Event to discuss the possibility of intervention for children and families in difficulty in Africa, starting from the relaunch of international adoptions and a serious and shared investment in long-distance adoption.

Conference "From the serious crisis of international adoptions to a Mattei Plan for the adoption and foster care of African children", recorded in Rome on Tuesday 21 November 2023 at 5.15pm.

The event was organized by the Giovanni Spadolini Academy of Culture and Politics and the Ai.Bi Association. Friends of Children.

Speakers: Giorgio Rutelli (director of Formiche.net), Lamberto Dini (former president of the Council of Ministers and former minister of Foreign Affairs), Simonetta Matone (MP, Lega - Salvini Premier (Chamber parliamentary group)), Marzia Masiello (managers institutional relations of Ai.Biv Associazione Amici dei Bambini), Maria Rita Parsi (psychologist, educational psychologist, psychotherapist and writer), Luigi Tivelli (president of the Giovanni Spadolini Academy of culture and politics), Marco Griffini (president of the Ai.Bi association . Friends of Children), Paolo Trancassini (deputy, commissioner of the Chamber of Deputies, Brothers of Italy), Claudia Conte (spokesperson for the Giovanni Spadolini Academy of culture and politics), Elena Bonetti (deputy, Action - Popular Europeanist Reformers - Renew Europe), Sergio Vento (ambassador and president of Vento & Associati), Vincenzo Starita (vice president of CAI - Commission for International Adoptions), Adriano Bordignon (national president of the Family Associations Forum).

The following topics were discussed: Adoption, Fostering, Africa, Administration, Human Rights, Marginalization, Foreign Affairs, Minors, Poverty.

The video recording of this conference lasts 2 hours and 13 minutes.

The content is also available in the audio version only.

Denmark's only adoption agency, DIA, which is funded by the Danish state, has paid Malagasy authorities to facilitate the processing of adoptions to Denmark. Associate professor in administrative law assesses that this is corruption.

A few notes here and a few notes there to the relevant authorities. In poor Madagascar, it is the premise if things are to slide a little easier. 

Now it appears that the adoption system on the African island is not exempt, and that this has also applied to the adoption mediation of children who have been adopted to Denmark. 

Danwatch has spoken to the representative of Danish International Adoptions (DIA) in Madagascar, who says on several occasions that she has paid Malagasy authorities in connection with Danish adoption cases to get the adoptions through. 

“I pay a small amount here and a small amount there. To the administration and to the courtrooms. I also pay the police for their investigations", says the representative when Danwatch calls her.

The Supreme Court on Monday (20.11.2023) directed the Secretary in charge of nodal departments responsible for the implementation of the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act in all States to carry out bi-monthly identification drives to identify children who were orphaned, abandoned, or surrendered so that such children could enter the loop of adoption in India. It was stated that the first of...

The Danish adoption agency DIA receives harsh criticism from the Danish Appeals Board. The agency acknowledges errors.

Denmark's only mediator of adoptions from abroad, Danish International Adoption (DIA), has received harsh criticism for its handling of adoptions from Madagascar.

The criticism comes from the Danish Appeals Board, which continuously supervises DIA.

The warning is very serious, believes Stine Jørgensen, who is professor of social law at the University of Copenhagen and researches into, among other things, transnational adoptions.

According to the Danish Appeals Board, DIA has in a number of cases acted contrary to, among other things, the principles of the Hague Convention and the Adoption Act. And it happened against his better judgment, says an explanation of the process.

Russian State Duma has prepared a bill aimed at prohibiting the adoption of Russian children by foreign citizens of those countries that permit sex change procedures to be carried out, the state news outlet Ria Novosti reported on Monday, Nov. 20.

This follows the adoption of a law by Russia in July that prohibited its own citizens from undergoing sex change surgery or treatment.

Speaking at a parliamentary commission meeting focusing on the “criminal actions of the Kyiv regime” against minors, the head of the legislative body’s Committee on Security, Vasily Piskarev, underscored what he saw as the necessity of the proposed legislation.

He said that the primary objective is to “guarantee an adopted child that he will not end up in a same-sex family” and to ensure that the child grows up in what is deemed a “normal family” made up of parents of both sexes.

“In this regard, we have developed a bill that proposes to prohibit the adoption of a child for foreign citizens if a sex change is allowed in their state, both by producing appropriate documents and by using medical and all kinds of forms of intervention,” Piskarev said.

'All states and UTs are directed to ensure that within every district Specialised Adoption Agency (SAA) shall be set up by January 31, 2024. The nodal department in charge of implementing the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 shall positively communicate compliance to the director, Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) and secretary Ministry of Women and Child Development by January 31, 2024,' the bench said.

New Delhi: Noting the 'mismatch' between the number of children legally available for adoption and registered prospective adoptive parents, the Supreme Court on Monday directed all states and the Union territories to carry out a drive every two months to identify the children in abandoned and surrendered (OAS) category in child care institutions.

A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, Justice J B Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra said the first of such an exercise should be carried out by December 7

"All states and UTs are directed to ensure that within every district Specialised Adoption Agency (SAA) shall be set up by January 31, 2024. The nodal department in charge of implementing the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 shall positively communicate compliance to the director, Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) and secretary Ministry of Women and Child Development by January 31, 2024," the bench said. 

The bench also directed all states and UTs to compile and submit to the CARA Director data on Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act (HAMA) adoptions by January 31, 2024. 

It took Sandip Soparrkar four years to convince orphanages, and later the court, to grant him permission to adopt a child because he was unmarried. But Soparrkar remained determined. In 2007, the acclaimed dancer and choreographer brought home a little boy, becoming the first single man to adopt a child in India. In 2021, he became the first single father to adopt a second child when he took charge of a nine-year-old with special needs. It is believed Soparrkar inspired his student Madonna to adopt an Indian baby. He spoke to Neha Bhayana about his boys, his parenting rules and adoption
What made you want to adopt?
 

It was just something I always wanted to do since I was a teenager. There are adoption cases in my family. A few of my cousin sisters have been adopted. My favourite sister is an adopted child. When I was young, I thought I would do it when I am financially and emotionally stronger. I just took that step very naturally without thinking because I love children. I didn’t even know that I would be the first single man to adopt till it came out in the news.

You had to fight a long battle …

There was a four-year-long struggle because there were no rules, or rather there were some rules but they had never been exercised by anybody. The adoption law is strange in so many ways. A woman above 18 can adopt a child, but a man needs to be above 30 to adopt. Moreover, to be considered fit for adoption, a man has to submit proof of his financial standing whereas a woman need not. I can’t say whether this is right or wrong, but I find it unfair because it took me four years to fight for the right to adopt. I had gone to so many orphanages but none even considered me. I was asked why I should get a child when a couple or single woman could take him. I was even questioned about my affairs which is odd because that has nothing to do with my ability to be a good parent. I am grateful to the orphanage Bal Anand for standing by me and giving me my son. I got Arjun home on October 3, 2007. We celebrate this day every year as his homecoming birthday.

When did you first meet Arjun?

I remember one day, suddenly, Madhavi Mhatre from Bal Anand, called me and asked me to come to meet a child. I said ‘Ma’am, I am not ready’. She said, ‘You have been waiting for four years. Of course, you are ready.’ I was so nervous. I was seated when the door opened and a little boy, just over a year old, crawled in and gave me the toy car which was in his hand. That was it. I fell in love. Imagine a child who lived in an orphanage and did not have any toys that belonged to him exclusively, still chose to give me his car. This showed that he wanted to be with me. This was the best moment of my life.

How did you handle diaper duty?

It took Sandip Soparrkar four years to convince orphanages, and later the court, to grant him permission to adopt a child because he was unmarried. But Soparrkar remained determined. In 2007, the acclaimed dancer and choreographer brought home a little boy, becoming the first single man to adopt a child in India. In 2021, he became the first single father to adopt a second child when he took charge of a nine-year-old with special needs. It is believed Soparrkar inspired his student Madonna to adopt an Indian baby. He spoke to Neha Bhayana about his boys, his parenting rules and adoption
What made you want to adopt?
 

KOCHI: Kerala High Court has orally observed that even children aged four and five are at risk with predators around. The remark was made when the petition of a quinquagenarian couple seeking permission to return their adopted child and annul the adoption came up for hearing. 

“Where do I send her?” said Justice Devan Ramachandran, adding, “She is a woman now. Even kids aged four and five are at risk, how can an 18-year-old live peacefully.” 

The court also examined the report filed by the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) and said the child is not against her adopted parents. The counsel for the couple said she wanted to return to the Nishkam Seva Ashram, an institution under the Punjab government, from where she was adopted. “You are wrong. Go through the DLSA report,” the court replied. 

In a counter affidavit, the Thiruvananthapuram district collector informed the court that the couple adopted the child based on the order issued by the Ludhiana guardian judge, and the application for annulment shall be filed in the court which issued the order permitting adoption.

The HC said the couple became depressed after the untimely death of their 23-year-old son.

Because participating adoptees were already adults, malpractice had generally occurred more than 20 years ago, especially prior to their adoption in the country of origin and/or during the adoption process. The adoptees often discovered them later in life, for example during searches. 

The adoptees indicated that malpractice in intercountry adoption had a major impact on their emotional well-being. It often caused long-term problems in multiple areas, especially in the areas of trauma, identity development and relationships. For example, problems with self-esteem, attachment, fear of abandonment and grief were mentioned. It also had an effect on their own parenting. 

No words for it

Several adoptees indicated that it was very difficult to be heard. Because malpractice in adoption did not fit the positive story surrounding adoption, this was often not recognized in society. The narrative that the adoptee should be grateful often overshadowed the complex and ambivalent experiences that adoptees struggled with. This placed an additional burden on the adoptees. They sometimes could not understand why they had emotional and physical reactions, there was no recognition and no language to understand this and interpret their own experiences. Sometimes the discovery of malpractice also caused tension within the adoptive family, where it could lead to the adoptive parents feeling guilty or to conflict. 

Andhra Pradesh’s childcare institutions, meant to be sanctuaries for vulnerable minors, are grappling with an unsettling reality. The Hindu finds that recent incidents expose the compromised safety of children post-rescue, underscored by abuse, negligence, and the leaking of sensitive data 

Two years ago, Rani (name changed to protect identity), now 15, lost her mother to an illness. Left in the care of her father, a private company employee, Rani and her younger brother found themselves neglected and unsupported. In September this year, family members sought to marry off the class 9 student. However, timely intervention by an NGO and the police in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh thwarted the child marriage bid. Following the rescue, Rani was shifted to a care home in Vijayawada, through the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in the district. Once again, she finds herself in a distressing situation. “The care home staff collected personal information about me and later leaked it,” she says. This breach of trust ironically came to light on the International Day of the Girl Child on October 11.