Criteria for adopting from Nepal
You are not able to adopt from Nepal at the moment. In November 2009 The Hague Bureau published a report of its technical assistance mission to Nepal which looked at the inter-country adoption processes. It recommended to the Nepalese Government a temporary suspension of inter-country adoptions while it made the necessary reforms of the process.
Following this report an Order was made to suspend adoptions from Nepal by British Citizens. The Order came into force on 3 May 2010.
To date this Order is still in force and with no timings as to when it will be lifted.
Restrictions on Adoptions from Abroad (Nepal) Order 2010 3 May 2010
The Order was made in response to evidence in a report published by the Hague Bureau in February 2010 following their Technical Assistance mission to Nepal. The report found that Nepal has insufficient procedures in place to establish whether a child is adoptable.
It also found evidence of a lack of support for birth parents about the legal effects of relinquishing their child for adoption and no procedures in place for the finding of a permanent family in Nepal for the child. The specific areas of concern included:
- failure to adhere to the key principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, such as the complete absence of the principle of best interests of the child;
- an inadequate legal framework (despite recent legislation). The report specifically recommends that Nepal suspend adoptions temporarily whilst it puts new legislation and improved procedures in place;
- falsification of documents;
- lack of transparency and accountability for the money brought into Nepal from intercountry adoptions.
Such practices are contrary to the principles of the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (‘the Hague Convention’) and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
In 2007, Nepal introduced a moratorium on intercountry adoptions whilst it made changes to its processes, intended to resolve serious issues of malpractice, and specifically the introduction of a new adoption act. UNICEF subsequently collected
1. Transmission to the adoption agency of “matching information” received from the Nepalese authorities.
2. Confirmation to the UK Borders Agency that the prospective adopters are approved to adopt and that all required processes have been followed.
information on intercountry adoptions in Nepal and their findings published in 2008, were intended to assist Nepal in improving its procedures and legal framework. The findings of the UNICEF report were similar to those of the Hague Bureau’s report. Nepal reopened intercountry adoptions in November 2009, having signed the Hague Convention in April 2009 The Hague Bureau’s Report found that most of the problems identified by UNICEF in 2008 had not been resolved.
As a result of the evidence contained in the Hague Bureau’s report, the then Secretary of State took the view that it would be contrary to the public policy to further the bringing of children into the United Kingdom from Nepal as specified in section 9(2) of the Children and Adoption Act 2002.
Here are a couple of news reports regarding the situation of adoption from Nepal and its suspension:
Bal Madir stops taking children
