KATHMANDU, Feb 16: United States Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Janice Jacobs arrived in Kathmandu on Wednesday for a two-day visit.
Jacob´s visit comes a day after the US Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Maria Otero, who arrived in Kathmandu on Sunday, wrapped her visit to Nepal.
According to a press statement issued by US Embassy in Kathmandu, the visit will primarily focus on the issue of inter-country adoption from Nepal.
Assistant Secretary Jacobs is scheduled to hold meetings with officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and the Ministry for Women, Children and Social Welfare (MoWCSW) to discuss the US government´s concerns on the inter-country adoption process.
The visit of a senior US official to Kathmandu comes in the wake of concerns being raised by international community that inter-country adoption from Nepal is subject to widespread abuses.
In an apparent bid to address the concerns, the MoWCSW last month amended the conditions and procedures relating to inter-country adoption.
Republica:
Actually, US government and American Agencies were happy with the system of before 2007; Agencies used come to Nepal and were investing money to open orphanages and could take all the children living it. But after the First Inter-country adoption conference (was took place in March 2007), they lost some big money because Nepal committed to ratify Hague, so their plan failed US government wants to keep aside other countries and take all the healthy and nice looking children to USA and leave rest in the country; like buying things in the Supermarket. Now, situation has been changed, Nepal Signed at Hague, and in the process of ratification and conducting meetings with Hague and other best Hague practiced countries in the world, It is being big headache for US Government and its agencies.
Organizations who are running orphanages also ready to follow the Hague policy and ready to implement alternative child care policy along with domestic adoption, If domestic adoption will be effective in Nepal, all the cute infants will remain in Nepal with Nepali family and US families will have to return with empty hand.
It is main reason to create disturbance in Nepali Adoption system. On other hand so called investigation carrying out by US Embassy, neither Nepal Government and other related authorities nor Orphanages are happy.
Orphanages have strong comment on US families that they don’t treat well and think that they are buying children from Nepal, so that orphanages are jointly announcing to stop adoption to US families.