Under this campaign, we call for recognition of equal citizenship of people with mental disabilities, including their right to make decisions about their own lives. Too often, people with mental disabilities are labelled as “incompetent” or are denied the right to decide by punitive guardianship systems. They may be denied the right to vote, to marry, to manage their own money, and even to decide where to live. Instead of systems based on restriction and control, we push governments to provide support to people to make their own decision – so that they can be the authors of their own lives.
The European Network on Independent Living – ENIL and the Validity Foundation welcome the adoption of the concluding observations on the combined second and third periodic reports of the European Union by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD Committee). In the… Read More
At the beginning of 2025, Validity worked on and submitted three submissions to UN Treaty Bodies. We contributed to the work of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD Committee) and the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee). Read More
First-ever European Court decision on servitude of persons with disabilities reveals systemic failures in Moldova’s deinstitutionalisation practices Validity has prepared an Easy-to-Read Summary of the Court’s Decision: see here. The European Court of Human Rights has delivered a groundbreaking judgment… Read More
In a ground-breaking judgment today, the European Court of Human Rights (“the Court”) condemned Hungary for failing to protect the lives of institutionalised persons with disabilities. States must effectively investigate the context and conditions in which people in institutions die, the Court also said. The judgment sends… Read More
Az Emberi Jogok Európai Bírósága („a Bíróság”) a mai napon közzétett úttörő ítéletében elítélte Magyarországot, amiért nem védte meg a fogyatékossággal élő, intézményben elhelyezett személyek életét. Az államoknak hatékonyan ki kell vizsgálniuk az intézményekben elhelyezett emberek halálának összefüggéseit és körülményeit – mondta ki a Bíróság. Az ítélet… Read More
In March, Validity achieved a victory for a young man with disabilities when a Hungarian appeals court replaced his guardianship by supports in decision-making. Bence, a 31-year-old Hungarian man, experienced a profound shift in his life following the death of his grandmother, his primary support person,… Read More
UPDATE We remember Gábor Gombos, who passed away on 5 June 2022. Gábor’s work shaped the Hungarian and international disability movement, and his stories, presentations, speeches, and thoughts went to the heart of his audience. The book titled ’The World – Without Cage Beds: World-Shaping Narratives by Gábor Gombos’… Read More
Today, in collaboration with the Network of Independent Experts-NIE and the KERA Foundation, the Validity Foundation launched two major reports in Sofia, Bulgaria, during an international conference titled “Unveiling Injustice: Deinstitutionalisation and intersectionality in disability rights.” One of the reports is the outcome of a series… Read More
The European Committee of Social Rights, in a decision of 14 February 2024, has delivered a verdict addressing severe human rights violations in Czechia. This decision follows a meticulous examination prompted by a complaint filed in 2019 by the Validity Foundation in partnership with… Read More
A range of Zambian organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) and other civil society organizations (CSOs) – who early in March this year made submissions to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (the Committee) ahead of its examination of Zambia’s compliance with and implementation… Read More
The Budapest Capital Court today issued a judgment finding three state authorities responsible for multiple, grave violations of the rights of 220 adults and children with disabilities detained in the notorious Topház Social Care Home. Validity first exposed the shocking abuses in 2017, reporting on filthy… Read More