Nepal - misc trafficking articles case

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The trend of child abandonment in the Kathmandu Valley seems to clearly follow the trend of intercountry adoption. The lowest number of "abandoned" children was recorded after intercountry adoption was suspended in May–June 2007. The number of abandoned children picked up again in December 2007 after the announcement by the government that adoption would be reopened to process the residual caseload. (Graph and text From the UNICEF/TDH report)

There are over 500 children's homes and 60 orphanages in Kathmandu whose registration details include the stated intention of providing children for foreign adoption. Children are in demand, and every time a child is rescued from the streets the Administration Office gets phone calls from orphanages.

From the UNICEF/TDH report
This research found instances of undue pressure, coercion, inducement and solicitation of birth families to relinquish a child. Parents were misinformed about adoption, and misled, deceived or solicited with financial inducements. They were led to believe that their children would be sent abroad for a period of time only in orderto obtain a good education and upbringing. They were led to believe that their children would return to Nepal when they reached the age of 16 or 18 years. The legal consequences of intercountry adoption were either not explained at all or not explained fully. As a result, biological parents were unaware that once the intercountry adoption procedure was finalized they would lose custody of their child forever. They were also unaware that their child would lose his or her Nepali citizenship. In other cases, biological parents were not informed that their child had been sent abroad for adoption.

Date: 2007-03-07

Location

Kathmandu, Bagmati
Nepal