https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/f/f/ffa04da5-3b0b-4cd1-ace4-0eccfcc3f959/466DEFF127A1CDFA6998C46D609D30E0.04-17-2014-drc-adoption-letter.pdf

When a couple saw photographs of two boys from Congo, they felt an instant connection and knew they were meant to be a part of the family. But what they weren't prepared for was the long waiting period before finally bringing their sons home.

Adoption is a phenomenal process, enabling couples to complete their families and experience the everlasting joy of parenthood. But sometimes, the legal paperwork and overall process might take longer to complete than expected.

Generally, international adoptions might be more complex than domestic ones because they involve more than one government, caseworkers, and adoption agencies. Astonishingly, that didn't stop one couple from going the extra mile for their children.

THE GROVERS

Jennifer and James Grover from Utah had a family portrait unlike any other. They were happily married with four biological children and three adoptive kids. There was never a dull day in the Grover family, and every moment was filled with their kids' cackles.

To support the viability of intercountry adoption as an option for permanency for children in Finland, the Office of Children’s Issues and the U.S. Embassy in Helsinki sought information from the Finnish Central Authority regarding its legal requirements for the authorization of adoption service providers (ASP), pursuant to Article 12 of the Hague Adoption Convention (Convention).

Finland ratified the Convention on March 27, 1997, and it entered into force on July 1, 1997.

Finnish law requires U.S. ASPs be authorized by the Finnish Adoption Board.

ASPs with questions about the information below or about pursuing authorization in Finland should contact the Finnish Adoption Board, National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira), P.O. BOX 43, FI-00521, Helsinki, Finland

Phone: +358 295 209 111

The ASBL Tumaini (which means hope in Swahili) was created in Namur to help children living in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is a question, first, of allowing children whose parents are deceased or unable to pay school fees to start their schooling and those who have dropped out of school to go back to school.

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The second objective of the association is the adoption of Congolese children abandoned following certain events, including war, in particular, and/or poverty. It was during a stay in her country of origin, the Democratic Republic of Congo, that Julienne Mpemba made a dramatic observation. In his neighborhood, many children do not go to school. In question: the financial impossibility for many of them to pay their school fees. “The Congolese State has disengaged from its obligations with regard to the care of teachers in public schools, a phenomenon which began in 1991, she indicates. The parents then assumed the responsibility of taking the place of the Congolese State by taking charge of the various costs demanded by the school administrators, of where the establishment of the system of support for teachers by parents. This system takes the form of the payment of a premium which varies according to the schools. In recent years, the Congolese state has made considerable efforts. But, in spite of an important intervention of the Government in the sector of education, one notes that many infrastructures are dilapidated, the school material misses, the number of teachers is insufficient”. More than 12 million children (ie more than one child in two), and particularly orphans, still do not have access to school. The second observation made by Julienne is the large number of babies and children abandoned, either because they are orphans, or because they are sick, or because of the poverty in which their parents live. Thus in June 2008, Julienne and eight other volunteers founded the association. The first objective is to help and encourage orphaned and/or poor children in the Congo to continue their studies, and allow them to flourish both physically and intellectually. The association also intervenes in the event of the illness of sponsored children and can extend support activities to parents and families through the micro-credit system. To help them in this task, you can sponsor the studies of a child, become a member of the association or provide financial assistance. In order to raise funds for Congolese children, Tumaini organizes this August 29 a show by Pie Tshibanda "I am not a wizard" at the Salle André Guisset in Namur. Julienne: 0477/88.58.41. www.tumaini.be.

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Main defendant in the case of alleged fraud in the adoption of Congolese children, the Belgian-Congolese lawyer, Julienne Mpemba, delivers, for the first time, her version of the facts to a media, a few days after her dismissal in correctional ( criminal court) by the Dinant Council Chamber. For her, it is a completely fabricated affair, because there has never been any theft of children and the investigation has never proven the slightest theft of children.

Le Courrier de Kinshasa: You are the main defendant in a case of alleged theft of children in Congo to have them adopted in Belgium and you have just been referred to the correctional court, therefore before a criminal court. Could you summarize the substance of this case for us?

Julienne Mpemba : First, I deny all the charges against me and I reject them altogether. There have never been any child thefts. Indeed, I have just been returned to correctional in this case where there were ten accused. At the level of the rules of procedure, my lawyers and I had seen fit not to fight at the level of the Council Chamber. I was impatiently awaiting a referral to corrections, because I want to go and explain myself to the trial judge. I was therefore not surprised by this referral to correctional, given that I never asked for the case to be dismissed. My strategy was not to fight in front of the Council Chamber in order not to reveal my defense strategy.

LCK: You reject the charges, but what are the reasons for which you are being prosecuted?

JM: If I have to lay out all the reasons, we could spend 48 hours discussing. I am currently in the process of writing a book on this case, in particular on the genesis of this assembly and the way in which all my rights were disregarded. There was never any child theft and the investigation never proved that there was child theft.

Abstract

In their article on ‘Investigating historical abuses’ Yannick Balk, Georg Frerks and Beatrice de Graaf (2022) present an applied history of intercountry adoption to the Netherlands over the past 70 years and conclude that a moratorium on intercountry adoption is necessary because of the many adoption abuses. In this paper we comment on their aims, methods, results, and conclusions. Applied historical analysis without considering the numerous empirical studies on the effects of (de-)institutionalization is problematic if the application is to impact policy. Furthermore, using inaccessible archival material and opaque triangulation hinders replication. An estimate of the overall frequency of adoption abuses is absent. Any adoption abuse is a serious violation of children’s rights and needs to be addressed. However, we argue that their findings do not necessitate the recommendation to (temporarily) stop intercountry adoption at the expense of children in institutions for whom intercountry adoption would be the last resort.

Keywords: international adoption; abuses; institutionalization; policy; translational research; Dutch Committee Investigating Intercountry Adoption (CIIA)

1 Introduction

A recent estimate of numbers of children left in institutions worldwide was estimated in 2020 to be 7.5 million.1 The number of children who became orphans during the COVID-19 pandemic is estimated to be around 5 million since 2020, and still counting.2 In many cases the wider social network will take care of these children, but many others run the risk of ending on the street or in institutional care. The recent war raging in Ukraine might add to these numbers.3 From our recent meta-analyses commissioned by The Lancet Psychiatry, covering more than 300 studies in more than 60 countries across 70 years, we had to conclude that institutional care has a devastating impact on children in all developmental domains, ranging from physical and brain growth to socio-emotional development.4

Paying an official visit to Brussels Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Director for EU Affairs Ambassador Faruk Kaymakc? attended the 79th Türkiye-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) Meeting and held a string of meetings with high level EU Officials between 16-18 March 2022.

On the first day of the Brussels programme, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Director for EU Affairs Ambassador Faruk Kaymakc? held meetings with Oliver Varhelyi, EU Commission Neighborhood and Enlargement Commissioner, Mariya Gabriel, EU Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth and Nacho Sanchez Amor, the European Parliament Türkiye Rapporteur.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Director for EU Affairs Ambassador Faruk Kaymakc? also came together with Ylva Johansson and European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Simon Mordue, Chief Foreign Policy Advisor to the President of the European Council Charles Michel, Themis Christophidou, European Commission Director-General for Education, Youth, Sports and Culture, Charles Fries, Deputy Secretary-General in charge of the Common Security and Defence Policy and Crisis Response,

On the last day of the programme Deputy Minister Ambassador Kaymakc? came together with Marie Arena, European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights Chair and Fernando Andresen Guimaraes, Diplomatic Advisor in the cabinet of President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

Danish Korean Rights Group

CVR number 43196928

Start date 13/04 - 2022

Address c/o Peter Møller

C.F. Richs Vej 105A, 2nd tv.

Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of European Union Member States Endorse EU Enlargement and Opening of First Negotiation Chapters with Serbia

European Integration Committee Chairman Aleksandar Senic and Committee members Dusica Stojkovic and Katarina Susnjar took part in the 54th meeting of the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC), in Luxembourg, 29 November – 1 December, organised in the context of the parliamentary dimension of the Luxembourg presidency of the EU Council.

One of the key topics of the meeting was the EU enlargement policy. The member states spoke about the historical success of EU enlargement which had united and ensured the stability and progress of the old continent. They commended the support the European Commission provides to the candidate countries to help them meet the membership criteria and the progress of the Western Balkan countries in the stabilisation and association process. Simon Mordue of the EC Directorate General for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, said that in the last year Serbia had achieved notable progress in its economic reform, rule of law and fight against corruption, and the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina and announced the opening of chapters 35 and 32 in December, at the international conference.

The Chair of the German Parliament’s Committee on the Affairs of the European Union, Gunther Krichbaum restated that the Western Balkan countries have a clear prospect of EU membership and informed the participants that the Bundestag green-lighted and recommended the opening of the first negotiation chapters with Serbia. He said that the reforms belong to the candidate country and that they are in the interest of the Serbian citizens. The quality of the negotiation is much more important than the number of opened chapters which is not in itself a measure of success. Speaking of Serbia he said that he agreed with the EC director and that chapters 35 and 32 would be opened in December, soon to be followed, in the first quarter of 2016, by chapters 23 and 24. Krichbaum said it is possible that Serbia’s membership talks will pick up speed after the opening of the first chapters, because a lot of time has passed and Serbia has in the meantime actively conducted reforms and prepared for the other negotiation chapters. He said he had a great deal of trust in Serbia, its institutions and the ongoing reform process.

European Integration Committee Chairman Aleksandar Senic emphasised the importance of support and encouragement for the European prospects of all the Western Balkan countries, adding that he was sure all the obstacles on Serbia’s path to opening the first chapters by the end of the year have been removed and that all the EU member states would support the efforts of the Serbian institutions by endorsing the opening of the negotiating chapters at the coming international conference. Senic opined that the enlargement process remains crucial for the momentum of the reforms and the future of the Western Balkan countries, well-being and stability in the region, and, he believes, the accession talks have the same kind of priority for the European Union as before: they continue in the same spirit with the same dedication, and the EU member states will continue to actively support Serbia and the countries of the region in their preparations for accession.

From 2012, the French Community of Belgium launched an adoption program with Congo. Risky bet in a country that has no census of its population and where corruption is endemic? No doubt, but solid guarantees were given. Belgian legislation among the most demanding in Europe, preparation missions which gave full satisfaction, a local partner, the non-profit organization "Tumaini", directed by a Belgian-Congolese lawyer (Julienne Mpemba) and chaired by an international reference in the world filiation (Géraldine Mathieu, University of Namur). The experience will prove catastrophic. As revealed in 2017 Het Laatste Nieuws, four children out of the last 12 to arrive in Belgium are said to be “stolen” from their families, and a fifth is said to have been promised to two families. For two years, the French Community was unable to take the measure of the debacle which was announced and supporting until the end the financial requests of Tumaini.

Médor investigated the case of Simon, a young Congolese promised to an American family and a Belgian family. It sheds a harsh light on Tumaini's practices.

Monday, October 5, 2015. Around 3 p.m. Somewhere in Hainaut. Sylvie Durant receives a call. This is the Belgian embassy in Kinshasa (DR Congo). Can she come the next day to Zaventem airport? At 5 a.m.? His son Simon arrives. Her interlocutor, the Ambassador in person, insists: she must not tell anyone. Not even the French Community.

Tuesday, October 6, 5 a.m., in Zaventem. Simon is snuggled up in the arms of an embassy employee. Sylvie and her companion Pierre take away the puny kid.

The same day, the administration of the French Community, informed late on of Simon's arrival, asks Sylvie and Pierre not to say anything. The next day, the office of socialist minister Rachid Madrane (in charge of adoption at the Wallonia-Brussels Federation), through the voice of his chief of staff Eric Mercenier, invites "a certain discretion". Why ? 11 adopted children are still at the orphanage and talking could “compromise the efforts undertaken by the Belgian authorities” to bring them back. There would however be things to “say”: on his arrival, Simon weighs 8 kilos at 2.5 years old. He was undernourished and risks lifelong sequelae.