TABLE OF CONTENTS 

EDITORIAL                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    2 

ACTORS IN INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION AND CROSS-BORDER CHILD PROTECTION                                                                                                       6 

ISS/IRC NEWS                                                                                                                                                                                                                              6 

BRIEFS                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          8 

Eight people who were adopted from Sri Lanka between 1983 and 1990 are appealing their case against the Dutch government. The court previously ruled that there were irregularities in these adoptions, but that the State is not liable.

The eight disagree. They refer to, among other things, the report of the Joustra committee from 2021. It states that the State was aware of structural abuses, but did not take responsibility and failed to meet obligations.

The eight Dutch people were all adopted through Stichting Flash. This agency, which was closed down in 2010, has been linked to abuses surrounding adoption on several occasions in the past. The government should have seen the signs of fraud and baby trafficking and the errors in files and should have intervened, their lawyer told the ANP news agency.

He clarifies what the errors are. Four of them were supposed to be half of a twin, but this turned out to be incorrect after DNA tests. Names, dates of birth and details of biological parents were also incorrect. As a result, the adoptees have incorrect details in their passports or do not know where their biological family is, says the lawyer.

The court previously ruled that these errors "are not so serious that the State should have recognized them." But the adoptees want the court to determine that the State is liable. Then they can get help in finding family members, changing their name or date of birth and the costs they incur in doing so. Such a ruling would provide satisfaction and recognition, the lawyer explains.

Merely Submitting Adoption Plea Wouldn't Confer Any Rights To Unilaterally Take Child's Custody Without Following Procedure: Madras HC

The Madras High Court has observed that merely submitting an application seeking adoption of a child would not confer any rights on the parties concerned to take custody of the child unilaterally without "scrupulously" following the due procedure.

A division bench of Justice SM Subramaniam and Justice M Jothiraman noted that the procedures contemplated under the relevant statutes have to be scrupulously followed and the committee constituted must assess the couple, including their mindset, capacity, family setup etc.

“Mere submission of an application seeking an adoption would not confer any right to take custody of a child unilaterally and declare the said child as an adopted daughter. Pertinently, the High Court cannot deliberate on these issues, since it involves the 'best interest of the child'. The assessment of the couple seeking adoption, their capacity, mind set, family setup, circumstances, all to be examined scrupulously by the committee constituted for the purpose of making such assessment. Therefore, the procedures as contemplated under the relevant statutes are to be scrupulously followed for the purpose of adoption of a child,” the court noted.

The bench was hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by a couple seeking the custody of a 1 ½-year-old child. The couple informed the court that they had been married for 20 years and since they had not been blessed with a child, they submitted an application seeking adoption in the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), Ministry of Women and Child Development.

Todd Bank, a trader by profession reached Dhanbad along with his sister and officials of the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) and completed the adoption process.

 

Dhanbad: A couple from Arizona, USA adopted a 15-month-old baby from Dhanbad in Jharkhand, officials said.

Todd Bank, a trader by profession reached Dhanbad along with his sister and officials of the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) and completed the adoption process. 

Bank's wife is a professor at Arizona University and could not travel to India as she is pregnant, officials said.
 

Child Welfare Committee (CWC) district chairman Uttam Mukherjee on Saturday said that the USA couple adopted the girl child through Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA).

The child was found abandoned in a bush along Govindpur-Dhanbad highway in 2023. She was admitted to Asarfi Hospital in a critical condition by a passerby. Mukherjee said that after getting information about it, he ensured her treatment and handed her over to Special Adoption Home Kolakushma.

"When no one came to claim the girl, CWC uploaded the information on the adoption portal," said Mukherjee.

Coincidentally the USA couple had also applied to the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) for a baby child. 

The central agency (CARA), after matching the application of Todd Bank with details on the portal, selected Dhanbad's baby child for him. 

The initiative involves the joint work of the Legal Medical Service, the Judiciary and Civil Society Organizations.

A Pilot Plan that will allow the creation of a methodology that will expedite and facilitate the meeting of families who are victims of irregular and illegal adoption processes in Chile , within the framework of the judicial processes that are underway, was announced on Monday by the Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Hernán Larraín; the Undersecretary of Human Rights, Lorena Recabarren; and the National Director of the Legal Medical Service, Gabriel Zamora; together with representatives of the NGO Nos Buscamos and the group “Hijos y Madres del Silencio”. The ceremony was attended by the deputy Ximena Ossandón.

With the objective of determining existing non-forensic procedures according to experience, technical and technological knowledge that can be used to search for possible relatives of people who are victims of irregular adoptions, whether or not reported to the courts (the Judiciary is investigating around 700 cases).

The initiative aims to contribute to two essential aspects: 1) reduce the difficulty that exists today in carrying out all kinds of procedures with a view to finding a family member who is living in another country, making it easier for those who live in remote places and with precarious means of contact to access a possible DNA sample collection; and 2) speed up and collaborate in both the computer and economic processes , since in addition to having zero cost, the Pilot Plan will provide support to victims in the process of searching for kinship.

This Pilot Plan will last for one year, during which time, through the experience of the NGO Nos Buscamos, compiling a database of more than 7 years of study, the traceability of victims' backgrounds, georeferencing information and constant contact with the global DNA bank, it will be an effective work to achieve family reunions.

The Office of Children’s Issues (CI) and the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa confirmed the following with the Ethiopian Federal First Instance Court (FFIC):

1. U.S. citizens of Ethiopian origin may be able to complete intercountry adoptions from Ethiopia. U.S. citizens who cannot satisfy the FFIC that they are of Ethiopian origin are still subject to Ethiopia’s 2018 adoption ban (see CI’s 2018 Adoption Notice.)
2. If the FFIC determines that a U.S. citizen prospective adoptive parent (PAP) can adopt:
            a.The case is no longer subject to the Pre-Adoption Immigration Review (PAIR) process
            b.PAPs who adopt from a public or private orphanage must obtain a best interest determination (BID) letter, while PAPs who adopt a child that is not in an orphanage do not need to obtain a BID letter.

Updated Process For Ethiopian Adoptions

The FFIC will determine on a case-by-case basis whether it considers PAPs to be of Ethiopian origin (diaspora adoptions). The FFIC has not provided definitive criteria it will use to determine which prospective adoptive parents are considered to be of Ethiopian origin, but did indicate that PAPs must be able to demonstrate strong ties to Ethiopia, such as being born in Ethiopia or previously holding Ethiopian citizenship. PAPs will need to provide evidence to the FFIC when applying for an adoption order, such as an Ethiopian birth certificate, Ethiopian passport, or an Ethiopian Origin ID Card (also known as a Diaspora Card or Yellow Card).

Prior to 2018, adoptions from Ethiopia were subject to the Pre-Adoption Immigration Review (PAIR) process.  Under PAIR, USCIS reviewed the child’s eligibility to immigrate before PAPs adopted the child. The FFIC has indicated that this process is not necessary for diaspora adoptions, and accordingly, the PAIR process is no longer applicable to adoptions by PAPs who have been confirmed by the FFIC to be of Ethiopian origin. PAPs of Ethiopian origin may file Form I-600 petitions with USCIS or in-country with Embassy Addis Ababa (note: you must have a valid Form I-600A to file in-country; see our website for more information).

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GOOGLE TRANSLATION

Romania's orphans cause a storm in the European Parliament

By the Editorial Team

Thursday, April 6, 2000, 11:00 PM

It must be very clear to everyone, the problem cannot be solved only with the promises that Romania has been making for 10 years and it is not even enough to recognize that this problem exists. What is important is what we do next, what is important is how we act, what is important is commitment! As they say at high levels of power, for all this, political will from the Romanian authorities is needed first of all, otherwise the results that the whole world and, especially, Romania are expecting will not be achieved. The reform of the system cannot be done if there is no capacity to take the necessary measures and decisions, if the mechanisms for implementing the reform are not put in place, if the rigor of a functional budgetary mechanism is not respected. Romania suffers from the syndrome of institutionalized children and for 10 years it has not been able to decide to apply a "treatment" - which, in fact, is not even that painful -, which has cost us: Romania's international image suffered a new serious deterioration when the start of EU accession negotiations was conditioned by the resolution of this problem, a condition set as a political criterion for respecting human rights! The first public hearing took place at the European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday - organized at its initiative - during which the issue of institutionalized children was debated. Why? Because, some time ago, a French non-governmental organization, led by Francois de Combret, which was part of the assistance program in this matter, made a complaint accusing the European Commission of having ensured a very poor management of the problem and of the funds allocated to Romania. The meeting was opened by Nicole Fontaine - the President of the European Parliament -, who, in her speech, spoke about what has been done in Romania since 1990, about the fact that the EP understands the very difficult problems that Romania is facing, but that the efforts that have been made so far have not been at the level of the needs in the country. Regarding the issue of institutionalized children, Nicole Fontaine drew attention to the fact that Romania must have the capacity to protect the weak, "an indispensable condition to ensure the social cohesion and solidarity on which the construction of Europe is based" and expressed her hope that the newly established National Agency for Child Protection will be able to find the solution and will therefore be able to perform.