"Romania should give its abandoned children another chance"

"Romania should give its abandoned children another chance"
Denisa Maruntoiu
Bucharest Daily News March 20, 2006

Jean-Marie Cavada is in favor of international adoptions.

French MEPs Claire Gibault and Jean-Marie Cavada believe Romania would take a great step towards EU accession by resuming international adoptions and rejecting Emma Nicholson's pressure which, according to Gibault, is the result of a personal negative experience with her Iraqi adoptive son.

Do you know how many members of the European Parliament (EP) are in favor of international adoptions and what are their arguments?

In December 2005, during the vote on the resolution on the extent of Romania's readiness for EU accession, a huge majority of the MEPs voted in favor of the oral amendment that urges Romania to solve the pipeline cases.

In Romania, international adoption can serve the best interest of the child. In institutions children are forgotten: they are hazily considered as one of many, not as the individuals they are. Foster families, even if they are well prepared, remain temporary measures and therefore can't totally fulfill the affective needs of the children. (...)

It is illogical to stop international adoption using the excuse that there were cases where it was misused: nobody proposes banning driving on roads just because there are traffic accidents!

International adoption is a way for an abandoned child to find a mom and a dad. It also leads to cultural mixing, open-mindedness and tolerance. Therefore the ban on international adoption should be lifted.

Do you believe Romania should completely lift the ban on international adoptions or allow only the pending cases to be resolved?

The situation of the children whose files are "pending" is the most awful: before the moratorium came into force, in June 2001, they already had close contacts with their potential adoptive family. Therefore, the moratorium destroyed their hopes of joining this family: they felt as if they had been abandoned again! This is why the resolution of the pending cases is an absolute priority for us. However discussions should also be held in order to lift the ban on other international adoptions as soon as possible.

Has Baroness Nicholson ever presented the EP factual evidence of cases in which adopted children have been trafficked?

No. She keeps talking about the existence of "constant evidence," but she has never presented any. All she can say when she is put under pressure is "But everyone is talking about it!" We do not deny that there were some cases of abuse or trafficking, but it concerned a very small minority of children. Baroness Nicholson wants to make us believe that all international adoptions lead to abuse. But as long as she does not bring us concrete evidence, she will not convince us.

Why doesn't the EC reconsider its position the same as the EP?

The truth isn't that the EC shares Baroness Nicholson's view on international adoptions, but that she managed to convince the EC with arguments she was never able to prove.

We think the EC should take the MEPs' change of position as a sign that it is time to stop ignoring reality. For instance, in a press release dated November 29, 2005, the EC states that "there are 1355 Romanian families registered to adopt one of the 393 children available for adoption. Thus there is little scope, if any, for international adoptions." However, according to Romanian authorities in August 2004 there were 81,233 children in care, but only 393 children are officially available for adoption! The gulf between these figures should lead the EC to question the capacity of this data to reflect reality. Here, the truth is that the criteria used to decide if a child is 'adoptable' or not are so restrictive that the result is used as a screen to hide what the real situation is.

Do you think that by resuming international adoptions Romania would jeopardize its EU accession?

No, on the contrary! After the fall of Ceausescu, the Romanian authorities had to face a very difficult situation in the field of child welfare, and we want to emphasize more clearly the considerable efforts made over the past few years. For instance, trying to make the abandoned children return to their biological families represents progress.

However, there is still a lot to do in the field of child protection. By resuming international adoptions, Romania would make a great step forward. If Romania acts resolutely in the best interest of its children, Romania will have our support.

If the majority within the EP does not agree with Nicholson's opinion, why is it that the Romanian authorities and public consider her to be "the voice" of the EP?

When Baroness Nicholson was the EP's Rapporteur on Romania, she wrote several reports urging the Romanian authorities to ban international adoptions. As much as we regret it, we have to say that the EP voted in favor of those reports. We think it happened mainly because most of the MEPs at the time didn't know exactly what the situation in Romania was. (...)

Now it seems that our colleagues have found out what the reality is, and consequently changed their minds. With some of my colleagues, I sent a letter, which has unfortunately gone unanswered, to the Romanian authorities to bring this change to their attention.

The media has suggested that Nicholson's anti-international adoption campaign is a result of her personal, negative experience in the matter. What do you think?

Emma Nicholson adopted an Iraqi child after the first Gulf War. But a rift developed between her and her child and now they are no longer in contact (as reported, for instance, by the Daily Telegraph on March 05, 2004). We don't know, and don't want to know, anything else about this, as this is Baroness Nicholson's private life. But just because she experienced an adoption failure does not mean that she has to carry on a personal crusade against international adoptions, thus preventing Romanian children from finding a family.

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT PRESS RELEASE

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTPRESS OFFICE
Brussels, 15 March 2006

Press Release

European Parliament worried about the situation of childcare sector, disabled persons and unresolved requests for international adoptions inRomania.

Abandoned children in maternity hospitals, caged beds used for children with mental problems, the way disabled persons live and are treated incare institutions, international adoptions - these were the key-problems raised by the European parliamentarians on Tuesday night, in Strasbourg, during Question Time addressed to the European commissioner for Enlargement, Olli Rehn.

Caged beds

Commisioner Rehn has been asked if he is aware of the fact that in Romania, for children with psychic problems there are used caged beds incare-institutions and, if so, if he will discuss this problem with the Romanian government, with a view to bringing the practice to a speedy end?

Information regarding the use of caged-beds in Romania for children with mental problems is an issue of huge concern for us, Maired McGuinness(EPP-DE) said, asking how much weight it attaches to these issues in its ongoing negotiations with the Romanian authorities?

Commissioner Rehn said he has never had any proof about the use of caged beds in Romania for children with mental problems, but he added that if proved, he will raise the matter with Romania, if need be.

Regarding proofs, MEP John Bowis (EEP-DE) reminded a first page article published recently by Sunday Times and said that other information have come from the Mental Disability Advocacy Centre, a very well documented institution. "I hope that you will say to Romania, as indeed to the other countries that have engaged in this barbaric practice, that caged beds are inappropriate for children, the confused elderly or for people with mental health problems in any civilised country, and certainly in a Member State of this European Union", he said.

Maired McGuinness underlined as crucial the un-announced visits of European officials and experts to the ground. "It is only by pressure that we will make progress", she said.

International adoptions: cases unresolved

MEPs have shown interest in the situation of the requests for international adoptions registered before entering into force the new law and which are still waiting for a verdict. "We know that in Romania (...) there are children living in difficult conditions; in the same time, there are families in the European Union willing to adopt these children, with all the necessary guarantees. Can the EU ask the Romanian authorities (...) to grant facilities for these families?", Manuel Medina Ortega (PSE) asked.

"I am deeply aware of the pending cases of international adoptions of Romanian children and the understandable anxiety surrounding this issue among the families who would like to give these children a new home. As part of the legislative reforms in preparation for acceding to the Union, and with the support of the European Parliament over the years, Romania recently adopted new legislation on child protection. According to this legislation, which entered into force on 1 January 2005, international adoptions are a last resort if a suitable in-country solution cannot be found. Through this law, Romania has aligned itself with the legal provisions of the European Union in this area, as also embodied in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child", commissioner Rehn said. "The application of these provisions must be seen within the context of former abusive practices relating to international adoptions in Romania", he added.

"We are in regular contact with the Romanian authorities and I would say that Romania is on the right track concerning the solution of pending petitions for adoption, filed before entry into force of the new law", Olli Rehn declared. "The Romanian authorities have established a working party which should finalise its work on 31 March, and the Commission will follow closely the issue and will mention it in the comprehensive monitoring report which will be adopted, as scheduled, on 16 May", he added.

It should be furthermore be noted that there is currently no Community legislation in the field of international adoption; in fact, the Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003, which provides for mutual recognition of judgments on parental responsibility, explicitly excludes adoption from its scope, the European commissioner said. "Our view is that as long as theRomanian authorities respect the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and European legislation, then it is up to the Romanian Government and authorities to look for a solution", he added.

"The screening process of applications for inter-country adoptions registered before the entry into force of the new legislation is expected to be completed this month. We expect that the Romanian authorities will inform all the applicants individually", commissioner Rehn concluded.

Childcare

82 000 children currently under social protection - families or placement centres - are benefiting from a child protection structure (with access to health and education) in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Olli Rehn underlined. On the basis of very detailed reports, we know that childcare system in Romania has improved, not least because the European Union has provided substantial support for the restructuring of the childcare sector, accounting for around EUR 160 million in the last 15 years, he said.

Disabled and mentally handicapped persons

The evaluation of the Romanian care-system for disabled and mentally handicapped persons is one of the problems we have major concern for and for what a lot of experts are working, not only from the Commission but from the Member States too. "Concerning care for disabled people, the main focus is now on developing a strategy that aims at closing and restructuring large residential institutions by developing alternative community-based services, support for families and smaller residential units. We provide, for instance, up to EUR 15 million. Moreover, a public awareness campaign is ongoing in Romania in order to raise awareness on rights of people with disabilities. Although reform in this sector is still very much in its early stage, from the point of view of the Commission we estimate that the country is now on the right track in this regard", the European commissioner declared.

Mental healthcare system

"The persistent problem of ill treatment in psychiatric hospitals in Romania needs to be addressed immediately. This was stressed in our comprehensive monitoring report of October, and the significant deficits in living and care conditions in some establishments need to be tackled", Olli Rehn said.

"We have strongly advised the Romanian authorities to make mental health a priority area and devote sufficient resources for this purpose. The Romanian authorities are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the current PHARE assistance and draft a strategy and action plan for the mental healthreform", he added.

The Mental Disability Advocacy Centre (MDAC) is an internationalnon-governmental organization based in Budapest that promotes and protects the human rights of people with mental health problems and intellectual disabilities across central and eastern Europe and central Asia. MDAC works to improve the quality of life for people with mental disabilities through litigation, research and international advocacy. MDAC has participatory status at the Council of Europe and is a cooperating organization of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights.

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