In the early 1990s, images of Romanian children tied to cribs — neglected, underfed, and often languishing in their own filth — shocked the world and prompted calls for radical reform of Romania’s orphanages.
Earlier this year, Mental Disabilities Rights International released a report asserting that Romania still warehouses mentally ill and retarded children in adult mental institutions. In some instances, the report asserts, abandoned children are housed in facilities so deficient that they may actually cause permanent disability.
In order to examine this issue more fully, the Helsinki Commission will hold a hearing on “Care for the Disabled in Romania.”
