The ECAI and ethics in international adoption

The Entidades Colaboradoras de Adopción Internacional, ECAI (Collaborating Organizations for International Adoption), were set up in our country by a delegation of public bodies which have competence in the matter of adoption in order to cover those services of management, training, procedure, support and service that the Administration itself cannot assume. With its creation and following what has been established by international law, it is intended to finish with those private mediations that rendered it impossible to control the legality of the adop- tions made beyond our own borders. But lately, the legality and the ethics that sustain it, is clashing with everyday action of the people, bodies and institutions, ultimately endangering the respect of children's rights from all over the world in relation to adoption (...).

In this sense, we witness a massive accreditation of Collaborating Organizations in some of our Autonomous Communities without any previous selection among Organizations to only accredit those whose path, experience and professionalism would guarantee the seriousness and sensitiveness required by this kind of work.

Finally, another subject that fills all the points of view with doubts at an ethical level concerning the adoption of children between various countries is what already constitutes a common practice among a large number of private agencies for adoption from all over Europe besides being an accepted practice in many countries of origin: we are referring to financing by the very same "adoption agencies" of those Homes that "furnish" the children liable for adoption (...). In our country, while some ECAI express in their ideology that their contribution helps those institutions of the country of origin that have in their charge children who are not liable for adoption, others foresee, with absolute clarity, their intention to help economically the Homes "with whom they work"... In this context, the respect of some principles considered by the The Hague Agreement for international adoption becomes very difficult, such as those which force the authorities of the country to appeal to international adoption only after having found that there is no possibility of placing the child in his state of origin and therefore lead the states to treating children like a merchandise. The dignity and the rights of children and of the countries needs special care for all concerned in this field.