Bulgaria
За повече информация на български език моля натиснете тук. (Coming soon) Запрещението Анализ на законодателството, политиката и практиката и правата на човека в България
NEW! 13 October 2008 - Council of Europe finds that Bulgarian government discriminates against children with intellectual disabilities by denying their right to education. Read more... 6 June 2008 - Bulgaria: UN demands action for children with disabilities. Read more...
The denial of adequate education for children with intellectual disabilities in Bulgaria is well documented. Denying education exposes children to a lifetime of exclusion from society and abuse and is closely linked to their institutionalisation.
Although Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007, it maintains one of Europe's highest proportion of institutionalised children, despite the fact that these institutions were specifically referred to with concern by the European Commission before Bulgaria joined the EU. Of these institutionalised children, around 3,000 are denied access to any education at all and a further 10,0000 are denied inclusive education. They are instead warehoused in 'special schools' where the level of education is extremely poor. In early 2007 MDAC challenged these practices by taking a collective complaint under the European Social Charter. The decision is pending. In May 2008 we sent a 'shadow report' to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. On 6 June the CRC recommended the Bulgarian government to take concrete action to stop this discriminaiton.
Institutions are frequently very large, isolated, under resourced, abusive and generally unfit for human habitation. The BBC produced a documentary called 'Bulgaria's Abandoned Children ', a powerful illustration of life in one institution.
MDAC and its partner organisation, the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, monitors these institutions and challenges abuse by helping people make legal claims before national and international courts. For example, we have recently lodged a case before the European Court of Human Rights concerning the death of an elderly resident of a social care home. This lady died showing signs of consistent abuse, evidenced in part, by a broken collar bone and extensive bruising. Despite the failure of any explanation for these injuries by the staff of the home, no formal criminal or civil action, or adequate investigation, was taken by the Bulgarian authorities and no remedies made available. Unless challenged such failures will continue.
As part of a multi-country study on guardianship, where people are unnecessarily denied the right to make daily decisions, we have researched guardianship legislation and practice in Bulgaria. We are using the recommendations in our report Guardianship and Human Rights in Bulgaria to encourage the government to change legislation, policy and practice.
Although Bulgaria has signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, it has failed to ratify it. Join our campaign to encourage Bulgaria and other countries to Ratify Now!
Please support us in our work in Bulgaria and elsewhere by making a donation.
