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Candidate adoptive parents are available for children from Turkey and Syria. Not a good idea, academics write.

In The Seventh Day last Sunday, a Belgian-Turkish entrepreneur who traveled to Turkey to provide assistance after the earthquake testified. He outlined the extent of the damage and what is needed at this time. His report was announced on the VRT website under the title 'Saïd testifies from Turkey: There are many orphans. I'm looking at adopting.” Said did indeed say that, but it was not his full message. In the meantime, the title of the piece has changed, and rightly so. Because no matter how sincere and well-intentioned, his comment about adoption was inappropriate.

Let's return to the spring of 2019. Then the Flemish Parliament organized a hearing on fraud in adoptions from Ethiopia. This showed that the government and adoption services have failed to protect children adopted in Belgium from other countries. Some files even contain lies or fraud. How could that happen? Pressure from well-meaning citizens to help children out of poverty. Insufficient attention to the interests of those children. Many people in their thirties and forties who were adopted from India as children , and many people in their twenties who were adopted from Ethiopia as children, have already testified about their difficult identity formation and the frustrating search for their roots. Many wondered not only why their biological parents could not care for them, but also why they were taken abroad when there were also shelters in their native country.

It will be impossible to adopt a child from Vietnam from Flanders. Flanders is stopping cooperation with that country because there are insufficient guarantees that the rights of children eligible for adoption and those of their families are guaranteed.

Flemish Minister of Welfare, Hilde Crevits (CD&V), has confirmed this in the Welfare Committee. The decision comes after a first round of screening of countries of origin for adoption, in which adoptees and adoption services were able to participate. Among the adoptees was Mai Linh Verdonck (27) from Bruges, who was adopted as a baby in Vietnam by a Belgian couple. 'I had to go through a lot of information, it was a complex matter: procedures, financing, legislation. For example, I noticed that Vietnam is not transparent about how they prepare adoptions. They also think that children should only be allowed to have a say from the age of nine. Plus: it is actually illegal to give up your child. Adoptes can ask the government for help if they want to find their origin, but the only answer I got,

To be clear: Verdonck did not have to decide on the final verdict. This was done by the Growing Up agency, in collaboration with the minister. "I had not anticipated that the decision would be so concrete," says the Bruges-Vietnamese. 'It is positive that the interest of the child prevails. Personally, I also found it positive that I was involved for the first time in my life and was allowed to contribute.'

No central database

In the Welfare committee, Bruno Vanobbergen, CEO of the Growing Up Agency, explained how the screening was done in consultation with European organizations, Unicef, the intercountry adoption services and adoptees from the country in question. He said that Vietnam does not have a central database on adopted children: there is insufficient insight into which and how many children have left. There is also no insight into the informed consent that parents can give or the financial transactions.

Flanders stops intercountry adoptions from Vietnam. An initial screening round of five countries of origin shows that there are insufficient guarantees that malpractice with adoptions from Vietnam is excluded, concludes Flemish Minister of Health and Welfare Hilde Crevits. The light is green for adoptions from Portugal, Colombia and South Africa. There will be an additional site visit for Kazakhstan. The screening of 15 other countries of origin is still ongoing.

After reports of malpractice with intercountry adoptions from Ethiopia in 2019, the Flemish government decided to set up an expert panel on intercountry adoptions. After the publication of the final report of that panel, former Minister of Welfare Wouter Beke (CD&V) decided to have the cooperation with all countries of origin screened. This screening, in which adoptees and the intercountry adoption services were also heard, was supposed to help prevent abuses in the future.

Five countries were part of the first round of screening: Portugal, Colombia, South Africa, Kazakhstan and Vietnam. The screening gave the green light for Portugal, Colombia and South Africa. Adoption cooperation remains possible for those countries. Kazakhstan turns orange. This means that an on-site visit is necessary before a final decision can be made.

Red for Vietnam

The light is on red for one country: Vietnam. "There is too little confidence to be able to say that abuses can be ruled out," says Minister Crevits. "That says nothing about past adoptions, but new adoptions are excluded.”

The first screening round of countries of origin with which Flanders collaborates for intercountry adoption has been completed by the Growing Up Agency. Five countries were examined. Collaboration with Portugal, Colombia and South Africa will continue. For the cooperation with Kazakhstan, an on-site visit will take place to gain more clarity on a number of important issues. Cooperation with Vietnam is being terminated because there are insufficient guarantees that the rights of children eligible for adoption and their families are guaranteed. Minister Crevits confirmed this during an exchange of views in the Welfare Committee.

If there are children for whom we can do something, we should not close our eyes to them. That is precisely why we believe in a future for intercountry adoption. But we can only guarantee that future if we give society at large and all those involved, the children themselves, but also their parents and adoptive parents, the best possible guarantees that we have done everything we can to rule out abuses. The Growing Up Agency has carried out a very intensive screening. We want to make sure that families are not pressured to give up children, that the rights of the child are not affected or that there are no financial interests involved in an adoption.” - Hilde Crevits

In mid-2021, the Flemish Government instructed to screen cooperation with countries of origin in the context of intercountry adoption. This screening must sharpen the context in which intercountry adoptions take place in order to avoid possible malpractice in the future. The Growing Up Agency developed a detailed decision framework based on the guidelines established by the government . International organizations with expertise in youth protection and children's rights such as UNICEF, International Social Service (ISS) and Child Identity Protection (CHIP) were called in to provide the most accurate possible picture of the cooperative relationship in each country of origin based on contacts with local authorities, NGOs and organizations involved in youth care and adoption processes. Both adoptees and the intercountry adoption services in Flanders were given the opportunity to assess all information. The Flemish Center for Adoption of the Growing Up agency made the final decision.  

First round of screening

Five countries were part of the first round of screening: Portugal, Colombia, South Africa, Kazakhstan and Vietnam. For Portugal, Colombia and South Africa, the screening provided confirmation that a further direct cooperation relationship with Flanders is appropriate and that further agreements can be made. Kazakhstan turns orange: this means that an on-site visit is necessary before a final decision can be made. For the time being, contact with the competent authorities in the country was only possible to a very limited extent. A working visit should provide an answer to the question of whether a sustainable cooperative relationship for adoption with Kazakhstan is possible. Pending more clarity, the collaboration will continue in the meantime. In the coming months, the 15 other countries of origin with which Flanders currently has an adoption relationship will also be examined.

The first screening round of countries of origin with which Flanders collaborates for intercountry adoption has been completed by the Growing Up Agency. Five countries were examined. Collaboration with Portugal, Colombia and South Africa will continue. For the cooperation with Kazakhstan, an on-site visit will take place to gain more clarity on a number of important issues. Cooperation with Vietnam is being terminated because there are insufficient guarantees that the rights of children eligible for adoption and their families are guaranteed. Minister Crevits confirmed this during an exchange of views in the Welfare Committee.

If there are children for whom we can do something, we should not close our eyes to them. That is precisely why we believe in a future for intercountry adoption. But we can only guarantee that future if we give society at large and all those involved, the children themselves, but also their parents and adoptive parents, the best possible guarantees that we have done everything we can to rule out abuses. The Growing Up Agency has carried out a very intensive screening. We want to make sure that families are not pressured to give up children, that the rights of the child are not affected or that there are no financial interests involved in an adoption.” -Hilde Crevits

In mid-2021, the Flemish Government instructed to screen cooperation with countries of origin in the context of intercountry adoption. This screening must sharpen the context in which intercountry adoptions take place in order to avoid possible malpractice in the future. The Growing Up Agency developed a detailed decision framework based on the guidelines established by the government . International organizations with expertise in youth protection and children's rights such as UNICEF, International Social Service (ISS) and Child Identity Protection (CHIP) were called in to provide the most accurate possible picture of the cooperative relationship in each country of origin based on contacts with local authorities, NGOs and organizations involved in youth care and adoption processes. Both adoptees and the intercountry adoption services in Flanders were given the opportunity to assess all information. The Flemish Center for Adoption of the Growing Up agency made the final decision.  

First round of screening

Five countries were part of the first round of screening: Portugal, Colombia, South Africa, Kazakhstan and Vietnam. For Portugal, Colombia and South Africa, the screening confirmed that a further direct cooperation relationship with Flanders is appropriate and that further agreements can be made. Kazakhstan turns orange: this means that an on-site visit is necessary before a final decision can be made. For the time being, contact with the competent authorities in the country was only possible to a very limited extent. A working visit should provide an answer to the question of whether a sustainable cooperative relationship for adoption with Kazakhstan is possible. Pending more clarity, the collaboration will continue in the meantime. In the coming months, the 15 other countries of origin with which Flanders currently has an adoption relationship will also be examined.

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Thane, Feb 13 (PTI) Three persons, including the mother of a newborn girl, have been arrested for allegedly cheating and extorting money from a man through a child adoption fraud in Maharashtra’s Thane district, a police official said on Monday.

The complainant has said he had two sons and wanted a daughter, and had spread the word about anyone seeking to give up their girl child for adoption, Zone I Deputy Commissioner of Police Jayant Bajbale told PTI.

“The complainant was approached this December by a friend who said an acquittance wanted to have his infant daughter adopted as his wife had left him after the child’s birth,” he said.

“The complainant gave his friend Rs 20,000 as maternity hospital expenses and waited for adoption documents. The child was soon taken back by the father. A man then called the complainant on January 5 saying he would have to pay Rs 2.5 lakh for completion of adoption documentation,” the DCP said.

Despite paying this amount, the accused continued to demand more money but were delaying completion of legal formalities connected to the adoption, which aroused the suspicion of the complainant, who approached police.

Malawian judge Fiona Mwale who authorised U.S. singer Madonna's adoption of two girls has now delivered a thoroughgoing critique of the legislation surrounding adoptions in that country, with strong recommendations for parliament on changes that should be made urgently, to protect the many vulnerable babies who need new homes and families through the adoption process, reports Carmel Rickard for Legal Brief.

Mwale has pointed to the need for Malawi to become a signatory to the Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption, a convention which, she said, "provides the practical requirements necessary for states to safeguard the best interests of the child in cases where foreigners fly in to adopt a child."

Many of these will require legislative changes and therefore could be some time in being made - but the judge has strongly motivated both the need for changes to the legal and practical content as well as the need for urgency.

The Ethiopian World Federation (EWF) has accused Madonna of human trafficking and sexually exploiting children by charitable organization Raising Malawi which the singer founded in 2006. The non-profit seeks to support orphans and vulnerable children through health and education programmes. Madonna adopted four children from Malawi.

According to EWF, Madonna's 1992 book titled Sex was cited in the petition, which features adult content, softcore porn, and sadomasochism. Pornographic content and LGBTQ conduct is punishable by law in the country of Malawi. "Gay porn stars were photographed in pornographic pictures with Madonna performing vulgar sex acts with the same sex which should have been disclosed during her adoption case in 2006 in Lilongwe, Malawi."

The girl was rescued on February 9 after her school teacher noticed scars and injury marks on her body and brought it to the attention of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), which registered a case at the RK Puram police station.

A 50-year-old nurse, arrested for the alleged physical abuse and torture of a 7-year-old girl who she illegally adopted, said she beat the child to “straighten her out” for not studying enough and for watching too many cartoons, Delhi Police officers investigating the case said on Saturday.

Police said that the woman and her son would heat a knife or tongs, and would brand the nine-year-old child with it. (FILE)

The girl was rescued on February 9 after her school teacher noticed scars and injury marks on her body and brought it to the attention of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), which registered a case at the RK Puram police station. The nurse’s 27-year-old biological son, who allegedly also participated in the torture, was arrested the same day, while the woman was arrested from Haridwar on February 16, police said.

Police said the girl’s injuries have healed and she is currently in the care of the CWC.