За повече информация на български език моля натиснете тук. (Coming soon) Запрещението Анализ на законодателството, политиката и практиката и правата на човека в България
What's new? 3 November 2009 - MDAC and the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee hold a round-table event on the right to education in Sofia where MDAC launches a progress report on inclusive education for children in Bulgarian institutions. 12 January 2009 - MDAC launches its British sister charity MDAC-UK at the House of Lords in London - MDAC-UK will focus its fundraising on MDAC's work in Bulgaria. 13 October 2008 - Council of Europe finds that Bulgaria discriminates against children with intellectual disabilities by denying their right to education. 6 June 2008 - Bulgaria: UN demands action for children with disabilities.
Read more about MDAC and children's rights to education here.
Working together with its partner organisation the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, MDAC challenges neglect and abuse by helping people make legal claims before national and international courts, as well as pursuing advocacy at national and international levels. 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 institution. 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 institution's staff, no formal criminal or civil action, or adequate investigation, was carried out by the authorities and no remedies were made available. Unless challenged, such horrors will doubtless continue.
In Bulgaria people are unnecessarily stripped of their legal capacity and placed under guardianship, which strips them of fundamental rights, and allows the guardian to dump them in an institution, steal their money and property, and block their rights to vote, work, associate and complain about their treatment. We call guardianship civil death. MDAC has researched guardianship legislation and practice in Bulgaria and we have used our report Guardianship and Human Rights in Bulgaria to encourage the government to change legislation, policy and practice. We continue to advocate for reforms of guardianship and our effort has been featured by the New York Times in two articles entitled In parts of Eastern Europe, mentally ill kept under wraps and In Eastern Europe, Lives Languish in Mental Facilities. In December 2008 we helped one of our clients win his guardianship case before the Bulgarian Supreme Court.
Although Bulgaria has signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, it has not yet ratified 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.
