BBC Report reveals ongoing Abuse in Romania's institutions; MDRI calls for an end to detaining children in orphanages
December 21, Washington, DC – Twenty years after the fall of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, children detained in Romania's orphanages are still languishing in adult facilities. A BBC investigation broadcast today followed-up MDRI's human rights report Hidden Suffering. BBC quotes MDRI Executive Director Eric Rosenthal: "I cannot say I am surprised, but I am horrified. My organization Mental Disability Rights International documented these abuses in great detail. We talked to government officials, and we brought it to the European Union. They promised they would end these abuses and they have failed on that promise. These conditions are exactly what we found five, ten years ago. They did what they needed to do to get into the EU, but the abuses are still going on.
"In its effort to join the European Union, Romania has spent millions fixing up institutions and moving children from large, crumbling facilities to newer and smaller institutions. European donors contributed significantly to these well-intentioned efforts. These reforms, however, were misguided and donor resources were squandered. According to Rosenthal, "No child should ever be placed in an institution. Institutions are inherently dehumanizing. Nice, new facilities are not a substitute for the love and attention of a family that every child needs. The psychological damage produced by placing a child in an institution may lead to a life-long disability of the kind documented by both MDRI and the BBC."
MDRI's President Laurie Ahern points out that these conditions are "tantamount to torture. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child have confirmed this. Governments must be held accountable for these human rights violations."
For copies of MDRI's report on Romania, Hidden Suffering, click here.
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