MDRI
Exposes Deaths and Abuse in Paraguayan Psychiatric
Hospital and Demands Immediate Government Action
August 13, 2008 - Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI) and
the Center for Justice in International Law (CEJIL) have
filed a successful appeal to stop egregious abuses being perpetrated
against people at the Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital in Paraguay.
In a petition filed with the Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights (IACHR), MDRI described a pattern of abuse,
including four unexplained deaths, numerous complaints of sexual
abuse and horrific physical abuse, including a castration, all
within the past six months.
On July 29, the IACHR called on the Paraguayan government to take
immediate action to protect the lives of all those detained at the
facility and to report back to them on measures taken to prevent
future abuses.
In 2003, the IACHR approved MDRI and CEJIL’s request for immediate
intervention at the same hospital following the discovery of children,
diagnosed with autism, locked in cages for years. On the heels of
this intervention, the Paraguayan government signed an agreement
with MDRI and CEJIL to gradually deinstitutionalize its mental health
system while expanding the services and supports available in the
community.
“Paraguay’s mental health system continues to
systematically violate the rights of persons who use its services,” said Alison
A. Hillman, Director of MDRI’s Americas Programs. “We
anticipate that the Inter-American Commission’s intervention
will bring added pressure on the government to address the root causes
of these abuses and fulfill their commitments to fully integrate
persons with disabilities into the community.”
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