March 15, 2013 -Disability Rights International (DRI), partnering with the Human Rights Office of the Archdiocese of Guatemala City (ODHAG), visited the Federico Mora Hospital this week where we had documented life-threatening abuses against children and adults in the facility, including sexual and physical abuse. The Archbishop of Guatemala City, Oscar Julio Vian Morales visited Federico Mora at our invitation and spoke to the Guatemalan press, signaling his support for the community integration of people with disabilities. DRI and ODHAG are working together to bring an end to human rights violations at the institution. In November 2012, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights responded to a petition by DRI and ODHAG by calling on the government to take “immediate preventive measures aimed at protecting all patients, particularly women and children, from physical, psychological and sexual violence by inmates, guards and other staff.” 

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