The Council on General Affairs and Policy (CGAP) of the HCCH met from 7 to 10 March 2023. The meeting was attended by over 450 participants, representing 80 HCCH Members, 8 non-Member States, 7 intergovernmental organizations, 9 international non-governmental organizations, and members of the Permanent Bureau. The Conclusions & Decisions adopted by CGAP are now available in English and French.

In terms of work relating to possible new legislative instruments, CGAP mandated the establishment of a Working Group on private international law (PIL) matters related to legal parentage generally, including legal parentage resulting from an international surrogacy arrangement. Noting progress made by the Working Group on matters related to jurisdiction in transnational civil or commercial litigation in the development of provisions for a draft Convention, CGAP invited the convening of two further Working Group meetings. It also supported further exploratory work on the PIL implications of the digital economy, including, among other, by mandating the conduct of a study on the PIL implications of CBDCs and by endorsing the launch of the HCCH-UNIDROIT Project on Law Applicable to Cross-Border Holdings and Transfers of Digital Assets and Tokens. Across several projects, CGAP welcomed the cooperation with UNCITRAL, UNIDROIT, and WIPO, including with respect to work in the areas of digital economy, insolvency proceedings and intellectual property.

In relation to post-Convention work, CGAP approved the Toolkit to Prevent and Address Illicit Practices on Intercountry Adoption and the Model Forms for use under the 1993 Adoption Convention, mandated the development of a Template for Country Fact Sheets on available post-adoption services relating to search for origins, and mandated the establishment of a Working Group on financial aspects of intercountry adoption. CGAP also agreed upon the extension of the scope of the International Hague Network of Judges (IHNJ) to matters relating to the 2000 Protection of Adults Convention. CGAP endorsed the Conclusions & Recommendations of the recent meetings of the Special Commissions (SCs) on the practical operation of the 1993 Adoption, 2000 Protection of Adults, and 2007 Child Support Conventions, and welcomed the preparations for the upcoming meetings of the SCs on the practical operation of the 1980 Child Abduction and 1996 Child Protection Conventions, to be held in the second half of 2023, and on the practical operation of the 1965 Service, 1970 Evidence and 1980 Access to Justice Conventions. Finally, CGAP mandated the PB to continue work, in partnership with relevant subject-matter experts, and subject to available resources, to study the 2006 Securities Convention and digital developments in respect of securities markets; the interpretation of analogous institutions for the purpose of Article 2 of the 1985 Trusts Convention; and, in relation to the 2015 Choice of Law Principles, the feasibility, desirability and necessity of developing guidance on applicable law in international contracts providing protection to weaker parties.

From a good governance perspective, CGAP approved the HCCH Strategic Plan for 2023-2028. It also decided to adopt Spanish as an official language of the HCCH as of 1 July 2024. Finally, CGAP decided to recommend Dr Christophe Bernasconi to the Netherlands Standing Government Committee on Private International Law for the position of Secretary General of the HCCH for another five-year mandate.

Enforcement Directorate officials told Press Trust of India that the searches are tied to a cheating case registered against PC Singh, bishop of the CNI's Jabalpur Diocese.

Nagpur, Maharashtra:

The Enforcement Directorate carried out searches at 11 locations across India, including the Nagpur office of the Church of North India (CNI), in connection with a case registered in Bhopal, a probe agency official said on Wednesday.

Enforcement Directorate officials told Press Trust of India that the searches are tied to a cheating case registered against PC Singh, bishop of the CNI's Jabalpur Diocese.

The office of CNI, a Protestant denomination, located in the Sadar area in the city is being searched, an official said.

The minor was adopted by accused Ajay Bhati's wife Anjana alias Sanjana, police said, adding that it is alleged that the accused sexually assaulted her on several occasions.

Ghaziabad (UP): A man was on Tuesday arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting and killing his four-year-old adopted daughter in Ghaziabad, police said.

The minor was adopted by accused Ajay Bhati's wife Anjana alias Sanjana, police said, adding that it is alleged that the accused sexually assaulted her on several occasions.

On March 11, the girl told Bhati that she would narrate her ordeal to Sanjana, following which, he slapped her and later, strangled her to death, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Trans Hindan, Vivek Chandra Yadav said.

He then cooked up a story that the girl had gone missing after which police registered an FIR on March 11.

We are always looking for people who want to help Better Care Network Netherlands further. Do you want to stand up for children who have to deal with alternative care abroad? Do you have a heart for children, combined with a passion for development cooperation? The urge to be of significance and to take Better Care Network Netherlands further? Then the position of secretary at Better Care Network Netherlands might be something for you.

Description

Better Care Network Nederland (BCNN) is not a foundation, but a network of organizations and individuals who are actively involved with children without parental care in low- and middle-income countries. Through cooperation, BCNN wants to improve the help to children abroad without good parental care. The network is supported by a coordinator. Decision-making takes place in the steering group consisting of representatives of all member organisations. The secretary supports the coordinator in taking care of the organization of the network and participates in meetings of the steering group and working groups.

Most important tasks

- You are responsible for general incoming mail (physical and digital) via the secretariat and proper handling thereof.

Italy legalised same-sex civil unions in 2016, overriding opposition from Catholic and conservative groups, yet it fell short of giving them adoption rights, fearing that it would encourage surrogate pregnancies, which remain illegal

Milan: Italy’s right-wing government has told Milan’s city council to stop registering same-sex parents’ children, re-igniting a debate around Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s conservative agenda.

Italy legalised same-sex civil unions in 2016, overriding opposition from Catholic and conservative groups, yet it fell short of giving them adoption rights, fearing that it would encourage surrogate pregnancies, which remain illegal.

In the absence of clear legislation on the issue some courts have ruled in favour of allowing same-sex couples to adopt each others’ children, and mayors of some cities, including Milan, have registered surrogate births to same-sex couples.

Milan’s centre-left mayor Giuseppe Sala said on Monday he had received a letter from the interior ministry telling him to stop registering the children of same-sex couples.

Nicola Sturgeon will issue an official apology after 60,000 women were forced to give up their babies for adoption, the Daily Record understands.

The First Minister’s apology will be one of her last acts in office and is expected next week.

Tens of thousands of mums had their babies adopted simply because they were unmarried.

The coercion, covering the 1950s through to the 1970s, caused lasting heartache and campaigners have demanded an apology from the state.

Many of the mothers have died and will not hear the apology, which is expected to cover the mums, dads and children affected.

SINGAPORE – The foster parents of an eight-year-old girl, who was placed in their care shortly after her birth as both her biological parents were in prison, were allowed to adopt the child despite her natural father’s objections.

A Family Court judge decided to dispense with the biological father’s consent and grant the adoption to the foster parents after the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) assessed that the adoption would be in the child’s welfare.

The girl’s biological father, who was incarcerated for a drug-related offence at the time, had contested the adoption application.

In written grounds for his decision published on Saturday, District Judge Jason Gabriel Chiang said: “It was not an easy decision. I could clearly see the dedication of the applicants to the child and the earnestness of their application.

“At the same time, I also had great sympathy for the natural father’s position, and I further commend him on the strides he has already made for his recovery and his commitment to staying drug-free.

A sweet little boy, with stars in his eyes when he smiled. This is how a grieving mother describes her son Delias (2.5) in the Alkmaar court. Placed with foster parents, he died in April 2020 from severe head injuries. According to the Public Prosecution Service (OM), his foster mother brutally abused him. "You literally beat the life out of my child."

Two broken women faced each other in the court of Alkmaar on Tuesday. On the left is Delias' mother, who is crying about the big hole in her broken family. Right in front of her in the suspect's bench is the 47-year-old DR, a mother who may have to explain to her own child that mom has to go to prison for a long time.

When Delias was just in his mother's womb, there were doubts whether the family was ready for a third child. "When I knew it, I had to swallow hard. I have a troubled past and was already struggling to get by with two children," she explains.

Until she had a dream that made her know she was going to make it. "I dreamed about a turtle, which I picked up and then put back in a stream. He went forward with the current. For me a spiritual sign to go with the flow."

Signs of God

Waar kom ik vandaan? Een pleidooi voor transparantie in het adoptiesysteem - nieuws - Maastricht University (Where do I come from? A plea for transparency in the adoption system - news - Maastricht University)

Where do I come from? A plea for transparency in the adoption system

The ‘Afstammingscentrum’ (research centre of filiation) offers assistance for everyone in Belgium who has questions about their own filiation and kinship – when the legal kinship does not match the genetic kinship. The centre develops and gathers expertise, raises awareness and formulates policy recommendations on these issues. In practice, the centre often has to deal with ethical questions about adoption. Experts, such as Sophie Withaeckx, researcher at the Centre for Gender and Diversity at Maastricht University, help with answering these questions.

For and by target groups

Adoptees, donor-conceived people and metis of the former Belgian colonies have argued for years for their right to know where they come from. In 2019, the Flemish government approved their proposal for a research centre of filiation. The Flemish government opened the centre in 2021, and has subsidised it ever since. “The Afstammingscentrum was meant to exist for and by the target groups, so our steering group exists of members of our target groups and experts on our working topics to ensure that the centre remains on the right track,” Joyce Bex, one of the programme counselors at the Afstammingscentrum, explains.

A Polish woman who believes she could be Madeleine McCann has submitted samples for forensic testing to determine if she is the missing Brit.

Julia Faustyna, who also goes by Julia Wendell, has been claiming on Instagram and TikTok that she may be the child – who disappeared from a family holiday in Portugal in 2007 – due to similarities in their age and appearance.

She has amassed tens of thousands of followers on both platforms as a result, posting under the handle @iammadeleinemccann.

The 21-year-old has submitted samples for three different forensic examinations that will outline her DNA sequence, along with a 23andMe-style genetic test to establish her ancestry, private investigator Dr. Fia Johansson told RadarOnline.com.

“If the results come back that she’s British or from that area then we are going to continue our investigation into Madeleine McCann and communicate with the detectives in Portugal,” said Dr. Johansson, who relocated Wendell from Poland to a safe house in the United States after a series of death threats.