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DRI’s work and media campaigns have exposed to the world the horrors these children face. The New York Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Huffington Post, BBC, Al Jazeera, CNN, social media, ABC, NPR, NBC, news and documentaries – just to name a few - have continually covered DRI’s work, including DRI’s opinion and editorial pieces, resulting in uninterrupted pressure on those who have the power to assist in making change.

Historic Victory against Segregation in Serbia

Belgrade, Serbia--July 28, 2011-- Disability Rights International's partner in Serbia, Mental Disability Rights Initiative (MDRI-S), supported by a wide network of human rights and disability groups, succeeded this week in pressuring the European Union to back down from funding the reconstruction of six institutions for people with disabilities in Serbia.  The €5.1 million ($7.3 million USD) project has now been redrafted to support the creation of community services that allow children and adults to leave institutions and live in the community

The Guardian Exposes the Truth about the Judge Rotenberg Center

Washington, DC -- March 14, 2011 -- Last year, Disability Rights International published the report Torture not Treatment: Electric Shock and Long-Term Restraint in the United States on Children and Adults with Disabilities at the Judge Rotenberg Center. The report resulted in a top United Nations human rights official declaring that the school's practice of shocking children to control behavior was, in fact, torture--and a

DRI finds children and adults with disabilities disappeared, trafficked, and abused in Mexico’s psychiatric facilities and orphanages

  • Click here to watch ABC Nightline Coverage
  • Click here to read about DRI's investigation in the New York Times

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – November 30, 2010 – Following a year- long investigation, Disability Rights International (DRI) and the Comisión Méxicana de Defensa y Promoción de

Disability Rights International's "Torture, not Treatment" Op-Ed Published in The Washington Post

October 2, 2010, Washington, DC--
An op-ed authored by Disability Rights International president Laurie Ahern concerning the egregious abuses taking place against children with disabilities at the Judge Rotenberg Center in Massachusetts, was published today in The Washington Post.
 

Disability Rights International Launches New Name and Website

August 6, 2010 -- Washington, DC-- We are proud to announce our organization’s new name, Disability Rights International. Our mission has not changed. Formerly Mental Disability Rights International, we remain committed to protecting the human rights and promoting the integration into society of people with disabilities. Our new name reflects the reality that people with any kind of disability—whether mental or physical—are often shut away from society, locked in institutions, and denied basic human dignity and rights. 

Disability Rights International Alleges Torture Against Children and Adults with Disabilities in the United States

Washington, DC -- April 29, 2010 -- Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI) has found children and adults with disabilities tortured and abused at a “special needs” residential facility in Massachusetts and has filed an “urgent appeal” with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture to demand the United States government end the torture immediately.