June 10-12, 2025 marked the eighteenth session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, held at the United Nations. This year’s theme focused on enhancing public awareness of the rights and contributions of people with disabilities for social development.
Keystone Human Services was honored to participate in the General Debate, with Genevieve Fitzgibbon, Vice President of Global Programs and Advocacy, delivering a statement on deinstitutionalization, true community inclusion, and the importance of including children with disabilities in care reform efforts.
Read the full statement below:
Thank you, Chair.
Excellencies, delegates, friends from civil society:
My name is Genevieve Fitzgibbon, and I am President and CEO of Keystone Human Services International. We are an international NGO with over 50 years of experience implementing community alternatives to institutionalization of persons with disabilities.
Article 19 of the CRPD affirms that everyone has the right to live independently and be included in the community, with the same choices, supports, and services as others.
But this is not the reality for millions of people still living in institutions around the world. Institutionalization prevents people from accessing the rights promised by the CRPD. It isolates people from their communities; puts them at high risk of violence; and prevents them from making decisions about their own lives.
Institutionalization removes children from their families, exposes them to abuse and neglect, and harms their growth, development, and futures. Once children with disabilities enter institutions, they are often there for life. Efforts to fulfill Article 19 too often fail to address institutionalization of children; and children with disabilities are routinely deprioritized in care reform and child protection efforts.
True community inclusion holds enormous promise for implementing the CRPD and building a more equal world. But this is only true when we understand that successful deinstitutionalization is not only about closing buildings – it is about people having the right to live in their communities, to make decisions about their own lives, and to access the supports they choose.
The lived experiences of persons with disabilities, models developed by Organizations of Persons with Disabilities, and the Guidelines on Deinstitutionalization all provide the roadmap to make this a reality. But even with a clear mandate, well-documented harms, and successful models, deinstitutionalization has not been given the political will, resources, or priority needed to make it a reality.
Keystone Human Services International joins Organizations of Persons with Disabilities and civil society partners to call on States Parties to fully implement for Article 19, including:
- Prioritize the leadership of persons with disabilities and Organizations of Persons with Disabilities. Deinstitutionalization must be led by persons with disabilities, including those affected by institutionalization, with the full support of governments, broader civil society, and community members.
- Ensure commitments to Article 19 are properly financed with and that all development funds are inclusive of persons with disabilities, not allowing shrinking budgets to be a reason to deprive people of their rights.
- Accelerate deinstitutionalization efforts by scaling up good practices to prevent institutionalization, provide exit pathways, establish inclusive community-based supports, and increase political will for meaningful community inclusion in all sectors.
