Background

IAVAAN was founded in 1991 as an international NGO. Beginning in 2001, because of interest expressed by groups and individuals in a number of countries in having their own national "Committees" for IAVAAN, work was done to restructure IAVAAN and to provide for the creation of these Committees. The first Committee to be organized was the U.S.A. Committee for IAVAAN, which held its initial organizing meeting and elected its officers in Washington, D.C. on March 28, 2001. Committees are in formation or being considered in each of the following locations. Groups or individuals domiciled outside the U.S.A. should contact the USA Committee in the interim, and they will be put in touch with the appropriate organizers by USA Committee volunteers or staff.

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Country Affiliates

Australia Committee Netherlands Committee

Canada Committee New Zealand Committee

Germany Committee Romania Committee

Guatemala Committee South Korea Committee

India Committee Switzerland Committee

International Agreements

IAVAAN seeks to support the drafting, implementation and the improvement of various international agreements which have as their goal the betterment of conditions and services for children and families. A listing of international agreements IAVAAN is presently focusing on appears below.

Hague Conventions

United Nations Conventions

(Please click on the to view the agreement.)

BIOETHICS PROJECT

Cloning

Egg Bank

Embryo Adoption

Embryonic Stem Cell Research

TRAFFICKING OF CHILDREN, DEFINED BY INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SERVICES

In the June 10 Extra, the Voice of America news release about “illegal adoption rings” was discussed. As it happens, the words “illegal adoption rings” never appears in the UNICEF report. The closest the report comes is using “variety of criminal offences,” most of which are alleged to be the work of “recruiters.” Because “trafficking” is such a loaded word, a look at the ILPEC paper (ILPEC is the Latin American Institute for Education and Communication, which represents International Social Services (ISS) in Guatemala) is needed. The ILPEC report says: “Trafficking of children in Guatemala refers to the excessive number of children who leave Guatemala through international adoption, without efficient control, transparency, regulation over prices, and a clear knowledge of the child’s origin.” ILPEC goes on to provide a list of U.S. adoption agencies, with this allegation: “The following list of agencies was taken from Internet (sic) and it is important to observe the supply of children, in this case within the United States, as if they were manufactured according to the public demand [emphasis added].”

Thirty-three agencies are listed, including such well-known names as The Gladney Center, Holt International Children’s Services, Los Ninos International Adoption Center, PLAN International Adoption Services, and Wide Horizons for Children, just to mention a handful. The information seems as if it may have originated in International Concerns for Children’s Report on Intercountry Adoption, given the format and information provided. In the June 12 Extra, a comparison of the definition ILPEC uses for trafficking and what actually takes place in Guatemala will be provided.

Archives of "EXTRA"

William L. Pierce, President and Executive Director for the U.S.A. Committee of IAVAAN, June 12, 2002

SINGAPORE: Four years ago, Mr Christophe Montane welcomed an adopted baby into his family – only to have the child taken away after 10 days.

Speaking to CNA about changes to adoption laws that were tabled in Parliament recently, Mr Montane was emotional as he recounted his family's ordeal.

A permanent resident who has lived in Singapore for about eight years, he and his wife went through months of applications and a home study before qualifying to adopt a local child.

The newborn came to live with them before the adoption was formalised. It was the “greatest joy”, he said, and he didn’t think too much about the paperwork at that point.

Then five days later, the birth mother texted Mr Montane saying that there was a “problem” with the payments to the hospital where she gave birth. But there were no issues with the payment, he said.

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The Uvari police have arrested five persons for selling and buying a girl baby.

Police said Thangaselvi, 32, of Karaisuttru Uvari near Thisaiyanvilai in the district, who left her husband to marry Arjunan, 38, of the same area, gave birth to a girl baby in December last. Since the woman already had two girls through her first husband, Thangaselvi and Arjunan decided to sell the newborn girl baby.

When the couple was scouting for prospective buyers, they met Selvakumar – Vinciya of Kerala through broker Mariappan, 38, an autorickshaw driver from nearby coastal hamlet of Koottappanai.

After the baby was sold to Selvakumar and Vinciya for ?1.40 lakh, the baby fell sick and was taken to a hospital in Kottayam. When the hospital authorities found that the couple had illegally adopted the baby, they alerted the police, who in turn informed the Tirunelveli District Police about the sale of the baby.

Subsequently, the Uvari police registered a cased and arrested Selvakumar, Vinciya, Thangaselvi, Mariappan and Arjunan.

TRICHY: The Trichy district administration on Friday released the photo of a baby boy found abandoned at Thirupparaithurai to enable the parents of the baby to claim him.

The newborn was found abandoned in front of Sri Ramakrishna Kudil at Thirupparatihurai around 10 pm on January 2. On getting information, Child Line staff rescued the baby and rushed him to Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital (MGMGH).

The baby was named Edward. After being discharged from the hospital, the baby was taken to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC). The committee issued a temporary custody order to give care and protection to the baby at the Adaikkalamadha specialised adoption agency in Ariyalur.

The baby will be kept in the home until he is given a free adoption certificate for legal adoption to a childless couple.

Now, the district administration and the District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) released the picture of the baby so that anyone who knows the details about the parents or relatives can report to the CWC Trichy at 0431-2413819, 9894487572 or district child protection unit (DCPU), Trichy at 0431-2413055 and 8220507101 within 21 days. The offices of CWC and DCPU function at Kalaiarangam hall in Trichy.

Abstract

South Korea experienced international scrutiny over its irregular intercountry adoption practices in the 1980s. However, it eventually came to be viewed as a model of transparent and efficient adoptions. This façade disguises an orphan adoption system that has become entrenched over the decades. Today, adoptees continue to lobby for their right to origins. This paper explores South Korea’s laws and policies, which nullified the rights of adoptees, and it calls for receiving countries to assume co-responsibility to restore these rights.

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