Efforts toward European integration for the Western Balkans are hampered by persistent human rights problems, Human Rights Watch said today. In its World Report 2011, Human Rights Watch documents human rights concerns in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, and Kosovo during 2010.

Human Rights Watch and the Mental Disability Advocacy Center (MDAC) are writing to express concerns about Croatia’s rate of progress in implementing its commitments concerning the human rights of persons with disabilities. In particular, we are concerned about the delay in adopting a deinstitutionalization plan and providing people with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities with options for housing and support in the community.

The European Union’s ratification of the major international treaty on disability rights is a significant milestone in the global effort to promote the rights of people with disabilities.

The agreement by European Union member states to remove the last legal barrier to EU accession to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an important step forward.

Human Rights Watch issued the following statement on December 3, 2010, to commemorate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

This week, different groups around the world are observing World AIDS Day and the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, on December 1 and 3 respectively. But many of the stories of people with disabilities and their experiences with HIV - particularly those who are deaf - are shrouded in silence.

Edna seemed shy, rounding her shoulders protectively over her baby. She was breastfeeding, and I could see the burn scars on the top of her head. Despite her initial self-consciousness, she told us her story, starting with the fire that led to her blindness.