Govt teams to monitor status of orphans

Govt teams to monitor status of

Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, April 29:

Six government teams are going to visit seven European

countries and the United States to monitor the

situation of Nepali children adopted by the nationals

of these countries.

A team headed by Minister for Women, Children and

Social Welfare Pampha Bhusal will leave for Germany

and Spain on May 2. At least 20 delegates will visit

the US, France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Italy, Norway

and Denmark.

“Each team will interact with adoption agencies and

government authorities; and visit the children’s

families and their schools and interact with the

families. Each team will spend at least 10 days on

monitoring,” said a government official.

“The visit is coordinated by the Nepal Children’s

Organisation. The visit is the first after the

government banned inter-country adoption on March 5,

2007,” said Dharma Raj Shrestha, executive director of

the Central Child Welfare Board and a member of the

team heading to Norway and Denmark.

Other officials participating in the monitoring visit

are secretary at the ministry Punya Prasad Neupane and

joint secretaries Binod Adhikary and Mahendra

Shrestha; joint secretary at the Ministry of Law and

Parliamentary Affairs Babu Ram Regmi, Prime Minister

Office’s representatives Madhav Paudel and Binda Hada;

minister Bhusal’s personal assistants Dina Nath Gautam

and Khusi Ram Yadav; and representatives of the Nepal

Children’s Organisation and other organisations

working in the field of inter-country adoption.

The ministry has drafted a new law on inter-country

adoption in line with the Hague Convention to regulate

and facilitate its processes and exercises, as well as

curb irregularities and malpractices related to

inter-country adoption.

The adoption process, which was part of the Child Act

1991, had given Nepal Children’s Organisation (Bal

Mandir) the right to charge $300 per child from foster

parents.