and Notice to members - 2002

https://www.asktheeu.org/de/request/letter_of_petition_committee

On the 31st of October 2003 the Hague Conference on Private International Law celebrated its 110th Anniversary at 4.30 p.m. in the Great Hall of Justice of the Peace Palace in The Hague. President Ferenc Mádl of Hungary, a former delegate to the Hague Conference, marked the occasion by giving a speech on “Milestones on the Road of Private International Law Developments”. Significant among those milestones are the many “Hague” Conventions negotiated at the Peace Palace. The Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, now Secretary General of NATO, Mr Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, introduced him.

This celebration gathered Ambassadors from more than 50 countries, representatives of other international organisations based in The Hague and high-ranking officials of the Netherlands. Also present were delegates from more than 40 States from all over the world, who have now come together to confront the challenge of operating three of the existing Hague Conventions in a globalising and increasingly electronic environment.
Full programme of the celebration | Speech delivered by President Mádl

What we have in common is that we live in the Netherlands, and perhaps also that we were adopted from Bangladesh. If we go back further, we know nothing except for a few people there. What we do share is the historical past from Bangladesh.

Here we try to indicate how adoption from Bangladesh started until it stopped. We are not detailed about this because we do not have all the information. If you can add a missing piece of information, we would love to hear from you. We hope that this story will be rewritten by you until it is completely complete. We create the plan, will you help us complete it? Perhaps your parents still have information or you were involved in the procedures from Bangladesh or you were an escort. We would like to hear it!

Until 1971, Bangladesh was part of Pakistan and was called East Pakistan. In 1971 there was a bloody war of independence, during which women were raped en masse by Pakistani soldiers. Since Bangladesh is a Muslim country and these women would be rejected or these children would be rejected, the aid agencies at the time decided to make these children eligible for mediation to the Netherlands.

Once the great baby boom was expected to occur (about 9 months later), the mass rejection of children did not occur. The emergency services that had set up everything and had done everything possible to provide adequate assistance, had to stand idly by. The reason is probably that these children did not differ in appearance and were therefore included in the family as their own children. Adoption from Bangladesh started to take off after the great famine, which caused many people to die. This famine was one of the most disastrous in the country's history.

From about 1973 (who were the first? Who knows or are you one yourself) people started adopting children. These children came from various parts of the country and arrived in the Netherlands via Dacca.

Message: 37254

From: JudiKO@...

Received: Mo Okt 06, 2003 3:21

Subject: roll call: Judi and family

Hi,

Message: 37254

From: JudiKO@...

Received: Mo Okt 06, 2003 3:21

Subject: roll call: Judi and family

Hi,

The International Social Service (ISD) receives numerous inquiries asking them to search for the biological father or relatives. The search for the origin of adoptees also takes up a lot of space in the work of the ITS. As soon as adoptees start to deal with questions about their identity and parentage, they inevitably ask themselves the question "How do I get the information that will give me answers to my questions? Where can I get support?" “ We are mainly contacted by those affected whose father was stationed in Germany as a soldier in earlier years, lived and worked here as a migrant or was studying or training.

Characteristic of the activity in both areas is always the foreign connection, ie the cross-border search.

We deal exclusively with searches related to identity issues and the associated establishment of contact with the person sought, if they can be found. We do not help with the search for inheritance matters or for friends, schoolmates and work colleagues.

The specific support that can be provided depends on the data and information already available and on the particularities of the respective country. A prerequisite for a search is, if possible, the complete personal data of the person being searched for as well as background information on the reason for the search query and the current life situation of the person searching.

Before taking action, the ITS charges a one-off fee of €150, which is due regardless of the outcome of the investigation. If the search is extended to other people or another country, an additional fee of €50 will be charged. The flat rate does not include any translation costs that go beyond the necessary correspondence with our working partners. In various countries, there may also be on-site costs, for example for the procurement of certificates, etc.

Our Stories :: In the News :: "Blind Date in Addis", from The New York Times Relative Choices Blog

November 8, 2007

By Dr. Jane Aronson

I met my son Des for the first time in October of 2003. Well, it wasn’t a real meeting — just a video tape meeting. A dear friend who had adopted a child from Ethiopia wanted me to consider an adoption from that country and told me that I could see some nice waiting children on a video if I contacted the agency she used. I had no intention of doing such a thing and that was that. I did not call the agency.

One fall day, I received a video tape from that dear friend and I didn’t open the package. I knew what it was and didn’t dare. I was happy with one child, my partner, and my work and was afraid to make any changes. By about 1 a.m. the next day, I hadn’t opened the package, but had passed it by enough times to want it. Finally, I put the video tape into my TV and watched it by myself as my 3-year-old son, Ben, and my partner, Diana slept upstairs.

Mexicos Sistema Nacional para el Desarollo Integral de la Familia (DIF) will sign agreement with the IAC to launch adoption management system pilot program in one of their 32 states

ATLANTA GA (PRWEB) September 24, 2003 -– On Saturday, September 27, 2003, representatives of the Mexicos Sistema Nacional para el Desarollo Integral de la Familia (DIF) will sign an agreement with the Intercountry Adoption Congress (IAC) to pilot an adoption information management system in one of the countrys 32 states. This historical event will take place during the IACs International Dove Ball at The Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead.

National DIF General Director Ana Teresa Aranda Orozco, General Subdirector Dr. Carlos Pérez López, and Project Coordinator Arturo Cornejo Moreno Valle will travel from Mexico City to Atlanta for this prestigious event. This milestone will mark the culmination of a relationship that began a year ago between the IAC and the DIF.

Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue and First Lady Mary Perdue, who are serving as Dove Ball honorary chairpersons, former Governor George Busbee and First Lady Mary Beth Busbee, Georgia State Senator Jeff Mullis, and Georgia Congressman Mac Collins, to name a few, will be on hand to witness this landmark agreement.

The IAC, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit human rights group, was formed to give orphans a strong advocate and to overhaul adoption systems badly in need of repair. Through a partnership with a technology company, the IAC has been granted a license for an adoption information management software which the organization can offer to government entities gratis.

Last Updated: Monday, 8 September, 2003, 14:49 GMT 15:49 UK

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Scandal threatens EU commissioners

An investigation into the European Commission's statistical bureau - Eurostat - could lead to high-level resignations in the next few weeks, reports the BBC's Tim Franks in Brussels.

Dorte Schmidt-Brown is 37 years old and on indefinite sick leave.

Helping or hurting? Irish charities in Romania

Thu, Sep 4, 2003, 01:00

Madam, - The article by Anne McElhinney and Phelim McAleer on the impact of Irish aid on the crisis in Romania's state orphanages ("Helping or Hurting?", Weekend, August 30th) was interesting, if flawed. It is right that we question the spending and effectiveness of all aid funding, but any such questioning should be intelligent and should stem from a full understanding of the issues involved. Most problems in Romania's childcare system are far more complex than your article would have us believe.

The problems of the early 1990s have not gone away. Until recently, the government of Romania was using statistics and propaganda to deal with the issue, and it found willing co-propagandists among a few tame foreign journalists in Bucharest's café society.

The government had a simple way of dealing with the huge numbers in State care: re-categorise large segments of them, and they disappear from the statistics. It was a lot easier than applying resources to deal with the problem, and gullible people in key areas of politics and the media bought the charade.