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Mittwoch, 20. Juli 2011

Reforming international adoption

For several years now, we are confronted with reports about unethical practices in adoption procedures in Ethiopia. There is evidence that structures have developed over time in which children are placed for adoption by criminal methods using corruption, lies and the falsification of documents. The primary reason for these adoptions are not humanitarian but financial. There is a growing demand for small children, and even older children are abandoned by parents for adoption. Parents hope that their children have opportunities abroad which they cannot provide at home. To simplify placement procedures, papers are forged and false statements are made. Children are robbed of their right to know their origin and first family. The basis of trust on which a new adoptive family can develop is undermined by these practices. 

As adoptive parents, we know that Ethiopia is currently not in a position to care for all its abandoned children. International adoption are measures of individual care, which can not solve the problem of poverty and underdevelopment - nor should it aim to do so. However, this generally useful practice of individual assistance is increasingly discredited through unethical practices.

We call on the authorities to take the following measures to combat criminal practices (trafficking, fraud, corruption, forgery of administrative documents) in international adoption:

  1. Adoption placements must only be made on the basis of complete documentation of the biological family of the child and the circumstances of abandonement. Testimonies about the situation of abandonement must be obtained and documented. Adoption agencies are responsible for the veracity of the documentation. The relevant courts, immigration and youth authorities are requested to ask for this information. 
  2. Adoption agencies are requested to establish and maintain contact between adoptive parents and the family of origin if at all possible. Direct contact prevents lies about the family situation and helps the child in its further development.
  3. All payments in the context of an international adoption must be documented and justified. Payments to families and intermediaries for the supply of children must be prohibited by cost transparency. All fees must reflect real efforts and costs.  Otherwise, they are a covert form of child trafficking.

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