November 21, 2022

Senate Briefing & Reception

Celebrating International Day of Disability and the International Children with Disabilities Protection Act When:  Tuesday, December 6, 2022, 3:30-5 PM (please arrive early to go through security) Where: Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room SDG-11, 50 Constitution Ave. NE Accessible visitor’s entrance: 1st & C St. NE Accommodations: Sign language will be available Reception:  Refreshments before/after […]

October 4, 2022

Bipartisan Senators Introduce International Children with Disabilities Protection Act in US Congress

This bill represents everything we’ve been working on for over two decades. All children — especially children with disabilities — need our support to live and grow up in a loving family. And they need protection against being placed in orphanages or other institutions. —   Laurie Ahern, President, Disability Rights International Today, a bipartisan group of senators, led […]

September 15, 2022

UN CRPD Committee Approves New Guidelines on Deinstitutionalization, including times of emergency.

On September 9, 2022 the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD Committee) adopted the new Guidelines on Deinstitutionalization, including times of emergency. The Guidelines provide a roadmap to governments, disability activists, and donors about the immediate steps needed to end the practice of institutionalization and residential treatment or care for people with disabilities. […]

July 26, 2022

BBC followed Disability Rights International into Ukraine institutions for children with disabilities

“The billions of dollars of international aid being pumped into Ukraine during the war should also be used to shut down orphanages, support families to care for their children and build a community that accepts disability,” says Eric Rosenthal, Executive director of DRI. https://www.bbc.com/news/disability-62226636 Full documentary will be aired soon.

June 21, 2022

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.