From the US Consular Office in Addis Ababa concerning the Ethiopian courts’ suspension of hearing cases involving abandoned children from orphanages in Addis Ababa:
“According to the Ethiopian First Instance Court and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MOWA), the Court has temporarily stopped accepting cases involving abandoned children referred from orphanages in Addis Ababa, citing concern over a recent increase in the number of abandoned children being brought for adoption. The number of abandoned children from orphanages in Addis Ababa has grown dramatically in recent months and Ethiopian authorities have become aware of possible cases of unethical practices associated with some of them. Currently neither MOWA nor the First Instance Court are accepting any abandonment case from any orphanages in Addis Ababa pending an inquiry.
The Embassy is working with stake holders as well as Ethiopian authorities to further clarify the nature and impact of this suspension and to identify options for resolving problems. I would recommend that interested parties monitor the Department of State’s website at http://adoption.state.gov/ for updated information on Ethiopia.
Thank you again for your message and for bringing this issue to our attention.”
Excerpted from May 14 Letter to PEAR from Paul Cantrell, Consular Section Chief. U.S. Embassy, Addis Ababa
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