From my archive of press clippings:
My Republica
Embassies push for transparency in adoptions
KIRAN CHAPAGAIN KATHMANDU, Dec 7: Embassies of 12 countries entertaining inter-country adoptions from Nepal have jointly asked the government to ensure transparency and meet international standards while processing inter-country adoption cases.
Read the whole article here.
Snippet(s):
"The embassies passed their concerns in the form of a note verbale (a diplomatic memorandum) to the government via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on November 24 after they found that the "inter-country adoptions from Nepal were not meeting international standards and practices determined by the Hague Convention"."
&
"Submitted by the German Embassy on behalf of the countries on inter-country adoption, the note verbale was initially issued by Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Later, France, Italy and Spain also signed on it. Australia, Canada and the US have also supported it.
A diplomatic source told myrepublica.com that the embassies are particularly concerned over lack of a central authority with responsibility to ensure that inter-country adoptions met international standards and the lack of laws on a par with the convention."
_____
kiran@myrepublica.com
Published on 2009-12-07 00:00:01
Showing posts with label Hague Adoption Convention. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hague Adoption Convention. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
MR -Don't suspend inter-country adoption
From my archive of press clippings:
My Republica
Don't suspend inter-country adoption
PHILIP HOLMES
Inter-country adoption is once again receiving a bad press. First we had the arrest of a group of Americans in Haiti who were allegedly trying to remove children from the country without the permission of the authorities. Then in this past week UNICEF in Nepal has endorsed the findings of the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference that inter-country adoptions from Nepal should once again be suspended. This they state is in response to the Government of Nepal’s failure to fulfill commitments that it gave to reform adoption practice and improve child protection after it signed the Hague Convention in April 2009.
Read the whole article here.
_____
philip.holmes@ebtrust.org.uk
Published on 2010-02-24 01:48:28
My Republica
Don't suspend inter-country adoption
PHILIP HOLMES
Inter-country adoption is once again receiving a bad press. First we had the arrest of a group of Americans in Haiti who were allegedly trying to remove children from the country without the permission of the authorities. Then in this past week UNICEF in Nepal has endorsed the findings of the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference that inter-country adoptions from Nepal should once again be suspended. This they state is in response to the Government of Nepal’s failure to fulfill commitments that it gave to reform adoption practice and improve child protection after it signed the Hague Convention in April 2009.
Read the whole article here.
_____
philip.holmes@ebtrust.org.uk
Published on 2010-02-24 01:48:28
Thursday, March 25, 2010
MR - Nepal's adoption system unreliable: US
From my archive of press clippings:
My Republica
Nepal's adoption system unreliable: US
KIRAN CHAPAGAIN KATHMANDU, Feb 23: The United States has accused Nepal´s inter-country adoption of being unreliable and cautioned prospective adoptive US parents to find out orphan status of the minors before taking any decision on adoption from Nepal. "We caution prospective adoptive parents who have yet to choose a country that the inter-country adoption system in Nepal is not yet reliable," said the US State Department in a notice last week.
Read the whole article here.
Snippet(s):
"The US allegation comes after the finding of US Embassy in Kathmandu which found that a child set for adoption was not a true orphan and its biological parents were actively searching for it.
The US´s concerns follow a similar allegation by The Hague Conference on Private International Law, an inter-governmental organization based in The Hague, early this month."
"The State Department said in the notice that the US shares many of the concerns outlined in The Hague report. US is the second country to respond to the report."
"Most Nepali children are adopted by families in Spain, Italy, the US, France and Germany."
&
"(A) Kathmandu-based international group on adoption, which held a meeting at the US embassy on February 11 on The Hague report, is making preparations to come up with a common response to the report, most likely this week, according to an official working at the embassy of an EU country."
My Republica
Nepal's adoption system unreliable: US
KIRAN CHAPAGAIN KATHMANDU, Feb 23: The United States has accused Nepal´s inter-country adoption of being unreliable and cautioned prospective adoptive US parents to find out orphan status of the minors before taking any decision on adoption from Nepal. "We caution prospective adoptive parents who have yet to choose a country that the inter-country adoption system in Nepal is not yet reliable," said the US State Department in a notice last week.
Read the whole article here.
Snippet(s):
"The US allegation comes after the finding of US Embassy in Kathmandu which found that a child set for adoption was not a true orphan and its biological parents were actively searching for it.
The US´s concerns follow a similar allegation by The Hague Conference on Private International Law, an inter-governmental organization based in The Hague, early this month."
"The State Department said in the notice that the US shares many of the concerns outlined in The Hague report. US is the second country to respond to the report."
"Most Nepali children are adopted by families in Spain, Italy, the US, France and Germany."
&
"(A) Kathmandu-based international group on adoption, which held a meeting at the US embassy on February 11 on The Hague report, is making preparations to come up with a common response to the report, most likely this week, according to an official working at the embassy of an EU country."
Friday, February 19, 2010
CT - International adoptions grow more difficult. Higher standards and costs play a role.
From my archive of press clippings:
Chicago Tribune
International adoptions grow more difficult
Higher standards and costs play a role
By Bonnie Miller Rubin, Tribune reporter
February 15, 2010
For years, Americans hoping to build families through adoption looked overseas because the path was more predictable and less complicated than domestic adoption.
Read the whole article here.
Snippet(s):
"Three of the most popular countries — China, Guatemala and Russia — have scaled back, tightened rules or temporarily halted adoptions as they struggle to establish more transparency and accountability.
Countries also have raised the eligibility bar, excluding more prospective parents based on income, marital status and even — in the case of China — body mass index.
Finally, even if a couple manage to slice through all the bureaucracy, there's the price — which can hit $40,000 in some countries, double what it was 10 years ago and a deal breaker for many families."
&
"A major shift came in 2008 with the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption.
The treaty — signed by 70 countries, including the United States — has been widely supported by accredited agencies as an important step in eliminating concerns of baby-selling and coercion. Such allegations were common in Guatemala and Vietnam."
_____
brubin@tribune.com
Chicago Tribune
International adoptions grow more difficult
Higher standards and costs play a role
By Bonnie Miller Rubin, Tribune reporter
February 15, 2010
For years, Americans hoping to build families through adoption looked overseas because the path was more predictable and less complicated than domestic adoption.
Read the whole article here.
Snippet(s):
"Three of the most popular countries — China, Guatemala and Russia — have scaled back, tightened rules or temporarily halted adoptions as they struggle to establish more transparency and accountability.
Countries also have raised the eligibility bar, excluding more prospective parents based on income, marital status and even — in the case of China — body mass index.
Finally, even if a couple manage to slice through all the bureaucracy, there's the price — which can hit $40,000 in some countries, double what it was 10 years ago and a deal breaker for many families."
&
"A major shift came in 2008 with the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption.
The treaty — signed by 70 countries, including the United States — has been widely supported by accredited agencies as an important step in eliminating concerns of baby-selling and coercion. Such allegations were common in Guatemala and Vietnam."
_____
brubin@tribune.com
Monday, January 19, 2009
ADG - Hague regulations slow international adoptions
From my archive of press clippings:
Arkansas Democrat Gazette
Hague regulations slow international adoptions
BY NOEL E. OMAN
Posted on Monday, November 24, 2008
Donna Baslee of Bella Vista knows firsthand how difficult and complex it is to adopt foreign-born children.
Read the whole article here.
Snippet(s):
"Nationally, international adoptions fell to 17, 438 in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 from 19, 613 in fiscal year 2007, a drop of 11 percent, according to the Office of Children’s Issues at the U. S. State Department.
It was the lowest number of adoptions in nearly a decade and far below the peak of 22, 884 adoptions reached in 2004.
International adoptions likely will continue to decline. Guatemala had the highest number of intercountry adoptions with the United States in 2008, replacing China, which had held the top spot for a number of years. But the United States said in September that it would no longer process adoptions from Guatemala because the adoptions can’t comply with the Hague Adoption Convention standards, which the United States began enforcing April 1.
The Hague Adoption Convention is an international agreement among participating countries on best adoption procedures.
It has two main goals: to ensure that the best interest of children are considered in every intercountry adoption and to prevent the abduction, exploitation, sale and trafficking of children.
Guatemala has agreed to participate in the Hague Adoption Convention, but U. S. officials say the nation has yet to set up procedures and a central office to handle intercountry adoptions."
Arkansas Democrat Gazette
Hague regulations slow international adoptions
BY NOEL E. OMAN
Posted on Monday, November 24, 2008
Donna Baslee of Bella Vista knows firsthand how difficult and complex it is to adopt foreign-born children.
Read the whole article here.
Snippet(s):
"Nationally, international adoptions fell to 17, 438 in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 from 19, 613 in fiscal year 2007, a drop of 11 percent, according to the Office of Children’s Issues at the U. S. State Department.
It was the lowest number of adoptions in nearly a decade and far below the peak of 22, 884 adoptions reached in 2004.
International adoptions likely will continue to decline. Guatemala had the highest number of intercountry adoptions with the United States in 2008, replacing China, which had held the top spot for a number of years. But the United States said in September that it would no longer process adoptions from Guatemala because the adoptions can’t comply with the Hague Adoption Convention standards, which the United States began enforcing April 1.
The Hague Adoption Convention is an international agreement among participating countries on best adoption procedures.
It has two main goals: to ensure that the best interest of children are considered in every intercountry adoption and to prevent the abduction, exploitation, sale and trafficking of children.
Guatemala has agreed to participate in the Hague Adoption Convention, but U. S. officials say the nation has yet to set up procedures and a central office to handle intercountry adoptions."
Thursday, January 15, 2009
NYT - To Adopt, Please Press Hold
From my archive of press clippings:
New York Times
To Adopt, Please Press Hold
June 5, 2008
By MIREYA NAVARRO
JOHN AND JULIE CASSERLY, both lawyers in St. Paul, have been waiting 11 months to complete the adoption of a Guatemalan girl whom they have named Ruby Rosario. But they say they are afraid to check e-mail messages or answer the phone. It’s always some update from their adoption agency regarding the latest suspension of the process or some other bad news.
Read the whole article here.
Snippet(s):
"Adoption experts say that international adoptions have become more tortuous to pursue.
There have been child trafficking scandals in countries that send large numbers of children to adoptive families in the United States, tightened rules under an international treaty that took effect in April in the United States, and a shift by many countries, including China, Russia and South Korea, toward more domestic adoptions."
"(I)nternational adoptions more than tripled from early 1990, reaching as many as 22,884 in 2004 in the United States, which registers more international adoptions than all other countries combined.
But the number of such adoptions has steadily decreased over the last three years, to 19,400 in 2007, and adoption experts expect the decline to continue for several years."
&
"A major change in the adoption landscape is the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, a treaty involving more than 70 countries and recently signed by the United States. It establishes new accreditation requirements for adoption agencies and protections against child trafficking."
New York Times
To Adopt, Please Press Hold
June 5, 2008
By MIREYA NAVARRO
JOHN AND JULIE CASSERLY, both lawyers in St. Paul, have been waiting 11 months to complete the adoption of a Guatemalan girl whom they have named Ruby Rosario. But they say they are afraid to check e-mail messages or answer the phone. It’s always some update from their adoption agency regarding the latest suspension of the process or some other bad news.
Read the whole article here.
Snippet(s):
"Adoption experts say that international adoptions have become more tortuous to pursue.
There have been child trafficking scandals in countries that send large numbers of children to adoptive families in the United States, tightened rules under an international treaty that took effect in April in the United States, and a shift by many countries, including China, Russia and South Korea, toward more domestic adoptions."
"(I)nternational adoptions more than tripled from early 1990, reaching as many as 22,884 in 2004 in the United States, which registers more international adoptions than all other countries combined.
But the number of such adoptions has steadily decreased over the last three years, to 19,400 in 2007, and adoption experts expect the decline to continue for several years."
&
"A major change in the adoption landscape is the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, a treaty involving more than 70 countries and recently signed by the United States. It establishes new accreditation requirements for adoption agencies and protections against child trafficking."
Monday, January 5, 2009
ABC - U.S. Adoptions Fueled by Guatemalan Kidnappings. Demand for Guatemalan Children Is So High, Baby Snatching Is Rampant.
From my archive of press clippings:
ABC News
U.S. Adoptions Fueled by Guatemalan Kidnappings. Demand for Guatemalan Children Is So High, Baby Snatching Is Rampant.
By HAROLDO MARTINEZ and RUSSELL GOLDMAN GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala
May 13, 2008 — Two years ago, Raquel Par boarded a bus in her hometown of Tecpan, Guatemala, with her baby daughter for the 90-minute ride to the country's capital.
Read the whole article here.
Snippet(s):
"Children are big business in Guatemala, where international adoption is estimated to be a $100 million industry, making orphans the country's second-most lucrative export after bananas.
With tens of thousands of dollars to be made on the sale of each child, and with little government regulation, a fertile black market has developed to sell children all over the world, especially the United States.
Children are routinely kidnapped and parents regularly coerced to sell their children, say government officials and human rights activists.
One in every 100 Guatemalan children is adopted by an American family, the highest per capita adoption rate in the world, and 95 percent of all Guatemalan children who are adopted go to the U.S.
The U.S. State Department says approximately 29,400 Guatemalan children have been adopted by Americans since 1990, and local sources peg the average cost at $30,000 per child."
"American families adopted 4,728 Guatemalan children last year, according to the State Department, second only to the number of orphans coming from China."
&
"(T)he U.S. only recently ratified the Hague Adoption Convention, despite being a longtime signatory. As a result, Americans will only be permitted to adopt through agencies accredited by a national organization and registered with the State Department. Prior to the U.S. implementing the treaty early this year, there was no national organization which vetted or tracked the agencies, which find Guatemalan orphans for American families."
ABC News
U.S. Adoptions Fueled by Guatemalan Kidnappings. Demand for Guatemalan Children Is So High, Baby Snatching Is Rampant.
By HAROLDO MARTINEZ and RUSSELL GOLDMAN GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala
May 13, 2008 — Two years ago, Raquel Par boarded a bus in her hometown of Tecpan, Guatemala, with her baby daughter for the 90-minute ride to the country's capital.
Read the whole article here.
Snippet(s):
"Children are big business in Guatemala, where international adoption is estimated to be a $100 million industry, making orphans the country's second-most lucrative export after bananas.
With tens of thousands of dollars to be made on the sale of each child, and with little government regulation, a fertile black market has developed to sell children all over the world, especially the United States.
Children are routinely kidnapped and parents regularly coerced to sell their children, say government officials and human rights activists.
One in every 100 Guatemalan children is adopted by an American family, the highest per capita adoption rate in the world, and 95 percent of all Guatemalan children who are adopted go to the U.S.
The U.S. State Department says approximately 29,400 Guatemalan children have been adopted by Americans since 1990, and local sources peg the average cost at $30,000 per child."
"American families adopted 4,728 Guatemalan children last year, according to the State Department, second only to the number of orphans coming from China."
&
"(T)he U.S. only recently ratified the Hague Adoption Convention, despite being a longtime signatory. As a result, Americans will only be permitted to adopt through agencies accredited by a national organization and registered with the State Department. Prior to the U.S. implementing the treaty early this year, there was no national organization which vetted or tracked the agencies, which find Guatemalan orphans for American families."
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