Dear DRI supporter, 

It is hard to believe, but it has been 25 years since Disability Rights International (DRI) was founded! 

In the beginning, we were trying to convince the world that disability rights were human rights, that all people – regardless of a disability – are protected by the same human rights. And due in part to our work over many years – via investigations, exposés, reports, trainings, media coverage and advocacy – the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD) was born. 

Dragana Ciric Milovanovic, Director of DRI's European Regional Office, speaks at the United Nations in New York in commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. 

There are millions of infants, children and adolescents locked away and forgotten about in institutions all over the world. But the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) – ratified by 174 countries – and the recent comments of the UN Disability Committee, have made it clear this can’t continue.

September 27, 2017 - Washington, DC - The United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has explicitly stated that every child has a right to grow up in a family, not in an institution or group home, in response to comments submitted to the Committee by Disability Rights International. 

DRI Executive Director Eric Rosenthal participated in an event launching the book Protecting Children against Torture in Detention: Global Solutions for a Global Problem. 

• Watch the livestream of the event here - Eric begins speaking at the 48:00 minute mark.  

Protecting Children against Torture in Detention: Global Solutions for a Global Problem

Dear DRI Supporter,

We know you care about children with disabilities and the work of Disability Rights International – and we continue to need your support. There were a total of 60 infants at this Kenyan facility, with only 4 caregivers, barely able to wash, feed and change diapers. No time for play, hugs, kisses or responding to a cry of fear or the need for touch. Even orphanages with the best intentions cannot provide for the needs of infants and toddlers in a large group setting. No matter how clean or humane they might appear, physical and psychological damage will occur.

Washington, DC – September 26, 2016 – DRI’s Worldwide Campaign to End the Institutionalization of Children is featured today in the Guardian. The Guardian article includes interviews with Eric Rosenthal, Executive Director of DRI, and Laurie Ahern, President, as well as photos from DRI’s investigations.

DRI has found through its investigations that abuse against women and girls with disabilities – such as trafficking, forced sterilization, sexual violence, and physical abuse – is rampant, especially when women and girls are locked away and forgotten in institutions and orphanages.