Recognizing that Children with Disabilities are Children First 
 

A Study on the Situation of Care and Protection of Children with Disabilities in India

Latest investigations found that 15 babies had been sent to Singapore “under the guise of adoption”, with each sold for around S$20,000 (US$16,000).

JAKARTA: The Indonesian National Police (Polri) are working with their counterpart in Singapore to investigate an alleged cross-border baby-trafficking syndicate based in West Java, in which three Singaporeans are suspected to be involved.

The syndicate’s operations allegedly spanned the areas of Bandung, Jakarta, Pontianak in West Kalimantan as well as Singapore, according to Untung Widyatmoko, secretary of Interpol's National Central Bureau (NCB) in Indonesia. 

“We are tracing the trafficking of these babies all the way abroad,” Untung was quoted in a Polri statement that was updated on Monday (Sep 22). 

Oslo, September 23, 2025 – Korean adoptee Uma Feed delivered a formal notice of intent to sue the Norwegian state through a dramatic performance art piece at the Ministry of Children and Families today. Feed alleges her international adoption was illegal and demands both declaratory judgment and compensatory damages.

She alleges that the Norwegian state violated her rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which protects the right to private and family life. She also claims that Norwegian authorities contributed to her being subjected to human trafficking in violation of Article 4 of the ECHR.

The case references a September 28, 2022 joint statement on illegal intercountry adoptions from UN committees, including Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED), which established that illegal adoptions violates numerous international human rights laws, and can constitute human trafficking. Additional supporting arguments cite the Draft Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts.

The legal notice was delivered through a performance piece titled “ARV” (Norwegian for Heritage/Legacy), performed by Feed herself at the ministry’s reception. The performance referenced the tragic deaths of other international adoptees in Norway, including victims of drowning, shooting, and domestic violence by adoptive parents.

“These three fates are not mine, they belong to other international adoptees who had to pay with their lives,” Feed stated in her performance. “The dead cannot return, but from today we adoptees will no longer carry them! Norwegian State! The notice has been given – from today it is you who must carry them.”

A landmark ruling allows an adoptee to regain his or her biological surname without revoking the adoption.

Olmo, a man adopted in Bilbao in 1972, has successfully had a Spanish court recognize his right to change his adopted surnames to those of his biological parents. This favorable ruling, according to Olmo, "corrects forced adoptive identification without eliminating adoption." It is the first time a court has ruled on a claim by an adoptee seeking the restoration of his identity.

The recent ruling—still pending enforcement—issued in May 2025 by the Provincial Court of Navarre, sets a historic precedent by recognizing the right of an adopted person to be legally identified by their biological parentage, thus disassociating themselves from the adoptive identity attributed to them, without this or any other ruling in itself annulling the adoption. This decision represents a profound change in the interpretation of the rights of adopted persons. It establishes that the identity of origin, at the request of the interested party, prevails over the legal construction derived from the adoption.

But let's take it one step at a time.

The representation of the ideal adoption is sometimes purely aesthetic; but so is any family that boasts of a lack of imperfection within its core.

In an office memorandum issued last week, the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) pointed to Rule 23(3) of the Juvenile Justice Rules and point 4(1) of the Model Foster Care Guidelines, which states that only children aged six years and above are eligible for placement in foster care, under circumstances defined in Rule 44 of the Act

The government has clarified that children aged below six are not eligible for placement in foster care, following concerns over differing interpretations of the new regulations.

In an office memorandum issued last week, the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) pointed to Rule 23(3) of the Juvenile Justice Rules and point 4(1) of the Model Foster Care Guidelines, which states that only children aged six years and above are eligible for placement in foster care, under circumstances defined in Rule 44 of the Act.

The statutory body noted that some agencies had raised issues regarding the interpretation of the regulations, prompting the clarification.

The Delhi High Court also said the question of how a minor child came to the custody of the alleged adoptive parents was not inquired into.

The Delhi High Court, while upholding the conviction of adoptive parents accused of subjecting a six years old girl to physical abuse and sexual assault, observed that is the duty of the investigating agency to ensure that every aspect of a case, particularly one relating to trafficking or unlawful custody, was investigated and placed before the Court.

The Bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma observed, “While it is true that Courts cannot direct the manner of investigation, they nevertheless bear the responsibility to point out glaring lapses where essential aspects of a heinous crime are ignored. It is the duty of the investigating agency to ensure that every aspect of a case, particularly one relating to trafficking or unlawful custody, is investigated and placed before the Court. This responsibility assumes even greater significance in cases involving children, who are the most vulnerable members of society and deserve the highest degree of protection under law. The present case, therefore, should have been treated initially by the investigating agency, not only as one involving offences of rape/sexual assault and hurt/physical assault but also as one involving grave suspicions of human trafficking or illegal custody.”

Advocate Arjun Malik represented the Petitioner, while Advocate Naresh Kumar Chahar represented the Respondent.

Case Brief

When Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize she said,"With this money I will build homes for the poor because it is in the home that love begins ". Perhaps, for most of us who surf the net, having a home is something we take for granted. It is impossible for us to imagine what life is like for children who do not have homes, or families, or anyone in the world to love or look after them.

A home can only be a dream for children who, as a result of wars or disasters, lose everything in life including their family.

It may surprise you to know, as you read this, that every 30 seconds a child, somewhere, is being orphaned as a result of war or disaster and will face a life without hope, having to survive by begging, crime, prostitution and violence.

"So what?" You might ask. "There is nothing I can do about it." But if you could, would you?

If we make it really easy for you to give a dream home to children such as these to give them real hope for the future, will you?

Names remain blackened - unlike in 2013 when all names were exposes. 

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The historical ensemble near the Arc de Triomphe, designed 125 years ago by the Cantacuzino family to provide shelter for abandoned children and later transformed by the communist regime into an orphanage, will be renamed by the District 1 City Hall "Ecaterina's Cradle".

This will become a campus with the role of a socio-educational hub, structured into two distinct areas: one with open access to the public, intended for interaction and community activities, and another dedicated to therapy and support for vulnerable children and their families.

The initiative is part of a framework cooperation agreement concluded between the District 1 City Hall and the Hope and Homes for Children (HHC) Foundation, valid for a period of five years and approved by the Local Council on May 29.

"Ecaterina's Cradle" - a history marked by the suffering of abandoned children and philanthropy

Founded in 1897 by Irina Cantacuzino in memory of her kidnapped daughter Ecaterina, the ensemble carries the message of an illustration “from a mother without children, for children without a mother”. The main building, designed by architect Ion D. Berindey, is a monument of neo-Romanian architecture, where over time, thousands of orphaned children were cared for, the institution receiving international recognition, including in Geneva in 1927. After 1989, used as a children's institution, the building remained in use until 2003. Currently, it houses offices of the DGASPC and the Civil Status Directorate, which will, however, be relocated to fully return this space to the children and the community .