DRI hosts UN panel on children's rights at disability conference (COSP)
The panel will discuss strategies to end violence against children in institutions by enforcing their right to grow up in a family.
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.
International Women's Day - remembering tragedy at Guatemala orphanage
One year ago today, 41 girls were killed in a fire in an orphanage in Guatemala. The girls, aged 14 to 17, had used the occasion of International Women's Day to protest the sexual abuse they suffered in the institution - and were locked in their dormitory as punishment.
Press release: Mexico’s draft mental health law would violate basic human rights if adopted by legislature
Washington, DC – February 5, 2018 – A new draft mental health law, now under consideration by Mexico’s Legislature, would continue to allow people with disabilities to be locked away in institutions - which is a violation of the UN Convention against Torture (CAT) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) – both of which have been adopted and ratified by the Mexican government.
La Jornada reports "Despite promises, Mexico fails to improve treatment of mentally disabled: NGO"
La Jornada reports "Despite promises, Mexico fails to improve treatment of mentally disabled: NGO"
Support DRI Today
Dear Friend of DRI,
I hope this note finds you well. Your support of our work has never been more needed or more appreciated.
I’d like to share with you the story of the government run Hogar Seguro (Safe Home) orphanage in Guatemala and one of the most gut-wrenching and difficult investigations DRI has ever done.
Dragana Ciric Milovanovic, DRI-Serbia, speaks at UN on violence against women
Dragana Ciric Milovanovic, Director of DRI's European Regional Office, speaks at the United Nations in New York in commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
DRI President Laurie Ahern op-ed in the Guardian
There are millions of infants, children and adolescents locked away and forgotten about in institutions all over the world. But the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) – ratified by 174 countries – and the recent comments of the UN Disability Committee, have made it clear this can’t continue.
UN Disability Committee recognizes groundbreaking rights for children
September 27, 2017 - Washington, DC - The United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has explicitly stated that every child has a right to grow up in a family, not in an institution or group home, in response to comments submitted to the Committee by Disability Rights International.
Justice for victims of Federico Mora
Washington, DC - September 8, 2017 - After years of monitoring conditions, advocacy, and negotiations, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has called on the government of Guatemala to take major steps toward the closure of its psychiatric hospital Federico Mora, called one of the most dangerous in the world by the BBC. During a series of meetings with Disability Rights International (DRI) and the Guatemalan government, held this week in Mexico City, the IACHR has called on Guatemala to:
DRI seeks justice for survivors of deadly Guatemala orphanage fire
After the orphanage fire that killed 41 girls in March 2017, the government of Guatemala must locate and identify the survivors and provide the support necessary for all survivors to live with their families or in the community, says the Inter-American Commision on Human Rights this week during a meeting with Disability Rights International.