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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.

Investigate, Document, Challenge Institutionalization: Register for training 9/10

A three-part training webinar by Disability Rights International to engage civil society in monitoring and advocacy.
Supported by International Disability Alliance (IDA) & Lumos Foundation

Part 1 of 3: Strategic Considerations for Effective Investigations
September 10, 2026 @ 10-12noon EDT 
Register Here for Part 1

The Meeting Place - Issue 2 (July 2026)

The Meeting Place provides brief and accessible selection of recent highlights and opinions, relevant for children with disabilities.

Led by Disability Rights International, and in collaboration with the Global Coalition on Deinstitutionalization (GC-DI) and Lumos Foundation, The Disability Rights Initiative for Children works to bring together the disability and child rights communities — creating a true meeting place for collaboration, shared learning, and coordinated action.

DRI Presents at COSP Side Event: "CRPD at 20: Its Evolving Impact on Other International Human Rights Instruments"

The 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) offers an important opportunity to draw attention to its crucial role as a legal instrument within the broader international human rights architecture. This side event will examine the evolving impact of the CRPD on other international and regional human rights instruments. Recently, it can be observed that the jurisprudence of courts and the practice of treaty bodies increasingly refer to the CRPD and interpret other human rights instruments in light of its standards.

Lend your voice to strengthen disability advocacy: Complete the survey

Complete the Survey

We need your help on a project to strengthen disability advocacy around the world – especially for children and adults detained in orphanages, psychiatric hospitals or other institutions. There is no substitute for getting inside closed facilities to meet people face-to-face and hear their stories. By documenting conditions, we expose abuses and hold governments accountable. We are striving for the day when no one is segregated from society because of a disability.

The Meeting Place - Issue 1 (April 2026)

The Meeting Place provides brief and accessible selection of recent highlights and opinions, relevant for children with disabilities. Led by Disability Rights International, and in collaboration with the Global Coalition on Deinstitutionalization (GC-DI) and Lumos Foundation, The Disability Rights Initiative for Children works to bring together the disability and child rights communities — creating a true meeting place for collaboration, shared learning, and coordinated action.

DRI petition leads to UN condemnation of Mexico institutions

An official United Nations (UN) Inquiry found “grave and systemic” abuses against children and adults with disabilities in Mexico, segregated from society and subject to violence and abuse. The UN representatives obtained heinous information visiting institutions – psychiatric facilities, orphanages, children’s group homes and other closed institutions. See DRI video showing atrocious abuses and recommendations for reform.

An Institution Is Not a Home: Mexican Government considers supportive housing

Disability Rights International (DRI) recently convened a forum for the Mexican Senate to highlight community-based housing models for people with psychiatric, psychosocial and intellectual disabilities.

Around the world, DRI has found that many people with disabilities (PWD), and those abandoned on the streets, end up living their lives in institutions. The lack of community support often combines with the misconception that they are unable to have - or do not deserve - a home of their own.

A social and artistic project "VOICES: Women, Children, and Disability" was presented in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine on August 9, 2025

This Saturday in Ivano-Frankivsk (Ukraine), DRI-Ukraine presented the results of "VOICES: Women, Children, and Disability." The intimate presentation and opening of the exhibition brought together the project participants, the team that worked on it, and experts in the field. VOICES: Women, Children, and Disability is a first-person reflection project dedicated to the diverse experiences of women. It consists of a catalog and exhibition canvases featuring portraits of 12 women from different parts of Ukraine who have experience with motherhood and disability, either their own or that of their children.

Sweeping legal victory before Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

The Inter-American Commission just announced a decision against Guatemala in the case of Federico Mora Patients v. Guatemala that sets legal precedent to protect people with disabilities in Guatemala and throughout the Americas. The case was brought by Disability Rights International (DRI) and the Guatemalan Colectivo Vida Independiente, joined by the Center for Health and Human Rights, O’Neill Institute of Georgetown University Law Center.