From a slap in the face to hope for improvement: the fact that the adoption of children from abroad will soon only be possible through a government organization has caused mixed reactions.

Patrick Noordoven prepares a glass of water. He needs that when he talks about the suffering his adoption entailed. He was born in Brazil and grew up in the Netherlands after an illegal adoption in the 1980s. Lied against the state, which ignored adoption offenses like his and allowed, among other things, birth certificates to be forged, making it nearly impossible for biological trace family. When Patrick looks in the mirror, he wonders: who am I anyway?

That the government, which did nothing to treat him and other children decently, is now going to facilitate foreign adoptions through a special government agency, is a slap in the face. Foreign adoptions were suspended last February, after an extremely critical report by a committee led by Tjibbe Joustra. The committee concluded that too many abuses had taken place and that they occur 'to this day'. To continue would be irresponsible. Joustra advised to stop with foreign adoptions altogether.

The right to a child does not exist. The right to identity does

Patrick Noordoven

Adoption from abroad Adoptions from abroad were abruptly stopped in February 2021, but now seem to be possible again. There are still many questions from adoption agencies and adoptive parents.

Adoption agencies and adoptive parents are delighted that intercountry adoptions are once again possible. They are curious about the exact details of the new system.

They say that in a response to the plan leaked through the AD on Friday morning that all intercountry adoptions should go through a government agency in the future. The role of the intermediary agencies would then be reduced. The cabinet will decide on Friday afternoon on the proposal from Minister Franc Weerwind (Legal Protection, D66), the official announcement will follow on Monday. The plan will then also be discussed with the organizations involved and more details should become clear.

Adoptions from abroad were abruptly stopped in February 2021 after an advice from the Intercountry Adoption Investigation Committee led by Tjibbe Joustra – ongoing adoptions could be completed. The commission presented an investigation into adoption abuses from Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka in the years 1967 to 1998. Evidence was found of gross abuses, such as child trafficking, falsification of documents and transferring children to other countries under false pretenses. The Netherlands. The committee also 'screened' eighteen other countries and detected signals of the same abuses, including signals from after 1998.

Stories about abuses

The adoption ban for children from abroad is going to disappear, it became clear today . However, it remains to be seen what exactly this will mean for waiting candidate parents in the Netherlands.

There is no sign of relief with Dirk Jan and Christiaan. They have wanted to adopt a child from the United States for three years, but that was not possible due to the corona virus and an adoption stop of more than a year. "We do not yet know very well what effect this decision will have," says Dirk Jan.

Separate government organization

What is already clear is that there will be a separate government organization that will take the place of the current employment agencies. The four bureaus that now have a permit will be merged into that organization and there will be stricter supervision. The Hague sources confirmed a report about this in the AD .

This should prevent abuses from the past. In a report on this by the Joustra Committee, it was recommended to stop adopting from abroad completely, but the cabinet is not going along with that.

October 13, 2014, Moscow. — For the 9th time Aeroflot co-organized Train of Hope charity program event created by Radio Russia within the social project Child Question. The main goal is to draw public attention to the problem of orphanage and to help children left without parental care to find a new family.

This time the charity program goes to Simferopol and Sevastopol. Eight families from different parts of Russia who are planning to adopt or take custody of a child have become members of the Crimean voyage Train of Hope.

Aeroflot offered 30 free tickets to the future adoptive parents on the route Moscow — Simferopol and 35 free tickets on the route Simferopol — Moscow.

Professors from foster parents Moscow schools will consult their Crimean colleagues on details of Russian legislation and arrange seminars for childcare authorities.

The Child Question team with the assistance of psychologists, doctors and lawyers will provide help to the potential parents. Such support is usually provided to the members of each Train of Hope trip, but this time it is even more important, because parents are coming for the children older than 5 years, brothers and sisters, children with the health problems — those for whom it’s especially complicated to find a new family.

Ieder kind heeft het recht om te weten van wie het afstamt. Dit staat in het internationale kinderrechtenverdrag. Soms weet een kind niet van wie het afstamt, bijvoorbeeld na adoptie of draagmoederschap. Kinderen die meer willen weten over hun identiteit en afkomst, kunnen terecht bij de Raad voor de Kinderbescherming.

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Meer te weten komen over je afstamming

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Project History and Roots

Wereldkinderen started the 'History and Roots' project in 2017 to collect available information.

Publications adoption

A report per country from which more than 200 children were adopted to the Netherlands describes the social, economic and cultural context at the time of the adoptions in the period 1970-2000.

Adoption file

Some cases have come to light following inquiries by child protection officials. A medical practitioner was involved in one case. For Sister Devarapalli, poverty is not the only cause. A campaign against orphanages and adoption centres run by Christian groups and foreign NGOs is also to blame.

Mumbai (AsiaNews) – Some women in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh have been forced to sell their babies due to poverty, an issue highlighted today, World Health Day.

Child protection officers have raised the alarm, citing the involvement of criminal gangs in this kind of traffic, The Hindu newspaper reported recently.

Two cases came to light in Eluru and Mangalagiri in the past few days.

In one, a three-day-old baby boy was exchanged at a private hospital in Aswaraopet, a village on the Andhra Pradesh-Telangana border.

In a significant ruling, the Aurangabad Bench of Bombay High Court has held that if a woman adopts a child after the death of her husband, then the adopted child cannot claim any share in the properties owned by the dead father as he cannot be considered the child of the late father [Rajesh Pawar vs Parwatibai Bende].

The child rights commissions of West Bengal, Rajasthan and Punjab joined the DCPCR on Wednesday at a conference, appealing to the Centre to not notify the date of enforcement without restoring the cognisability of the offences.

Child rights panels of three states joined the Delhi Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) on Wednesday, appealing to the Union government to roll back an amendment in the Juvenile Justice Act that makes certain offences against children non-cognisable.

In 2021, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act-2015 was amended through Presidential assent. Among the amendments is a change in Section 86 (2) of the 2015 Act that says: “When an offence under this Act is punishable with imprisonment for a term of three years and above, but not more than seven years, then such an offence shall be cognisable, non-bailable and triable by a Magistrate of First class.” With the amendment, the offences of the said category shall be “non-cognisable and non-bailable”.

The date of enforcement of the amendment, however, has not been notified yet.

The child rights commissions of West Bengal, Rajasthan and Punjab joined the DCPCR on Wednesday at a conference, appealing to the Centre to not notify the date of enforcement without restoring the cognisability of the offences.

Children's Home Society and Lutheran Social Service say the organization has received many calls from folks inquiring about taking in Ukrainian children.

ST PAUL, Minn. — Reactions to what's happening in Ukraine from an adoption agency's point of view are not unique.

"During times of disaster and war and famine, there's a lot of people who have, like you said, good natured hearts, willingness to help out and are calling us to see if there's a need for adoption in terms of the children who are in the Ukraine," said Heidi Wiste, the president of Children's Home Society and the vice president of adoption for Lutheran Social Service.

Wiste said ever since war broke out in Ukraine, they've received calls.

"We see families really wanting to do well, wanting to reach out and wanting to help, and what we're asking right now is that families understand that there's a lot of steps that have to happen," Wiste explained. "We know children have been displaced from family members, possibly separated to seek safety and we want to make sure time allows for Ukraine to determine where the children are at, families, supporting reunification with family that exists over there."