A new council has been formed to address all options on children without parents. In my opinion, this is a very positive step on the road to creating viable options for children, consistent with their rights under international convention, and with a dose of reality attached.
For the first time since since my entry to the world of intercountry, a multinational group has been formed to look into things like concurrent solutions for children, where for example domestic and intercountry adoption options can be moved forward at the same time, with a preference for domestic without causing a child to live without permanency for an extended period of time.
While to some extent this carries the same theme as the Hague originally did, I'm cautiously optimistic, and enthusiastic, that the combined learnings from the Hague, its aftermath, and the parties involved in this council will have a better result.
Read on for a press release on this.
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
IAC TO ESTABLISH WORLD COUNCIL ON CHILDREN WITHOUT PARENTS
Atlanta / Amsterdam, December 15 2005
International Advocates for Children (IAC) announced today that it has received unanimous support from 31 nations and the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) Chairman to form the World Council on Children without Parents. The Council, a membership organization with proposed financial support from all UN-countries, will focus on all available options for children without parents, including reunification, temporary care, adoption (domestic and international) and institutional care. The council will be named: "World Council on Child Welfare" for orphaned and abandoned children.
Ms. Lynda Lee Smith, Executive Director of IAC and 1st President - Elect of the World Council, said, “In the past we've made a lot of promises to children without parental care and we've signed a few "feels good" types of conventions and declarations but we are still struggling globally to deliver on our promises. The formation of this Council, made up of experts from diverse fields including government, child welfare representatives and non-governmental organizations working on the ground, is a huge leap forward in addressing the needs of these children throughout the world. The Council will move immediately to establish best practices and twenty-first century models for child welfare systems, collect critical statistics, and manage both the successes and conflicts between nations. IAC's new headquarters in Amsterdam, led by IAC's first International CEO, Maarten G.H. Brekelmans, will facilitate the World Council.
In support of the Council were officials from the USA, Italy, Germany, Romania, The Netherlands, Hungary, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Russia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Armenia, Honduras, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Argentina, Lesotho, Hungary, Poland, Sweden, Pakistan, Vietnam, El Salvador, Republic of Georgia, Bahamas, Mongolia, Ukraine, and Latvia. The unanimous vote, taken in Boston, USA, (in November 2005) at the 2nd World Conference on Children without Parents, founded by IAC, also included 30 different NGO's and other non-profit organizations.
A formal funding request is being prepared for the world community and the Council is now establishing the organizational structure for membership. Two expert committees, Legal and Science, will clearly define areas such as "best interest of child" and establish global best practices that serve children at all levels within the child welfare system.
It is estimated that over 100 million children are in need of permanent care around the globe. With the AIDS epidemic and natural disasters such as the tsunami, that number may increase over the next decade.