Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Germany Suspends Adoptions From Nepal (Republica)

Germany Suspends Adoptions From Nepal (Republica):

http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=15019

KATHMANDU, Feb 11: Germany has suspended inter-country adoptions from Nepal, barely a week after a report of a group of international legal experts accused Nepal´s adoption system of being subject to widespread abuses.

Though the German Embassy in Kathmandu circulated the decision among diplomatic missions based in Kathmandu on Wednesday, the embassy is yet to inform the government officially.

A diplomatic source who received an email from the German Embassy told myrepublica.com that authorities and agencies concerned in Germany took a decision to this effect in Bonn, Germany on Tuesday. The decision is effective from Wednesday.

The source said that Germany took the decision citing lack of child protection mechanisms in Nepal.

The German decision comes six days after The Hague Conference on Private International Law, an inter-governmental organization based in Hague, called on Nepal to suspend international adoption while the system is being overhauled to ensure children are better protected. It accused Nepal´s adoption system of being marred by widespread abuses while urging Nepal to introduce new legislation to prevent such abuses.

German parents have been adopting 15-20 Nepali children on average annually from Nepal. Altogether 100 children were adopted by German families in a period of six years starting January 2004.

This is the second time Germany has suspended inter-county adoption from Nepal in three years. It had stopped adopting Nepali children in February 2007, the move that was followed by other countries then.

Nepal had faced similar allegations in 2007 and had officially suspended inter-country adoption in May 2007. The government had introduced new rules in 2008 to address the loopholes in the system before deciding to resume adoption in January 2009. But child rights campaigners complain that the abuses continue even after the rules were enforced.

Most Nepali children are adopted by families in Spain, Italy, the US, France, and Germany. Nepal saw a surge in inter-country adoptions after 1999/2000, when the process was standardized and brought under the Ministry for Women, Children, and Social Welfare.

Adoption group discusses Hague report

Meanwhile, the international adoption group based in Kathmandu discussed the report of The Hague Conference on Private International Law at the US Embassy on Wednesday.

Sources told myrepublica.com that they discussed ways to respond to the report that has pointed out abuses of the adoption system and called suspension of the inter-country adoption.

kiran@myrepublica.com

http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=15019

Ethics, Transparency, Support
~ What All Adoptions Deserve.
http://www.pear-now.org/

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

UNICEF reiterates calls to halt Inter-country adoptions in Nepal (UNICEF Press Release)

UNICEF PRESS RELEASE

UNICEF reiterates calls to halt Inter-country adoptions in Nepal

Kathmandu, 8th February 2010: UNICEF has endorsed the findings by the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference -- delivered to the Government of Nepal today -- to suspend inter-country adoptions here.

The report on Inter-country adoption in Nepal follows an invitation by the Government of Nepal to the Hague Conference to undertake a mission to the country in November 2009 after Nepal had signed the Hague Adoption Convention earlier, in April 2009.

In signing the Hague Adoption Convention, Nepal undertook to bring its adoption policies in line with guidelines laid out in the Convention with the intention of ratifying at a later date. The report submitted today by the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) made several recommendations for Nepal, notably:

+ Better regulation of children's homes.

+ To develop child protection systems -- including alternative care to parental care.

+ To support children by supporting and preserving their own families.

+ Stricter laws governing inter-country adoptions as well as controls to eliminate financial gain from inter-country adoption.

+ Improve training and resources of staff.

+ Create a strong central authority for adoptions.

+Implement the recommendations of the UNICEF / Terre des hommes Foundation 2008 study calling for a suspension of adoptions.

The 2008 study by UNICEF and Terre des hommes Foundation entitled "Adopting the Rights of the Child" found that around 60 percent of the children up for adoption were not actually orphans but were separated from their families and that a culture of child abuse including the abduction, trafficking and sale of children had flourished due to poor controls. And although the Government suspended inter-country adoptions in 2007 and 2008 due to a range of concerns, they lifted the suspension in late 2008 and adoptions began again in 2009.

"Sadly little has changed since the initial report -- the best interests of the child are still not at the centre of these adoptions and these must be the guiding principles for all those working with children no matter how complex the issue," said UNICEF Nepal Representative Gillian Mellsop. "When basic safeguards are in place abuses are avoided and adoption is available to the children who need it. Implementation of the Hague Adoption Convention is the best way to prevent abuses and allow safe inter-country adoptions to continue."

UNICEF Nepal has been supporting the Government's commitment to improve its legislation on child protection and will continue to support the Government in following up on the recommendations of the Hague Conference's report.

Receiving States have also demonstrated their willingness to provide practical assistance, in collaboration with the Permanent Bureau's technical assistance programme, to give support to Nepal to help make improvements. Most inter-country adoptions from Nepal are with families from Spain, Italy, France and the United States of America.

On the Convention:

The Hague Adoption Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption of May 1993 contains is a list of guidelines and procedures to safeguard children, as well as their biological and adoptive parents, against potential risks from inter-country adoption, such as abduction, sale and trafficking. The Convention, which also operates through a system of national Central Authorities, reinforces the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 21), which deals with the issue of adoption.

*****

http://www.unicef.org/nepal/5476_6051.htm

Ethics, Transparency, Support
~ What All Adoptions Deserve.
http://www.pear-now.org/

Nepal -- 17 more agencies licensed

S.N	Name of the Agency	Address	Country
1	Great Wall China Adoption	248 Addie Roy Road A102 Austin, TX 78746	USA
2	Across the World Adoptions	395 Taylor Boulevard Suite 116 Pleasant Hill, California 94523	USA
3	Adoptions Homestudy Agency of Colorado	4685 West Prince to Avenue Denver, Colorado, 80236-3213	USA
4	Humanikat - Association for International Adoption	Israel	Israel
5	World View Adoption Association	130 Westmore Drive, Suites Toronto, Ontario, Canada, MGV5E2	Canada
6	Americans For International Aid and Adoption	2151 Livernois Ste 200, Troy, ML 48083, 248-362-1207	USA
7	European Adoption Consultants (EAC)	12608, Alameda Drive, Strongs Ville, OH 44149	USA
8	Children of the World Inc	7751 Carondelet Avenue Suite 702 Clayton, MO 63105	USA
9	Centro Adozioni La Maloca	Seda Legalee e operative in Via Borsari 23-43100 Parma	Italy
10	With Love and Hope Adoption Agency, Inc	53 Margaret Drive, Somerset NJ 08873	USA
11	Dillon International	3227 East 31st Street, Suite 200 Tulsa, OK 74105	USA
12	Ciel 133 Ecai	Calle Hermosilla 133 Bajo -E 280009 Madrid	Spain
13	Heart to Heart Adoption	10720 Santa Laguna Drive, Boca Raton, FL 33428	USA
14	Lifeline Children's Service	2908 Pump House Road, Birmingham, Alabama 35243	USA
15	Family Association for Inter country adoption, FFIA	Se 40241 Goteborg	Sweden
16	American Nepalese Congolese Children's Foundation	3573 Summit Road, Ravenna, OH 44266	USA
17	Diakonisches Werk	69117 Heidelberg, friedrich Ebert Anlage 9	Germany

http://www.mowcsw.gov.np/opensection.php?secid=483

Ethics, Transparency, Support
~ What All Adoptions Deserve.
http://www.pear-now.org/

Monday, February 8, 2010

Children of the night (Kathmandu Post -- editorial)

KATHMANDU, FEB 07 -
The process of inter-country adoption of children from Nepal has never been free of controversy. In 2007, when it surfaced that many orphanages made lucrative business sending children out of the country, inter-country adoptions from Nepal were temporarily suspended; the orphanages that didn’t meet the minimum government criteria were closed down. Inter-country adoptions were restarted in 2008 — partly owing to the pressure of the adoptive parents abroad who had already completed the necessary paperwork. To close the existing loopholes, the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare was made the final authority on all international adoptions.

But the latest survey report of the Hague Conference on Private International Law makes it clear that many of those loopholes remain. The report pointed out, among others flaws, the continuing stream of falsified documents being presented to facilitate adoption process. The Conference report is based on the Swiss-funded charity Terre des homes’ study which found that 60 percent of children in Nepali orphanages had parents to take care of them. In light of this continuing malpractice, the Conference has urged Nepal to suspend inter-country adoptions until rigorous provisions to safeguard child rights are put in place.

Opinions inside the country are divided on the report. But there does seem to be some truth to the claims of wrongdoing by those involved in the process. Besides Terre des homes’, the UNICEF has also been voicing its concerns time and again about the trend of abduction, trafficking and selling of Nepali children.

It isn’t surprising that some unscrupulous middlemen are exploiting the loopholes in existing laws considering the money involved: Prospective parents have to pay US $5,000 to foster homes before adopting a child. But, according to some child rights activists, much more changes hands as orphanages persuade parents to part with their children through lucrative offers. And if there any truth to the allegations make by the Hague Conference, it is likely that some of the certified orphanages are engaged in the unholy business. But money is not all that is being offered to biological parents. Some parents, it has emerged, are given to understand that their children are being taken away for education.

The reforms introduced in 2008 have thus proven insufficient to halt illegal inter-country adoption. Some problems, for a time being, seem intractable. For instance, the government is finding it devilishly hard to vet the parents for their intent. How do the authorities find out if the biological parents are putting up their children for adoption owing to their financial constraints or due to monetary incentives from orphanages? Hard as these problems are to tackle, the trend of profiteering from children is unlikely to stop unless they are. What is undeniable is that whatever step the government takes, it has to be with the best interest of children in mind. The monetary stakes of the government and the orphanages are clearly secondary here.

http://www.ekantipur.com/the-kathmandu-post/2010/02/07/Editorial/Children-of-the-night/4913/

Ethics, Transparency, Support
~ What All Adoptions Deserve.
http://www.pear-now.org/

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Minister bats for tighter adoption policy (Himalayan News Service)

Last Updated : 2010-02-06 10:51 PM

Himalayan News Service

KATHMANDU: State Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare Ram Bachan Aiyar today said that the government was committed to ensure that adopted Nepali children were not abused at home and abroad. The minister’s statement follows a public outcry over the adoption of children to foreign countries without following procedural rules.

Speaking at an interaction programme organised in the capital today, Aiyar warned that no one was allowed to abuse the adopted child or indulge in any foul play over the children’s right to care and choice.

“Orphan and abandoned children will but wait for those who are caring enough to get them into their next sweet homes,” he said cautioning that the government would go offensive against the orphanages if they took law in their own hands.

“Make room for an orphan or abandoned child at home first before letting the foreign couples to adopt them as per the government policy. Only when there are no other options left at your disposal when you have to make the hard choice of letting the foreigners to adopt,” he told orphanages.

The children who are available for adoption often live in orphanages. Nepal law states that adoptive parent or family may only have one child of each sex in their household. If one already has a son, he or she must adopt a daughter and vice-versa. The law further states that a person or couple cannot adopt from Nepal if they already have biological children.

It has widely been argued that Nepal is a safe haven for adoption. For many people living in abject poverty, placing their children for adoption is getting lot easier than nurturing them at home.

http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:r3mheYi5764J:www.thehimalayantimes.com/rssReference.php%3Fheadline%3DMinister%2Bbats%2Bfor%2Btighter%2Badoption%2Bpolicy%2B%26NewsID%3D226229+"Minister+bats+for+tighter+adoption+policy"&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Ethics, Transparency, Support
~ What All Adoptions Deserve.
http://www.pear-now.org/

State sees no loopholes in adoption (Kathmandu Post)

KATHMANDU FEB 06 -

The government and representatives of organisations working for children have said that the survey report, which claims to have found loopholes in the adoption process, is far from truth.

They have urged the Hague Conference on Private International Law, which prepared the report, to substantiate its claims.

Among others, the report states that falsified reports are presented for facilitating the adoption of children from Nepal.

“The report was prepared with a view to tarnishing the country’s image. It is far from truth,” said Prachanda Raj Pradhan of the Child NGO Federation, Nepal.

The report follows a Terre des homes’ study report, which claims that more than 60 percent of children in orphanages had parents, who could take care of them.

“With new rules and regulations in place, there’s no room for malpractice in the adoption process,” said Dharma Raj Shrestha, member-secretary of the Central Child Welfare Board.

Nepal reopened the overseas adoption process in May 2008 after introducing new regulations. As per the new rules, theMinistry of Women, Children and Social Welfare takes a final call on adoptions.

Foreigners can adopt only those orphans or children, who are relinquished by parents through due procedures. Prospective parents have to pay US$ 3,000 to the government and $5,000 to foster homes before adopting a child.

Twenty out of 534 applicants got a nod for adoption in 2009, said an official at the ministry. The prospective parents are from Italy, the US, France, Canada and the UK. Paperwork for 39 applications is complete.

Amid claims of flaws in inter-country adoptions, Minister of State for Women, Children and Social Welfare Ram Bachan Yadav pledged to take action against anyone found involved in malpractices.

He asked the organisations to work in the best interest of the children. No communication could be established with Terre de homes office in Kathmandu for comment.

http://www.kantipuronline.com/the-kathmandu-post/2010/02/06/top-stories/State-sees-no-loopholes-in-adoption/4856/

Ethics, Transparency, Support
~ What All Adoptions Deserve.
http://www.pear-now.org/

Friday, February 5, 2010

Nepal, de nuevo cuestionada por irregularidades en las adopciones (ABC.es)

Nepal, again questioned about irregularities in adoptions - (article in Spanish, please use Google Translator or other online translators to read the full text in your language).

05-02-2010