Thursday 5 August 2010

UINCEF'S POSITION ON INTER-COUNTRY ADOPTION

UNICEF's position on Inter-country adoption
Since the 1960s, there has been an increase in the number of inter-country adoptions. Concurrent with this trend, there have been growing international efforts to ensure that adoptions are carried out in a transparent, non-exploitative, legal manner to the benefit of the children and families concerned. In some cases, however, adoptions have not been carried out in ways that served the best interest of the children -- when the requirements and procedures in place were insufficient to prevent unethical practices. Systemic weaknesses persist and enable the sale and abduction of children, coercion or manipulation of birth parents, falsification of documents and bribery.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child, which guides UNICEF’s work, clearly states that every child has the right to grow up in a family environment, to know and be cared for by her or his own family, whenever possible. Recognising this, and the value and importance of families in children’s lives, families needing assistance to care for their children have a right to receive it. When, despite this assistance, a child’s family is unavailable, unable or unwilling to care for her/him, then appropriate and stable family-based solutions should be sought to enable the child to grow up in a loving, caring and supportive environment.

Inter-country adoption is among the range of stable care options. For individual children who cannot be cared for in a family setting in their country of origin, inter-country adoption may be the best permanent solution.

UNICEF supports inter-country adoption, when pursued in conformity with the standards and principles of the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country Adoptions – already ratified by more than 80 countries. This Convention is an important development for children, birth families and prospective foreign adopters. It sets out obligations for the authorities of countries from which children leave for adoption, and those that are receiving these children. The Convention is designed to ensure ethical and transparent processes. This international legislation gives paramount consideration to the best interests of the child and provides the framework for the practical application of the principles regarding inter-country adoption contained in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. These include ensuring that adoptions are authorised only by competent authorities, guided by informed consent of all concerned, that inter-country adoption enjoys the same safeguards and standards which apply in national adoptions, and that inter-country adoption does not result in improper financial gain for those involved in it. These provisions are meant first and foremost to protect children, but also have the positive effect of safeguarding the rights of their birth parents and providing assurance to prospective adoptive parents that their child has not been the subject of illegal practices.

The case of children separated from their families and communities during war or natural disasters merits special mention. Family tracing should be the first priority and inter-country adoption should only be envisaged for a child once these tracing efforts have proved fruitless, and stable in-country solutions are not available. This position is shared by UNICEF, UNHCR, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Hague Conference on Private International Law, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and international NGOs such as the Save the Children Alliance and International Social Service.

UNICEF offices around the world support the strengthening of child protection systems. We work with governments, UN partners and civil society to protect vulnerable families, to ensure that robust legal and policy frameworks are in place and to build capacity of the social welfare, justice and law enforcement sectors.

Most importantly, UNICEF focuses on preventing the underlying causes of child abuse, exploitation and violence.

New York
22 July 2010

Tuesday 3 August 2010

A new child is about to be born

It does not seem more then a dozen years ago when I recieved the beautiful news that my friend had given birth to her third child, a gorgeous daughter. It wasn't 12 years but actually 18 years ago and today she is one day late on her due date of giving birth to her own little son. It is a miracle and thinking about it has caused shivers to run down my arms. This little child is fortunate as he has a loving and supportive family - but it makes me think of other 18 year olds this very day giving birth to children that have not been planned. Do they have the capacity to give their children a loving home? Are they prepared for the hardships of parenting? Can they actually afford to feed another mouth?
I know that many children will be abandoned today. Left on street corners, in parks or perhaps on doorsteps of hospitals or orphanages. It is not necessary because these children are unwanted it is more because of the practical realities of life. At 18 not many young adults have the tools and support to be successful parents. They may initially enjoy the idea but soon with the constant crying and demands find that the task at hand is too much. Perhaps they are frightened - they have not told anyone about it for fear of repercussions - they have hidden their pregnancy and now want to dispose of the child and resume their lives. Perhaps the child has come about through abuse, perhaps the father has rejected them.
The world is not perfect and human nature is flawed. And because of this innocent children are destined to live a life of hardship, deprived of that which is their right - a loving and secure family and home.
I bless the child that is soon to be born and I honour and respect those children who through no fault of their own find themselves alone and abandoned left only with their mother's wish that they will find a family who can look after them better then they could.
We are here to find those families for those lost children.