Kathmandu, April 29:

Six government teams are going to visit seven European countries and the United States to monitor the situation of Nepali children adopted by the nationals of these countries.

A team headed by Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare Pampha Bhusal will leave for Germany and Spain on May 2. At least 20 delegates will visit the US, France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Italy, Norway and Denmark.

“Each team will interact with adoption agencies and government authorities; and visit the children’s families and their schools and interact with the families. Each team will spend at least 10 days on monitoring,” said a government official.

“The visit is coordinated by the Nepal Children’s Organisation. The visit is the first after the government banned inter-country adoption on March 5, 2007,” said Dharma Raj Shrestha, executive director of the Central Child Welfare Board and a member of the team heading to Norway and Denmark.

Other officials participating in the monitoring visit are secretary at the ministry Punya Prasad Neupane and joint secretaries Binod Adhikary and Mahendra Shrestha; joint secretary at the Ministry of Law and Parliamentary Affairs Babu Ram Regmi, Prime Minister Office’s representatives Madhav Paudel and Binda Hada; minister Bhusal’s personal assistants Dina Nath Gautam and Khusi Ram Yadav; and representatives of the Nepal Children’s Organisation and other organisations working in the field of inter-country adoption.

The ministry has drafted a new law on inter-country adoption in line with the Hague Convention to regulate and facilitate its processes and exercises, as well as curb irregularities and malpractices related to inter-country adoption.

The adoption process, which was part of the Child Act 1991, had given Nepal Children’s Organisation (Bal Mandir) the right to charge $300 per child from foster parents.