Minister Lahbib refers to the Hague Adoption Convention, not the UNCRC

When everything else had been tried and failed, my wife said, "Why don't we adopt?" This began a complicated process full of bureaucratic hurdles and years of waiting that continues to this day.

Once, I thought, now's the time. That was about a year ago, on January 26, 2023, to be exact. There was an email in my inbox from Ms. Barth, an employee of the adoption agency Eltern-Kind-Brücke. I went over to my wife's study and said, "We have news from Thailand!" She asked, "Good news?"

Hard to say.

Ms. Barth wrote, "Thailand has given us some information on the current situation. Do you have a spare moment for a phone call in the next few days?"

The Family and Social Services Ministry has reported that the number of children under state protection is 14,761, while 9,981 children are in foster care and 19,689 children have been adopted as of February 2024.

The ministry has revealed that children make up 26 percent of the nation's population, with recent figures from 2023 indicating a gender-balanced composition of 10.8 million girls and 11.3 million boys.

Highlighting their commitment to child welfare, the ministry informed that 14,761 children are under their care, with 9,981 in foster care and 1,689 successfully adopted. Emphasizing the importance of family-oriented support, the ministry prioritizes services aimed at fostering psychological and social well-being among children, striving to cultivate self-confidence and self-sufficiency.

"Children in need of protection are primarily evaluated within the scope of Family Oriented Services. Foster Family and Adoption Services are carried out for children who are not supported by their families to live in a family environment," the ministry said in the written statement.

Efforts to provide children with stable family environments extend to offering social and economic support to families in need. In February, the ministry disbursed 1.7 billion Turkish Liras ($52.5 million) in support payments to these families, along with an allocation of 186 million liras ($5.7 million) to foster families responsible for children under the ministry's guardianship.

Flor and Jazmin were among many children separated from their parents during El Salvador's civil war, and put up for adoption in the US and Europe. Now, nearly 40 years later, they and many others are searching for their birth families. But has anyone been searching for them?

Flor Wolman has a small scar the size of a quarter dollar coin on the left side of her stomach. Some of the girls at her school in the US used to tease her that it looked like a second belly button.

It's actually a gunshot wound she received when she was a little girl, and it still hurts, says Flor. It's also a constant and painful reminder of her harrowing family history.

"I just want to know what happened, why was I separated from my parents," the 42-year-old says. "And what the scar had to do with my adoption".

She was born Flor de Luz Acosta in 1979 in San Francisco Lempa, a tiny settlement of adobe houses and infertile hillsides in northern El Salvador. It was at the start of the country's bloody civil war. The rugged mountainous region where her family lived was the scene of fierce fighting between Marxist rebels and the US-backed military. Civilians caught in the middle were often regarded as rebel supporters.

When everything else had been tried and failed, my wife said: Why don't we adopt? This was the beginning of a complicated process full of bureaucratic hurdles and years of waiting that continues to this day. The desire for a child became a never-ending story.

By Jochen-Martin Gutsch • 12.04.2024, 13:00 • from DER SPIEGEL 16/2024

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Maye, who was Darnell’s legal guardian, is charged with aggravated murder, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence in his death.

Maye, who was Darnell’s legal guardian, is charged with aggravated murder, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence in his death.

This is a timeline of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a United States government-run international development agency which describes itself as the world's premier development agency.[1]

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• 1Big picture
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• In short: Damning claims by an SA government whistleblower have been levelled against the way child protection authorities are removing newborns from their mothers at public hospitals.
• SA's Department for Child Protection removed more than 100 babies aged under one month in the last financial year.
• What's next? A review of SA Health policy is due to be handed down by the end of the year.

After hours in labour, a new mother finally hears a high-pitched wail.

She's overcome with joy, exhaustion and relief, as a midwife hands her a tiny newborn, healthy and crying.

But in a scene described by a South Australian government whistleblower, what happens next is anything but joyous.

As the new mum holds her seconds-old baby to her chest, police officers and security guards stand at the hospital's delivery-room door.

Last week, a study showed that the adoption of children from India between 1973 and 2002 was often without the consent of the biological parents. What does this mean to you?
Monika Pfaffinger: I am very concerned. Since I have been dealing with the topic for a long time, these study results are unfortunately no surprise. But the extent and regularity of the violations of the law, which the investigations of the individual files in particular have revealed, are shocking. This is all the more so because it is not only the practices in Switzerland that are riddled with such irregularities. The concept of irregularity is important to me.
About the person

Expert in family law
The legal scholar Monika Pfaffinger heads the expert group on international adoptions on behalf of the federal government. She has specialized in family and adoption law, among other things, and is a private lecturer at the University of Basel.
Why?
The legal framework that applied in the 1970s to the 1990s was different from today. The study on India found that the law was already being violated at the time. But there may now be aspects that are only illegal today. There were also practices that violated moral and ethical principles. In addition, the spectrum of actions worthy of criticism is very broad. All of this is covered by the term irregularity proposed by the expert group on international adoption.
As a result of the reporting on the study on India, an adoptive father got in touch. He has often been to India and is shocked by the conditions faced by children affected by poverty there. He referred to their extremely precarious living conditions and the possibility of leading a life in Switzerland through adoption. What do you say about that?
In the expert group, we talked for a long time about this narrative of a possibly better life. We came to the conclusion that the end does not justify the means. We must be able to guarantee in all cases that the children who are taken in here are not affected by child trafficking.
The adoptive father in question also said that the study results had given him sleepless nights. Although the authors prove that the authorities failed, their findings have aroused great fears in him that he himself had made a mistake. What advice do you have for families who are struggling with such tormenting questions?
I recommend that they seek support in this dispute. This was also addressed at the press conference. The state should guarantee and provide the necessary resources.
When asked the relevant question, however, the cantonal representatives appeared helpless. They were referred to the affected organizations or immediately given the floor.
The affected organization "Back to the Roots" has built up a great deal of expertise in the area of ​​tracing origins and supporting adopted children. However, it specializes in Sri Lanka and is mandated and financially equipped for this purpose. This is not enough. There are also responsible bodies in the cantons that can help with questions about international adoptions. However, I cannot judge how well prepared they are for this. Addressing the dark past must now be done as a priority, in a coordinated and timely manner.
How can it be ensured that illegal adoptions never happen again?
The expert group has only two options. Either Switzerland ends the practice of international adoptions or it needs far-reaching and comprehensive reforms. Until the appropriate measures are in place, a moratorium could come into effect. This is a well-known instrument. Only those adoption procedures that are very advanced could be completed. All others would be stopped.
What reforms do you consider essential?
There needs to be a well-founded selection of states with which Switzerland will cooperate in international adoptions in the future. There must be a relationship of trust with them and reliable evidence that everything is done in accordance with the rules. One possibility is that all countries of origin have signed the Hague Convention and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This would already lead to a reduction in the number of possible cooperation states. In addition, the current law must be adapted in various areas - for example, the recognition of adoptions made abroad. Institutional responsibility must also be reconsidered. A central office at the federal level would make sense given the small number of international adoptions. Another issue is how financial flows can be better controlled and regulated.

How much security does the Hague Adoption Convention, which came into force in Switzerland in 2003, provide?

We don't know that for sure.