JCICS Board Meeting - US inside EP

JCICS was part of a meeting yesterday with three congressional offices, two from Kentucky and one from Illinois. Through a meeting with Chris Smith, they were referred to the Helsinki Commission, one of the largest Human Rights watch groups in the world, and a meeting has been set with them for 3pm today. Also discussed was the February 2004 letter from Pierre Poupard of UNICEF to the Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase as it directly contradicts the UNICEF statement from January 2004 that indicated international adoption is one viable form of child welfare. (See attachment to minutes.)

It was learned that there are several leaders in the U.S. that may be able to help influence the situation. Senator Landrieu is on the subcommittee for the U.N. and also serves on the appropriations committee which governs funding for UNICEF. Also, there are several EU parliamentarians from within the U.S. government that serve as direct liaisons. Tom Lundsford who works within the DOS is also a liaison.

A summit will be held between the European Union and President Bush in D.C. starting Monday. There will be a meeting between the EU officials and congressional leaders next Thursday, and For the Children (a pipeline advocacy group) is trying to get pending cases on the agenda as private comments.

DOS continues to help advocate for the pipeline cases as well. Maura Harty had a recent meeting with President Basescu, which led to the President writing a letter to the EU requesting permission to process the remaining pipeline cases.