Talks on new Vietnam adoption deal begin

From The Sunday Times
April 18, 2009

Talks on new Vietnam adoption deal begin
Irish delegation to travel to Vietnam this week
Mark Tighe
A delegation from Ireland is travelling to Vietnam this week in an effort to reach a new agreement on international adoption before the current one expires on May 1. Almost 300 prospective Irish parents have been approved to adopt from the country.
A senior official from the Office of Children and Youth Affairs is leading the delegation to Hanoi. It includes John Collins, the chief executive of the Adoption Board, and Geoffrey Shannon, the board’s chairman.
Ireland’s only bilateral agreement is with Vietnam and so the Asian country is a popular destination for Irish couples seeking to adopt from abroad. There were 130 adoptions from Vietnam completed by Irish parents in 2007. Final figures for last year are not available.
Later this year Ireland will ratify the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption which lays down strict procedures. Vietnam will not be able to sign for at least two more years, according to its own officials.
A spokesman for Barry Andrews, the minister for children, said he is “continuing to pursue the successful conclusion of a bilateral agreement” with Vietnam as a “priority”.
Ireland’s stance is different from other countries’. America and Sweden have suspended all adoptions from Vietnam since they discovered forged documents were being used in applications for visas for Vietnamese children. America also reported cases of mothers being coerced into giving up children.
The American embassy in Hanoi said it would not enter negotiations with Vietnam until it is satisfied the authorities have put extra safeguards in place. The most recent US agreement with Vietnam finished last September.
“The most effective apparatus would be Vietnam’s accession to the Hague Convention which includes those safeguards so critical to ensuring that all parties in an adoption are protected,” said an American spokeswoman. If an agreement between Ireland and Vietnam is not concluded before May 1, only those Irish couples who have already been assigned a child will be allowed to continue with the process.
The 290 parents yet to be assigned a child will be refunded their fee of $11,000 (€8,424) via the Helping Hands mediation agency based in Cork and Hanoi. The Department of Children said they could choose to adopt from another country or “await developments”.
One parent, who didn’t want to be named, said he and his wife had adopted from Vietnam before and were approved for a second child. “We want a brother for our daughter,” he said. “We are praying a new deal is signed.”