International Aid Funds Institutionalization in Guatemala
Date
Submission to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2017)
Eric Rosenthal op-ed in the Washington Post
Washington, DC - March 22, 2017 - DRI Executive Director Eric Rosenthal has published an op-ed on the deadly orphanage fire in Guatemala in the Washington Post. Since the tragic fire that left 40 girls dead on March 8, DRI has been working to protect the survivors - many children who survived the fire have been dumped into other institutions around the country. Rosenthal calls on Guatemala to take this opportunity to redirect funding for orphanages to support families instead and finale close orphanages for good.
Read the op-ed below.
DRI's new report on Guatemala featured in the New York Times
Washington, DC - March 15, 2017 - Today, DRI released a new report After the Fire: Survivors of Hogar Seguro Virgen de la Asunción at risk. The report details what happened to the survivors of the fire at the institution and the grave danger that they are still in as they are moved to other institutions in Guatemala.
Urgent - Support justice for Guatemalan girls killed in fire at safe house
Washington, DC, Guatemala City - March 9, 2017 - 31 teenage girls have perished in a so-called "safe house" outside Guatemala City, Guatemala, because they were locked in their room during a fire. The girls were protesting the sexual abuse and trafficking they were subjected to in the institution - leading to being locked in the room as punishment.
Based on DRI's reporting, UN Committee issues historic recommendation to Guatemala to abolish the institutionalization of all children
Washington, DC, Guatemala City - September 2, 2016 - The United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD Committee) has issued its Concluding Observations to the State of Guatemala.
Inside 'world's most dangerous' hospital in Guatemala
An undercover BBC investigation into conditions at a mental health institution in Guatemala has revealed patient suffering and abuse at the hands of those meant to care for them. Federico Mora Hospital has been described by campaigners as the world's most abusive and dangerous mental health institution. In 2012, Guatemala was ordered by an American Human Rights Commission to make emergency improvements to the Federico Mora Hospital to "save lives". The government promised to comply. But an undercover BBC investigation found little has changed.
After the Fire: Survivors of Hogar Seguro Virgen de la Asunción at risk
Date
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).
BBC Shines Spotlight on Abusive Institution in Guatemala – and DRI’s fight to protect detainees
Washington, DC – December 5, 2014 – Read the BBC’s reporting on abuses in Guatemala’s Federico Mora psychiatric facility, or hear the story on BBC World Service Radio.
DRI files international case to protect children and adults detained in Guatemala's dangerous Federico Mora institution
October 29, 2014 - Disability Rights International (DRI) filed a case today in the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States (OAS) on behalf of people with disabilities detained in Guatemala's Federico Mora psychiatric institution.
DRI and allies testify on abuses in the Americas
DRI and activists from the Americas to testify March 25, 2014 before Inter-American Commission of the OAS on abuses of people with disabilities throughout the Americas