Latinoamérica.

Based on our observations from visiting the Federico Mora Hospital and from collecting dozens of testimonies from current and former staff, patients, and other sources in Guatemala, we have come to the conclusion that the Federico Mora Hospital is the most dangerous facility our investigators have witnessed anywhere in the Americas.