Disability Rights International

📢 YOUR VOICE MATTERS:

Help strengthen disability advocacy

Dear DRI supporters, disability advocates, friends:

We are writing to ask 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.

If you or your organization are engaged in helping people with disabilities or advancing human rights in any way, we encourage you to fill out this survey (available in multiple languages, adding more soon).

We encourage persons with disabilities and their representative organizations to complete the survey, regardless of their previous experience.

We are also grateful to the Global Coalition on Deinstitutionalization (GC-DI) for help with translating and disseminating the survey.

International Disability Alliance Validity Foundation European Network on Independent Living - ENIL TCI INCLUSION INTERNATIONAL Centre for Human Rights

Survey on Collecting and Understanding Information About Institutions for People with Disabilities

Join us this Thursday, April 9th, for an important presentation -

This historic United Nations (UN) report is based on a petition and years of human rights investigations by Disability Rights International (DRI) into abuses against people with disabilities in Mexico.

We'll reflect on the findings by the UN, their implications, and promote actions aimed at ensuring compliance with and strengthening the rights of persons with disabilities.

WEBINAR:
Presentation Inquiry Report and recommendations on Mexico issued by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
📅 April/ Abril 9th, 2026
🕰 9 AM CST (MX) / 11 AM ET / 5 PM CET
💻 Register/Registro: tinyurl.com/webinarDRI2026
👥 SPA-ENG and ISL interpretation/ Interpretación ESP/ING y LS

Organized by Disability Rights International and the Global Coalition on Deinstitutionalization

📢 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.

“This decision represents the outcome of a long struggle by disability rights activists in Guatemala with help from DRI,” said Silvia Quan, Director of the Colectivo, “It gives us hope that finally our rights are being enforced through international law.”

The decision orders reparations for thousands of children and adults with disabilities wrongly detained in Guatemala.

The Inter-American Commission demands protections against violence and abuse, and support for community inclusion.

🔗 Read the decision and learn more: https://www.driadvocacy.org/news/sweeping-legal-victory-inter-american-commission-human-rights

Vida Independiente