CHENNAI: A 55-year-old woman is facing a tough situation, having to prove herself as the mother of her son who went missing at the age of three in 1978. This modern day King Solomon’s court drama is now being enacted after a couple from Holland adopted the child, after allegedly preparing false documents.

The petitioner Mary approached MKB Nagar police station on Thursday, seeking to unite with her son Manicka Yesuraj, who is now working in a bank in Holland.

According to Mary, her husband Philip who was working on a ship, left their home in 1978. Mary was left with two sons - Selvaraj and Manicka Yesuraj - and a daughter, Lourdu. Yesuraj admitted to a creche, which was functioning in the Church of Our Lady of Consolation at Vysarpadi.

‘‘I trusted the priest Fehlooz and admitted my son there. However, one day, my son went missing mysteriously. I had approached the local police station to trace my son, but they closed the file after declaring me as mentally deranged,’’ alleged Mary.

In 1988, she got a photograph of her son with some text written in Dutch through Gnanamariam, a worker in the church. Meanwhile, Lourdu had become a nurse and was employed in England. There, Lourdu tried to trace her brother with the photograph.

‘‘I inquired with my friends and got the address in Holland in 1998. I struggled for more than six years to trace Yesuraj. I approached many social service agencies, the Holland Embassy and even private detective agencies. Finally, when I finally got the address of Yesuraj in 2004, his adopted parent Tony Pijnenpurg, did not allow us to meet my brother. They had changed his name to Manicka Yesuraj Tony Pijnenpurg,’’ Lourdu told this website's newspaper.

According to her, Nagaraj of Nungambakkam, who claimed the boy was an orphan, adopted Yesuraj. With a new passport issued based on the Nungambakkam address, Yesuraj left India on March 14th, 1978.

‘‘We were cheated by the priest and the whole process of adoption is illegal,’’ Lourdu added.

After two years of struggle, the family was allowed to meet Yesuraj. However, taken aback by the new development, he said he would take a decision only after Mary proved she was his mother.

Based on the complaint of Mary, MKB Nagar police have registered a case and investigation is on.

‘‘We have received a petition and if necessary, we will re-open the original missing case registered in 1978,’’ an investigating officer said.

Steering Committee

Steering Committee | Advisory Group

unicefUSAIDSave he Children UKCAREHope for African Children Initiative

Background to the Formation of the Better Care Network

Over 60 million children have lost one or both parents throughout the world due to different causes. The HIV/AIDS pandemic is adding significantly to this number.

Background to the Formation of the Better Care Network

Over 60 million children have lost one or both parents throughout the world due to different causes. The HIV/AIDS pandemic is adding significantly to this number.

We know that children need and have a right to be cared for by their parents and to grow up in a family environment as much as possible. This has been recognized through years of experience and research as well as formally recognized under national and international laws. In many countries, however, few or no mechanisms exist to ensure the most appropriate placements, encourage and support guardianship and adoption arrangements, and provide support and monitoring for foster families. Much needs to be done to prevent separation by supporting families and to develop better care alternatives when separation is inevitable. National and international actors need to establish and enforce appropriate legal standards to ensure the safety, well-being, and healthy development of children placed in care, including continued efforts towards reunification and permanency.

Establishment and Expansion of the Better Care Network

Recognizing the urgent need for concerted action, UNICEF, the Displaced Children and Orphans Fund (DCOF) and the Africa Bureau for Sustainable Development of USAID, and Save the Children UK, came together to form the Better Care Network (BCN) in 2003. This decision was influenced by the Stockholm Conference on Residential Care in May 2003 and the position paper presented there by the Save the Children Alliance, "A Last Resort: The Growing Concern About Children in Residential Care," and by workshops on better care issues in Africa and the United States. During its first two years, BCN existed as a loose affiliation of organizations exchanging information through a growing listserve. As the listserve grew, and more information was shared via the network, the organizations mentioned above, together with CARE and the Hope for African Children Initiative (HACI), agreed that BCN served a vital role, and should expand its scope through the creation of a formal secretariat to support its work. Each organization agreed to contribute resources to strengthen BCN and to serve on its steering committee. In August 2005, BCN's secretariat was established. The secretariat is based at UNICEF headquarters and operates with the guidance and direction of the steering committee, which meets once a year.

Background

Over 60 million children have lost one or both parents throughout the world due to different causes. The HIV/AIDS pandemic is adding significantly to this number.

We know that children need and have a right to be cared for by their parents and to grow up in a family environment as much as possible. This has been recognized through years of experience and research as well as formally recognized under national and international laws. In many countries, however, few or no mechanisms exist to ensure the most appropriate placements, encourage and support guardianship and adoption arrangements, and provide support and monitoring for foster families. Much needs to be done to prevent separation by supporting families and to develop better care alternatives when separation is inevitable.

Formation of the Better Care Network

Recognizing the urgent need for concerted action, UNICEF, the Displaced Children and Orphans Fund (DCOF) and the Africa Bureau for Sustainable Development of USAID, and Save the Children UK, came together to form the Better Care Network (BCN) in 2003. This decision was influenced by the Stockholm Conference on Residential Care in May 2003 and the position paper presented there by the Save the Children Alliance, "A Last Resort: The Growing Concern About Children in Residential Care," and by workshops on better care issues in Africa and the United States. During its first two years, BCN existed as a loose affiliation of organizations exchanging information through a growing listserve. As the listserve grew, and more information was shared via the network, the organizations mentioned above, together with CARE and the Hope for African Children Initiative (HACI), agreed that BCN served a vital role, and should expand its scope through the creation of a formal secretariat to support its work. Each organization agreed to contribute resources to strengthen BCN and to serve on its steering committee. In August 2005, BCN's secretariat was established. The secretariat is based at UNICEF headquarters and operates with the guidance and direction of the steering committee. In 2007, two more steering committee members joind BCN: Bernard van leer Foundation; and Firelight Foundation.

Advisory Group

Steering Committee | Advisory Group

In January, 2006, the Better Care Network had its first Advisory Group meeting in London. The Advisory Group is made up of individuals from national and international NGO's, academic institutions, international organizations, government ministries, and independent consultants, all of whom have extensive experience in issues around care and support for vulnerable children and families. Currently, there are 53 members, 37 of which took part in the first meeting. The Advisory Group is regionally balanced, and members do not pay fees.

It was agreed at the first meeting that the Advisory Group will:

Advise on strategic priorities and workplans of the Better Care Network secretariat;

Over 60 million children have lost one or both parents throughout the world due to different causes.  The HIV/AIDS pandemic is adding significantly to this number.

We know that children need and have a right to be cared for by their parents and to grow up in a family environment as much as possible.  This has been recognized through years of experience and research as well as formally recognized under national and international laws.  In many countries, however, few or no mechanisms exist to ensure the most appropriate placements, encourage and support guardianship and adoption arrangements, and provide support and monitoring for foster families.  Much needs to be done to prevent separation by supporting families and to develop better care alternatives when separation is inevitable.  National and international actors need to establish and enforce appropriate legal standards to ensure the safety, well-being, and healthy development of children placed in care, including continued efforts towards reunification and permanency.

Establishment and Expansion of the Better Care Network

Recognizing the urgent need for concerted action, UNICEF, the Displaced Children and Orphans Fund (DCOF) and the Africa Bureau for Sustainable Development of USAID, and Save the Children UK, came together to form the Better Care Network (BCN) in 2003.  This decision was influenced by the Stockholm Conference on Residential Care in May 2003 and the position paper presented there by the Save the Children Alliance, "A Last Resort: The Growing Concern About Children in Residential Care," and by workshops on better care issues in Africa and the United States.  During its first two years, BCN existed as a loose affiliation of organizations exchanging information through a growing listserve.  As the listserve grew, and more information was shared via the network, the organizations mentioned above, together with CARE and the Hope for African Children Initiative (HACI), agreed that BCN served a vital role, and should expand its scope through the creation of a formal secretariat to support its work.  Each organization agreed to contribute resources to strengthen BCN and to serve on its steering committee.  In August 2005, BCN's secretariat was established.  The secretariat is based at UNICEF headquarters and operates with the guidance and direction of the steering committee, which meets once a year.

The Nordic Adoption Council (NAC) is an association of adoption organizations in the Nordic countries. Its purpose is to work for good conditions for international adoptions in the Nordic countries. Its work must be based on the fundamental principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child of 1989 and the Hague Convention of 1993 on the Protection of Children and on Cooperation in International Adoptions. The work of the NAC is led by a board that is elected/appointed for a 2-year period. The Board of Directors consists of an elected chairman, a nominated representative from each of the five Nordic countries and any. an additional member. During the current parliamentary term, the extra member is a representative of Adoption and Society, while as a member of DanAdopt's Board of Directors, I have been appointed to take care of the Danish organizations' interest in the Nordic adoption cooperation.

At the NAC Board we have for some time had the EU's position on international adoptions on the agenda. This is mainly due to the entire process of adoptions of children from Bulgaria and Romania during the period up to these two countries' accession to the EU. As you know, this process resulted in the fact that there are now virtually hermetically closed off for adoptions from the 2 countries. It is also a fact that this result is directly linked to the two countries' accession negotiations with the EU. But does this indicate that the EU has a hostile attitude towards international adoptions? That is what we have set out to investigate.

We start by going back to the autumn of 2005, when the NAC was represented at a conference in The Hague, the purpose of which was to discuss the practical application of the above-mentioned Hague Convention in both donor and recipient countries. Here, a representative of the European Union presented the Commission's views, and we were, to say the least, surprised. expressed that international adoption must be seen as the last resort. This was quite contrary to the way we think and work and which we believe is the correct interpretation of the Hague Convention, namely that it is in the best interests of the child to become part of a family rather than to be placed in an institution. in his home country.

Subsequently, we have encountered similar views from several sides of the EU system, including also from an English member of the European Parliament, Baroness Emma Nicholson, who has been very involved in the process of the accession negotiations with Bulgaria and (in particular) Romania. Recently, the EU Commission has responded to a question from the Danish authorities stating, inter alia, that international adoption can only come about if the child in his home country cannot be appropriately taken care of. Later in the reply, it is stated that in Romania and Bulgaria, adequate care is generally present, which is why the Hague Convention does not oblige the 2 countries to release children for international adoption. The Swedish authorities have received the reply from Brussels that no EU decision on international adoptions exists. Confused?

The picture that draws from the purely legal side of the case is a bit complicated. Simply put, the reasoning is based on an interpretation of the above two conventions and their mutual ranking. That discussion will hardly ever solve the problem.

(first published in English by Amici dei Bambini)

További cikkek a kategóriában: Articles in English

2007. március 15.

"CHILDREN PROTECTED ONLY ON PAPER AWAIT REAL PROTECTION"

By Pierre Poupard

ISS - Adoption THE SEARCH OF ORIGINS 

Above the toilet, in the powder room at John D. Negroponte's house, a framed political cartoon hangs at eye level. In the cartoon, President Bush is congratulating Negroponte on his job as intelligence czar. Near the president, advisers stand holding memos marked "WMD" and "North Korea." They're blowing bubbles, wearing a dunce cap and a beanie.

Bush: "John, you're now in charge of all my administration's intelligence."

Negroponte: "And where would that be?"

Now, less than two years after becoming the nation's first director of national intelligence, Negroponte is leaving. Tomorrow, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will convene hearings on his nomination as deputy secretary of state. From the outside, it seems like an unusual move, a demotion. Negroponte, 67, is stepping down from a Cabinet-level position as the president's top intelligence adviser and coordinator for all 16 U.S. intelligence services to become the No. 2 at State.

But from the inside of Negroponte's Tuscan, mustard-colored Washington home, the mystery of his career move dissipates with the steam from a pot of Earl Grey tea.