• US: Senate Misses Opportunity on Disability Convention
    Dec 4, 2012
    Press release
    The United States missed an opportunity to display global leadership on disability rights on December 4, 2012, as the Senate failed to approve ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
  • Ghana: People With Mental Disabilities Face Serious Abuse
    Oct 2, 2012
    Press release
    People with mental disabilities suffer severe abuses in psychiatric institutions and spiritual healing centers in Ghana, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The Ghanaian government has done little to combat such abuse or to ensure that these people can live in the community, as is their right under international law.
  • UN: Set Plan for Women, Children With Disabilities
    Sep 10, 2012
    Press release
    Governments meeting at the United Nations about the needs of women and children with disabilities should develop a clear plan of action to promote and uphold their rights. Among others steps, they should make a commitment to address the needs of women and children with disabilities through international development programs.
  • Ghana: Disability Rights Convention Ratified
    Aug 22, 2012
    Press release
    Ghana’s ratification on August XX, 2012, of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities affirmed its commitment to respect the human rights of all its citizens, including those with disabilities, Human Rights Watch said today.
  • US/Texas: Halt Execution of Man with Intellectual Disabilities
    Aug 7, 2012
    Press release
    Texas should not execute a man who has significant intellectual disabilities. Marvin Lee Wilson, who was sentenced to death for the abduction and murder of a police drug informant in 1992, is scheduled to be executed on August 7, 2012.
  • HIV Conference: Include People With Disabilities
    Jul 20, 2012
    Press release
    Donors supporting HIV programs, policymakers, and service providers should ensure that the world’s one billion people with disabilities have equal access to HIV prevention and treatment.
  • US Supreme Court: Halt Georgia Execution
    Jul 18, 2012
    Press release
    The US Supreme Court should stop the state of Georgia from executing a man who evidence indicates has significant intellectual disabilities. Warren Lee Hill, Jr. is scheduled to be executed on July 23, 2012.
  • South Sudan: Arbitrary Detentions, Dire Prison Conditions
    Jun 21, 2012
    Press release
    Flawed processes, unlawful detentions, and dire conditions in South Sudan’s prisons reflect the urgent need to improve the new nation’s fledgling justice system.
  • Peru: Disability Rights in the Voting Booth
    May 15, 2012
    Press release
    Peru should remove significant barriers preventing people with disabilities from exercising their right to vote and other civil rights. The failure to dismantle the obstacles is undermining Peru’s leadership as one of the first countries to ratify, in 2008, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
  • Russia: Reform Domestic Laws on Disability Rights
    May 4, 2012
    Press release
    Russia should move quickly to reform laws and practices that currently prevent the 13 million Russians with disabilities from enjoying equal rights, Human Rights Watch said today. President Dmitry Medvedev signed a federal law on May 3, 2012, formally ratifying the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.