21 December - MENTAL DISABILITY RIGHTS INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE. >> PLEASE CLICK THE HEADLINE ABOVE FOR THE FULL ITEM. 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 smallerinstitutions. 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.