ROME - With so many children in the world needing a good home and so many couples unable to have children, there must be a way to make adoption easier and less costly, Pope Francis said.

Meeting May 24 with representatives of the Institute of the Innocents from Florence, Italy, Francis said he was struck by the idea that, in the old days, when a baby was left at the institute, he or she would be given half of a medal, while the mother would be given the other half.

“Today in the world there are many children who have half a medal,” the pope said. “They are alone, the victims of war, victims of migration, unaccompanied minors, victims of famine.”

“Who has the other half?” the pope asked. “Mother church. We have the other half. We must reflect and help our people understand that we are responsible for that other half and help create another ‘house of the innocents,’ one that is more global, with an attitude of adoption.”

“So many times there are people who want to adopt children, but there is such massive bureaucracy,” he said. Sometimes there also is corruption and a desire for money.

Some 18 children trooped on to stage in shopping centre in Matto Grosso, Brazil

Orphans were expected to produce themselves, with hair, clothes and makeup

The catwalk came under fire from public figures who branded it 'devastating'

An 'adoption catwalk show' which saw orphans as young as four parade in front of prospective foster parents has been likened to a slave market amid an outpouring of public fury.

Some 18 Brazilian children trooped on to a stage inside a shopping centre in Cuiaba, Mato Grosso state, on Tuesday night hoping to catch the eye of potential adopters.

Rootsreizen

Thema-avond, donderdag 23 mei 2019, 19.45-22.00 u, Rhenen

Steeds meer ouders willen met hun kinderen een rootsreis maken. Iedere reis is

anders. De één gaat op zoek naar zijn of haar biologische ouders, de ander wil

alleen kennis maken met het land. Welke behoefte heeft je kind? Wat kun je doen

From: Truus Groot [mailto:tgroot@fiom.nl]

Sent: Mittwoch, 22. Mai 2019 14:11

To: ACT

Subject: Our telephone call

Dear Arun,

From: Helpdesk Adoptie Fiom [mailto:helpdeskadoptie@fiom.nl]

Sent: Mittwoch, 22. Mai 2019 14:30

To: info@againstchildtrafficking.org

Subject: Antwoord op ACT (Arun Dohle) op uitnodiging

Dear Arun,

Shareable link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1WImhsMIBfvfwGQ5UWwsKQya2VT7Zrq1c

two separate meetings: adoptees and adoption agencies

s

Adoptive father: There is no basis for proclaiming thousands of adopted children as victims of abuse

Last week's chronicle on international adoption forgets the nuances and demonizes adoptive parents. That some adoptions end in tragedies cannot be used as a general argument against adoption, writes adoptive father Mogens Jeppesen in this debate

Then we go to it again - explain to our adopted children that they can forget about their safe childhood, good education, exciting jobs and lovely families. For in reality they are - whether they recognize it or not - victims of a brutal assault.

They have been forcibly removed from their country of birth, where they should have been and grown up so that they could take responsibility for the future of their only proper country. And then we must also remember to apologize to them.

Such is the message in the chronicle "It is unethical to defer poor parents their children" from May 16.

Caroline Vrijens new children's rights commissioner

Caroline Vrijens will be the new children's rights commissioner from 1 August. She is a lawyer by training and now works at the Youth Welfare Agency of the Flemish government.

For the appointment of the Children's Rights Commissioner, the Flemish Parliament conducted a selection procedure together with Berenschot. Caroline Vrijens was the best. The plenary approved its appointment on 22 May.

Caroline Vrijens: "It's a big responsibility, but I take it enthusiastically. Injustice has always touched me a lot. And I absolutely believe in the power of connection, connection between different perspectives and across policy areas. Standing up for children's rights from a connecting role: it comes together in the position of children's rights commissioner. "

Caroline Vrijens: "I am looking forward to stand up as a children's rights commissioner for the interests and rights of all children and young people in Flanders. Every child has the right to good care, education, room to develop and protection against all forms of violence. Together with the Children's Rights Commission team, I want to bring the perspective of children and young people even more into the political and social debate. We keep a finger on the pulse of what lives with them and what they collide with. We give a voice to those who are not heard enough, with special attention to children in vulnerable situations. "

Wednesday 22nd May 2019

The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr. Katherine Zappone, has today unveiled the Government’s initial implementation plan for ‘First 5’, Ireland’s first ever strategy for early childhood.

First 5 is a radical ten-year strategy that will deliver:

1. A broader range of options for parents to balance working and caring
2. A new model of parenting support 
3. New developments in child health, including a dedicated child health workforce 
4. Reform of the Early Learning and Care (ELC) system, including a new funding model
5. A package of measures to tackle early childhood poverty

The Implementation Plan describes the ambitious steps that will be taken in the initial implementation phase – from 2019 to 2021. Its development was led by an Inter-Departmental Group chaired by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.

The Government of Romania, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Labour and Social Justice, and the UNICEF in Romania Office signed today a new partnership for the benefit of Romanian and world children.

The document lays down the cooperation objectives that the two parties will pursue until 2022. Among others, one objective is to jointly promote children’s rights in Europe and in the world, through the exchange of best practices and expertise that Romania has developed over the past 30 years. A relevant example to this effect is the recent International Conference “Children's participation in EU decision and policy making”, held in Bucharest on the 6th and 7th of May, under Romania’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

“Romania is firmly committed to advancing and protecting children's rights and, over the years, has made significant progress in this direction. The Romanian laws, but also the Governmental policies on children’s rights, comply with the international agreements, primarily with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (in 2019, we celebrate 30 years from its adoption), and with the standards of the European Union and Council of Europe.

In this context, I wish to emphasize the excellent cooperation that the Government and UNICEF started in 1991 and continued on multiple levels to date. UNICEF has significantly contributed to Romania’s progress in the matter of children's rights”, said Teodor Mele?canu, Minister of Foreign Affairs, with the occasion of signing the new partnership agreement.

UNICEF will continue to support the Government of Romania to implement education, health and social protection policies, with a view to ensuring fair access to quality services for all Romanian children, in particular to the vulnerable ones. To achieve this objective, UNICEF and its partners - central and local government, NGOs and children - are developing and testing models focused on reducing vulnerabilities and promoting social inclusion of the most disadvantaged groups of children.