Innovative Program Returns 20 Trafficked Children Home to their Families in Nepal

Innovative Program Returns 20 Trafficked Children Home to their Families in Nepal (press release) Thousands of children taken from Nepal’s rural villages by traffickers end up on the streets of Kathmandu. Through the efforts of Next Generation Nepal, a small nonprofit group, trafficked children are reconnected with their families and reunited with their communities. Thanks to the reunification efforts of …

Minister Ojha lands in thick soup (Kathmandu Post)

Minister Ojha lands in thick soup (Kathmandu Post) inter-country adoption http://www.ekantipur.com/2010/03/12/top-story/minister-ojha-lands-in-thick-soup/310070/ BABURAM KHAREL KATHMANDU, MAR 11 – Amid claims from different quarters that Nepal’s international adoption system is full of loopholes, it has been disclosed that a British couple managed to adopt a Nepali child flouting the law earlier this month. The British couple–Christopher Grice Lloyd and Caroline Ann Lloyd–managed …

Prachanda Raj Pradhan — head of the Child NGO Federation Nepal (CNFN)

Prachanda Raj Pradhan (the head of the CNFN — the Child NGO Federation Nepal) is a controversial figure in Nepali adoptions. For allegations regarding unethical conduct by Pradhan, see Nchild posts: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nchild/message/11331 and http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nchild/message/10459 (In order to respect the terms of service for Yahoo groups and Nchild in general, specific content of messages cannot be reprinted here. However, membership in …

UDATE: Ethiopia – Australian Government Set to Reopen Program

Australian Government, Attorney-General’s Office Future of the Ethiopia–Australian Intercountry Adoption Program The Attorney-General, the Hon Robert McClelland MP, has decided to lift the suspension of the Ethiopia–Australia intercountry adoption program. The program will recommence accepting new referrals of children in need of intercountry adoption and matching these children with prospective adoptive parents as at 6 April 2010. The Ethiopia–Australia program …

Adoption Notice U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATEBureau of Consular AffairsOffice of Children’s Issues Change in Processing Timeline for Adoption Cases March 5, 2010 The Department of State shares families’ concerns about recent media reports alleging direct recruitment of children from birth parents by adoption service providers or their employees. In response to these reports, the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa has …

US warns against adopting in Nepal (AFP)

US warns against adopting in Nepal (AFP) http://www.rnw.nl/int-justice/article/us-warns-against-adopting-nepal The United States has warned its citizens against adopting children in Nepal, saying it has “grave concerns” about the reliability of that country’s adoption system. The government urged prospective adoptive parents to choose another country, citing the case of a young Nepalese girl placed in the custody of an American couple without …

Letter to Senate Foreign Relations Committee Opposing the Families for Orphans Act

Last month, PEAR joined in with Global Action for Children in voicing our opposition to the Families for Orphans Act. The Senate version act is currently sitting in the Committee on Foreign Relations. Below is the letter sent to Senator John Kerry, Chairman of the Committee and Senator Richard Lugar , Ranking Member. February 22, 2010 The Honorable John KerryChairmanU.S. …

Adoption Alert — Nepal (U.S. State Department)

Adoption Alert — Nepal (U.S. State Department) Nepal Adoption Alert U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATEBureau of Consular AffairsOffice of Children’s Issues ________________________________ Caution About Pursuing an Adoption in Nepal March 04, 2010 The U.S. Department of State strongly discourages prospective adoptive parents from choosing Nepal as a country from which to adopt due to grave concerns about the reliability of Nepal’s …