Read this from Families Without Borders...
The Unfortunate Impact of UNICEF Policies on Guatemalan Adoptions
Guatemala is now in the aftermath of a six-month long unofficial suspension of intercountry adoptions. The government’s attempts at implementing UNICEF-supported adoption “reform” during this period involved violations of existing internal laws and constitutional protections. The ability of birthmothers to make adoption plans for their children and private foster care arrangements through private attorneys for children in the adoption process were eliminated as part of this attempted “reform”. At the same time, the Guatemalan government made no provision to fund childcare in orphanages, nor to assist birthmothers with either childcare or adoption plans.
UNICEF was instrumental in the recent suspension of intercountry adoptions from Guatemala. The Constitutional Court of Guatemala has provided a reprieve by finding the accession to the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption to be unconstitutional, and therefore void. However, UNICEF continues to aggressively lobby the Guatemalan Congress to pass extremely restrictive adoption laws that, if implemented, will likely have disastrous consequences on the health and well-being of thousands of needy children and their birthmothers.
If you agree that UNICEF's positions on intercountry adoption do not support the best interest of the children of Guatemala AND that your donations to UNICEF would be better served on vaccination, education, and nutrition programs, then we ask that you contact UNICEF and ask them to reconsider these positions and re-allocate resources to humanitarian programs...
2 comments:
isnt it sickening how UNICEF clamins to want to help children.. WHAT A JOKE!!!!!!!!!!!
makes me so sad
alex
Jen,
I know. Don't get me started on them. I didn't know about their recent efforts in Guatemala, but I'm not surprised at all. They are the reason that children are older and older when they come home from international adoptions from ALL countries because UNICEF has convinced these governments that it's best for children to be raised in the country of their birth. So, because of this, they hold children until they're a certain age before they even become eligible for international adoption. I think UNICEF means well, but they are operating under delusions. Many of these children are in countries where adoption is not embraced as a family building option equal to birth and don't have much chance to be adopted by their fellow countrymen, and all this is doing is causing them to go home at an age where stranger anxiety is at it's peak, causing them more stress and difficulty with attachment. I don't think this serves children at all. UNICEF holds enormous power over countries where they give a lot of aid so they have a lot of influence. I've written to my friends and family about this too. Yikes.
--Christina
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