Disability Rights

Worldwide, more than 1 billion individuals have a disability. In many countries, people with disabilities face countless abuses: they are denied the chance to go to school, languish for years in institutions, are subjected to horrific violence, or chained in their own homes - simply because they have a disability. This is often because of entrenched stigma, archaic laws and a lack of community-based services essential to ensuring their rights, as laid out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Human Rights Watch works to investigate and expose these hidden abuses, and advocate for change to improve the lives of people with disabilities, in partnership with them and their organizations across the globe. Download the complete brochure.