DRI conducted a year-long investigation in Mexico in 2010, culminating in the release of the report, Abandoned & Disappeared: Mexico's Segregation and Abuse of Children and Adults with Disabilities. Within institutions, investigators identify a broad range of atrocious conditions and life-threatening forms of mistreatment.

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.

Disability Rights International (DRI) and a coalition of partners from Mexico testified before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) at a public hearing on Friday, March 23, 2012. DRI's findings in Mexico are "deeply disturbing" said DRI Executive Director Eric Rosenthal, J.D., "and the Mexican government must be pressured to protect its most vulnerable citizens - those locked away for a lifetime because they have a disability - living in orphanages, psychiatric institutions and other social care facilities."