Nepal’s adoption system encouraging child trafficking: Report

KATHMANDU, Aug 30 - Inter-country adoption system in the country has encouraged child abuse including abduction and trafficking of children, according to a report released by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and Terre des Hommes (Tdh), an international NGO, on Friday.The report revealed that only four out ...

Of the some 15,000 children in orphanages or children’s homes, a significant number of admissions in these setups are a result of fraud, coercion or malpractice, according to the 62-page report.

The report suggests stopping inter-country adoption until the rights of children in orphanages are protected and their standard of care is raised.

UNICEF and the Tdh have welcomed the news that the government will ratify the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption (1993).

However, they stressed that the ratification and enactment of domestic legislation should take place before inter-country adoption procedures resume.