From the Australian Government:
The Department has been advised that the Ethiopian Federal First Instance Court has temporarily stopped accepting intercountry adoption cases involving abandoned children from orphanages. This suspension is to allow for additional investigations. It is reported that the suspension is a result of concerns about recent increases in the numbers of intercountry adoption cases brought before the court concerning abandoned children.
The Department is seeking further information from Ethiopian authorities. At this point there is no suggestion the Federal First Instance Court’s concerns relate to Australian cases or orphanages that have referred children to the Australian program.
At this time, it is not possible to provide an indication on how long the suspension will remain in place.
If you have any queries regarding your adoption application, please contact your State or Territory Central Authority. Further updates will be notified on this website as soon as possible.
Excuse me is this new in addition to the fact that the court is not hearing the cases at the moment? I mean does this really mean a stop to international adoption regarding these cases - or is it the same old news in different words? I'm getting very scared now!
ReplyDeleteNo Irene, don't be scared! It's the same old news that abandonment cases are temporarily on hold. It was only posted on their government website for the first time yesterday...it seems they are a little behind other countries in reporting the information. Since we still don't know which agency/ies were involved, I thought it might be helpful to know that the Australians don't believe their program, orphanages, etc are involved, especially since this site has Australian readers.
ReplyDeleteYes of course. I'm relieved that it was just the same news. Thank you.
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