We read some disturbing articles on the internet this week, and you might read them as well. The BBC, PEAR organization, AFN, and a southeast Asian online newsletter posted information saying Nepal should suspend adoptions due to fraudulent paperwork on classifying children as orphans.
All of the articles posted information from old sources, and quoted The Hague* as reporting that Nepal should suspend adoptions. The information from Hague that they sited was old information.
It's very frustrating they mention Hague in this article because they have taken Hague's comments out of context. The Hague met with Nepal a few years ago, and Nepal did close their program in 2007 and 2008 to improve their process, then re-opened in January 2009. In April 2009, the government of Nepal signed "The Hague Intercountry Adoption Convention"**, which is a treaty that ensures a country follows strict, ethical practices in registering a child as an orphan, and registering them adoptable. Once all of a countries' practices are compliant with The Hague's guidlines, the country can then become "Hague-accredited". The first step in becoming Hague-accredited, is to sign the treaty. That is what Nepal did in April 2009.
Having signed the treaty, Hague met with Nepal again in November 2009. A report has not officially been written by Hague, but we do know that they gave Nepal action steps on becoming Hague-accredited. Thus, the articles posted this week did not speak to that meeting, but to meetings from a few years ago. And yet, the articles talk as if Hague came back from the November 2009 meetings and told Nepal to suspend their adoptions!
The articles written do site UNICEF and Terre de Hommes, which are both anti-international-adoption. Hmmm...
There is risk in international adoption no matter what country you choose. The USA, the US Embassy in Nepal, our adoption agency, and Andrew and I are committed to ensuring that the child we adopt has valid paperwork as a true orphan. The Ministry in Nepal (that is the department responsible for processing the adoption dossiers) also seems committed to this in that the government of Nepal signed "The Hague Intercountry Adoption Convention"**. Andrew and I are very excited to start a family. But more than that, we are passionate about rescuing orphans, particularly from a life that may take them to being trafficked as a child - either into sex slavery, or as a child soldier. It is critical to us that we do everything in our power to confirm the child we receive is a true orphan.
We continue to receive information from our agency, and our Nepal Yahoo group that The Ministry in Nepal is committed to matching all dossiers by the end of March. So, amidst this disturbing news, the mission is the same in Nepal for us prospective adoptive parents that are on the 2009 list. I will post separately a report that came straight from The Ministry in Nepal this week.
Taken from The Hague's website:
*With nearly 70 Members (68 States and the European Community) representing all continents, the Hague Conference on Private International Law is a global inter-governmental organisation. A melting pot of different legal traditions, it develops and services multilateral legal instruments, which respond to global needs.
**The Hague Convention of 29 May 1993 on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention) protects children and their families against the risks of illegal, irregular, premature or ill-prepared adoptions abroad. This Convention, which also operates through a system of national Central Authorities, reinforces the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (Art. 21) and seeks to ensure that intercountry adoptions are made in the best interests of the child and with respect for his or her fundamental rights, and to prevent the abduction, the sale of, or traffic in children.
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