Disability Rights International (DRI) has played a leading role in pushing for US ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) through its work with the US International Council on Disabilities (USICD), a coalition of US-based organizations, federal agencies and individuals committed to advocacy and action on behalf of the global disability rights age
Washington, DC-- A scathing article concerning the abuses against children with disabilities at the Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC) was published Saturday by the Guardian of London. Juan Mendez, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, told the Guardian he is "very concerned," about the use of electric shocks as aversive treatment on children with disabilities at JRC.
Washington, DC--April 11, 2012-- FOX-25 in Boston aired today a portion of a video showing an extreme case of electric shock and restraint used on Andre McCollins while he was a student at the Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC) in Massachusetts. JRC has fought court battles to keep the video from being released to the public.
November 7, 2011-- Washington, DC -- This week we can celebrate a major victory against torture of people with disabilities in the United States. The Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services (DDS) adopted new regulations last week that greatly restrict the intentional use of pain as a form of treatment - including the use of electric shock, seclusion, and restraints on young children and adults with disabilities.
Watch the ABC Nightline story or read the Guardian of London article on Israel's Indictments Washington, DC -- May 26, 2011 -- Today, we can celebrate a small victory.
Washington, DC -- March 14, 2011 -- Last year, Disability Rights International published the report Torture not Treatment: Electric Shock and Long-Term Restraint in the United States on Children and Adults with Disabilities at the Judge Rotenberg Center. The report resulted in a top United Nations human rights official declaring that the school's practice of shocking children to control behavior was, in fact, torture--and a