Red light on human traffic
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Red light on human traffic
A landmark legal ruling on intercountry adoption from Romania has the potential to transform the rights of children across Europe, writes Emma Nicholson MEP
Society Guardian,
Thursday July 1 2004
Article history
When the harrowing images of neglected and emaciated boys and girls, their heads shaved to prevent the spread of lice, were broadcasted from Romanian orphanages in 1989, it prompted an influx of international aid. But the images also helped to encourage a not so philanthropic trade, as these children began to be exported to couples abroad who wanted to adopt.
Supporters of this trade claim it provides loving couples with a child whose life would otherwise be miserable. While this can be true in some cases, the reality for many Romanian children is far less positive.
Children exported abroad - often against their will - are often subjected to paedophilia, child prostitution or domestic servitude. Since 1989 this trade has grown endemically and propped up the corruption which has seeped into many aspects of Romanian public life.
I first became involved in this issue soon after the fall of the Ceausescu regime. I visited Romania and saw the horrific scenes in the country's children's institutions. For the last five years I have been the European parliament's rapporteur on Romania. One does not have to scratch very far below the surface to uncover this market in children and its disastrous effects. When one raises the issue of Romanian children many people think of the images of the terrible orphanages. But such terminology belies the truth. These 'orphanages' were created by the Ceausescu regime in an Orwellian attempt to build the next generation of apparatchiks. Very few of these children were genuine orphans.
As this international trade in children grew, so too did the power of the criminal gangs at the centre. Impoverished families were coerced and deceived into giving up their children who were then effectively sold on to Western couples under the guise of international adoption.
Children from neighbouring countries were also torn from their families as Romania became a regional focal point for this inhumane trade.
For years I, and many others, have been working to bring this trade to an end. This campaign has led to an important legal victory in the European court of human rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg. The landmark judgement on inter-country adoption, which has major ramifications for the rights of children in 45 countries across Europe, establishes that the rights of children take precedence over any competing rights of adults.
The case concerned two Romanian girls, Florentina and Marina, who had been adopted, against their wishes, by two Italian couples. These adoptions were sanctioned by the Romanian courts at a time when the whole system was blighted by corruption.
The girls, who live happily in a well-managed home run by the Romanian tennis star and International Olympic Committee member Ion Tiriac, clearly and consistently stated that they wished to remain in the country of their birth.
Mr Tiriac runs a series of homes reminiscent of the old Barnardo's homes in the UK. Each one is home to 10 or 12 children looked after by staff who act as their 'mother' and 'father'. The children attend local schools and are encouraged to keep in touch with remaining family members. These homes give vulnerable children a sense of belonging and community for the first time in their lives.
It is perfectly understandable that Florentina and Marina chose to stay with their friends, and the closest thing to family they have. Being sent to a strange country with 'parents' they did not know would have destroyed the one source of continuity and stability in their lives.
Last week's judgement by the ECHR overruled the Romanian court's decision that these girls must be sent to Italy. It recognises that both the adoptive parents and the children have conflicting rights in this situation.
But the key point is that the rights of children have priority and take precedence over any competing rights of adults. As the ruling stated, adoption is "the giving of a family to a child and not a child to a family". This sends out a clear message that there can be no trade in children.
The current Romanian government has made great strides forward in child protection. However, while the supply of Romanian children for international adoption is drying up, the market is now shifting to other countries with weaker child protection systems, such as Russia.
This underlies the importance of the ECHR judgement. Its a pan-European impact provides hope that the human rights of children will be respected across the whole continent.
· Lady Emma Nicholson is a Liberal Democrat MEP for south-east England
A landmark legal ruling on intercountry adoption from Romania has the potential to transform the rights of children across Europe, writes Emma Nicholson MEP
Society Guardian,
Thursday July 1 2004
Article history
When the harrowing images of neglected and emaciated boys and girls, their heads shaved to prevent the spread of lice, were broadcasted from Romanian orphanages in 1989, it prompted an influx of international aid. But the images also helped to encourage a not so philanthropic trade, as these children began to be exported to couples abroad who wanted to adopt.
Supporters of this trade claim it provides loving couples with a child whose life would otherwise be miserable. While this can be true in some cases, the reality for many Romanian children is far less positive.
Children exported abroad - often against their will - are often subjected to paedophilia, child prostitution or domestic servitude. Since 1989 this trade has grown endemically and propped up the corruption which has seeped into many aspects of Romanian public life.
I first became involved in this issue soon after the fall of the Ceausescu regime. I visited Romania and saw the horrific scenes in the country's children's institutions. For the last five years I have been the European parliament's rapporteur on Romania. One does not have to scratch very far below the surface to uncover this market in children and its disastrous effects. When one raises the issue of Romanian children many people think of the images of the terrible orphanages. But such terminology belies the truth. These 'orphanages' were created by the Ceausescu regime in an Orwellian attempt to build the next generation of apparatchiks. Very few of these children were genuine orphans.
As this international trade in children grew, so too did the power of the criminal gangs at the centre. Impoverished families were coerced and deceived into giving up their children who were then effectively sold on to Western couples under the guise of international adoption.
Children from neighbouring countries were also torn from their families as Romania became a regional focal point for this inhumane trade.
For years I, and many others, have been working to bring this trade to an end. This campaign has led to an important legal victory in the European court of human rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg. The landmark judgement on inter-country adoption, which has major ramifications for the rights of children in 45 countries across Europe, establishes that the rights of children take precedence over any competing rights of adults.
The case concerned two Romanian girls, Florentina and Marina, who had been adopted, against their wishes, by two Italian couples. These adoptions were sanctioned by the Romanian courts at a time when the whole system was blighted by corruption.
The girls, who live happily in a well-managed home run by the Romanian tennis star and International Olympic Committee member Ion Tiriac, clearly and consistently stated that they wished to remain in the country of their birth.
Mr Tiriac runs a series of homes reminiscent of the old Barnardo's homes in the UK. Each one is home to 10 or 12 children looked after by staff who act as their 'mother' and 'father'. The children attend local schools and are encouraged to keep in touch with remaining family members. These homes give vulnerable children a sense of belonging and community for the first time in their lives.
It is perfectly understandable that Florentina and Marina chose to stay with their friends, and the closest thing to family they have. Being sent to a strange country with 'parents' they did not know would have destroyed the one source of continuity and stability in their lives.
Last week's judgement by the ECHR overruled the Romanian court's decision that these girls must be sent to Italy. It recognises that both the adoptive parents and the children have conflicting rights in this situation.
But the key point is that the rights of children have priority and take precedence over any competing rights of adults. As the ruling stated, adoption is "the giving of a family to a child and not a child to a family". This sends out a clear message that there can be no trade in children.
The current Romanian government has made great strides forward in child protection. However, while the supply of Romanian children for international adoption is drying up, the market is now shifting to other countries with weaker child protection systems, such as Russia.
This underlies the importance of the ECHR judgement. Its a pan-European impact provides hope that the human rights of children will be respected across the whole continent.
· Lady Emma Nicholson is a Liberal Democrat MEP for south-east England
2004 Jul 1