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Romania: Edwardson and Murphy-Scheumann Meeting with Romanian Officials
Posted on September 24, 2004 by Joint Council

Antonia Edwardson, Executive Director and Deb Murphy-Scheumann, Joint Council Board President met with the following individuals in separate meetings regarding the status of pending cases in Romania:
Tatiana Maxim, Congressional Liaison, Embassy of Romania
Katie Joyce, Legislative Correspondent, Office of Senator Kerry
Paul Foldi, Professional Staff Member, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Heather Conley, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, Department of State
Deb Murphy-Scheumann also represented Joint Council in a meeting with Ambassador Crouch in Romania during the month of September.
Summaries of the meetings are detailed in the following bullet points:
§  Ambassador Crouch has met with Prime Minister Nastase on three different occasions and has discussed the issues of the pending cases;
§  Ambassador Crouch has met with other Ambassadors in Bucharest in regard to the pending cases;
§  The State Department has taken a strong lined approach that these cases must be resolved;
§  The country of Romania has indicated that they do not want to aggressively pursue the resolving of these cases until the recommendation report for ascension to the EU has been published. * The report was issued last week. No word on how this may impact the progress of the stated plan.
§  The Romanian government has indicated that they are looking at the development of a commission. The purpose of this commission would only be to address the pending cases from all countries which were filed/referred under the Emergency Ordinance.
§  The US Government is working with the country of Romania to pass a law in parliament that will allow the pending cases to be brought to completion after the January 1 deadline of the new law is implemented;
§  The State Department has asked the Joint Council of International Children’s Services to recommend wording to determine the criteria for pending cases to be identified and processed;
§  The State Department is committed to suggesting language that will create a transparent processing of the pending cases;
§  The State Department is committed to having a broad approach for defining the pending cases;
§  The State Department has engaged in conversations and cooperatively worked with European countries with pending cases, however, the State Departments goal is to resolve US pending cases.
§  A follow-up meeting will be scheduled the end of October to discuss the progress on the issue of pending cases.
http://www.jointcouncil.org/romania-edwardson-and-murphy-scheumann-meeting-with-romanian-officials/

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Edelman Names New Leadership for Brussels Office

Asia Pacific, EMEA, North America

Paul Holmes 06 Sep 2004

BRUSSELS—Edelman has named Laura Currie and Teemu Lehtinen as managing directors of Edelman Brussels. Currie takes over as Managing director, public relations, and Teemu Lehtinen as managing director, public affairs. Both are promoted from their previous roles as directors. They succeed Charlotte Lester, who is leaving Brussels to return to India.

In addition, public affairs veteran Michael Burrell, Edelman’s vice chairman, Europe, takes on the additional role of vhairman, Edelman, Brussels.

Portrait de François de Combret

Décalage bancaire > Lire en format pdf Il était une fois un amoureux des idées devenu banquier d'affaires. Il était une fois un haut fonctionnaire devenu l'homme de l'ombre de Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. Il était une fois un associé-gérant de la banque Lazard devenu philanthrope. Fidèle mais lucide, rationnel et imaginatif, ce non-conformiste cultive ses différences.

Chaque semaine, Le nouvel Economiste révèle un tempérament à «L’Hôtel», rue des Beaux-Arts. Paris VIe. Portrait d’un discret serviteur de l’Etat mué en subtil banquier d’affaires.

Par Gaël Tchakaloff

Ukraine

Families for Children Program Implementing Partner: Holt International Children's Services Funding Period: September 2004 - December 2009 Amount: $3,229,790 Purpose: Develop sustainable and replicable family care models of services for children who otherwise would be institutionalized or on the street. Accomplishments Established model programs on family preservation in the pilot sites. Trained ninety-two regional trainers on foster care in collaboration with the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports, Families for Children Program Developed and tested practical guidelines on foster care (Families for Children Program Child Welfare Task Force). The guidelines were reviewed and approved by the ministry to be used country wide. Conducted two adoption surveys. Survey findings were used to improve the adoption process and develop a national strategy to build a strong and transparent adoption system. Established foster care services for HIV positive children. Supported seventy-eight grant projects, which reported the following: 9,155 people, including decision makers, service providers, parents and children participated in training activities. 16,067 media appearances (publications, TV/radio programs) addressed the issue of vulnerable children and families. 188 products (booklets, posters, films) were developed. 207 community events were conducted. 23 community groups were established. 1,200 children and 727 families received psychosocial support. services. 342 cases of child abandonment were prevented

As with many countries of the former Soviet Union, Ukraine’s rapid social, economic, and political changes have brought a serious crisis in the number of children living outside family care. Orphanages are full, and increasing numbers of children are forced to live on the streets. According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports Affairs, as many as 100,000 children are living without the care and protection of a family.

RIGHTS-SIERRA LEONE
Police Dismantle Child Trafficking Syndicate
By Lansana Fofana

FREETOWN, Aug 31, 2004 (IPS) - The Sierra Leonean police have busted what they refer to as the biggest child trafficking syndicate in the West African nation since the end of the civil conflict three years ago.

‘’We have arrested and charged three persons thought to be the brains behind the syndicate. And we are doing all in our power to have the Sierra Leonean kids trafficked to be brought back home,’’ says police commissioner for crime services Richard Moigbeh.

Some 29 children were recently trafficked to the United States allegedly under the auspices of ‘Help A Needy Child International (HANCI), which operates an orphanage and a home for destitute children in Sierra Leone’s northern town of Makeni.

The scheme went like this: two of the prime suspects currently in police custody Henry Abu and John Gbla would allegedly identify and approach destitute parents and propose to them the adoption of their children by foster parents.

The unsuspecting parents who could barely afford food for the family let alone send their children to school fall in for the bait and gladly give away their children.

Moigbeh says the children are first placed in an orphanage and then ‘’taken to a neighbouring country like Guinea or Ghana, in batches before finally being flown to the United States.’’

Their parents, he adds, are hardly informed about the true picture of what then happens to their children. A U.S.-based agency, the Maine Adoption Placement Service (MAPS) had allegedly been colluding with HANCI to facilitate the trafficking, he claims.

But HANCI operations manager Kelfa Mallay has denied the child trafficking allegations. His charity activities, he says, do not even include adoption of children. ‘’We did have a working relationship with the U.S. agency MAPS but we’d separated a couple of years ago,’’ Mallay told journalists.

He said Abu, one of the suspects on trial was initially a staff of HANCI but broke off later and together with his co-accused Gbla, set up their own charity and acted as desk officer for MAPS.

There has been no reaction from MAPS about the allegations.

But the police say, while prosecution of the three suspects is underway, efforts are being made to have the children in the United States repatriated home and reunited with their families.

Moigbeh told IPS: ‘’We have been in constant touch with MAPS in the U.S. and they’ve acknowledged receiving the 29 children. Our job now is to see how we could secure the children and have them returned to their families here (in Sierra Leone).’’

He describes the child trafficking scam as a criminal offence and has dispatched police officers to trace the biological parents of the other children at the Cherith orphanage in Makeni to reunite them with their parents.

‘’In the meantime, we are going to place those children at the orphanage (in Makeni) under the protection of the ministry of gender and children’s affairs,’’ Moigbeh adds. The exact number of children at the Cherith orphanage has not been disclosed but police describe its operations as suspect.

Reactions to the child trafficking scam have been mixed. While many acknowledge the criminality of the syndicate, the difficult economic circumstances are equally advanced for such a social vice.

Margaret Kabia, a mother of six who lost her husband during Sierra Leone’s war, says: ‘’If they are legitimately adopting my kid, I would offer even two. I am an unemployed single parent struggling to bring up six children. This is simply too much for me’’.

Osman Jalloh, a businessman in the capital Freetown, considers child trafficking as an offence. ‘’It (child trafficking) is unjustifiable in all its forms. I can understand the economic problems in the country but that should not warrant anyone to prey on poor parents and criminally traffic their children without their consent,’’ he says.

Bassie Conteh, a push-cart driver in Freetowm, says: ‘’For me, there’s nothing wrong with it. At the end of the day, I know my kid would be in America and help me back home.’’

Sierra Leone is a signatory to the convention on the right of the child. Having experienced first hand the abuse of children during the country's civil war such as forceful conscription, rape and enslavement, the authorities are apparently acting tough on child right abuses.

Poverty, deprivation and the break-up of traditional family ties have made children even more vulnerable to various forms of abuses. An official at the ministry of social welfare told IPS last week that more stringent measures would be adopted to protect the rights of children.

‘’We would closely monitor orphanages and other child-care NGOs in order to ascertain their activities. Such a scam is unacceptable and must be put to halt once and for all,’’ the official said.

Human and child trafficking is fast becoming a problem in the West African sub-region. Two weeks ago, a derelict vessel was seized by Spanish police with the help of Guinean and Sierra Leonean security forces on high seas attempting to traffic some 500 would-be illegal immigrants. Many were thought to be young people.

The police say their investigations into the latest scam in Sierra Leone are continuing. (END)

http://ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=25283

Wednesday, Aug 25, 2004

In search of mother with an aching heart

By K. Venkateshwarlu

Children from children homes in Czech Rep, Romania and Ukraine

$ 4,000, sale price of a little girl of 5 years, even her father collected

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