Very recently, Joaquín Ruiz?Giménez celebrated his tenth anniversary as the leader of the Spanish Committee of the Spanish UNICEF Committee. He continues fighting for dialogue, social justice, de?mocratic participation... as values to transmit and practice among the children of the world. An essential reference as defending counsel of the democratisation of  Spanish society, he still advocates for the strength of dialogue among the people and the peoples, now from the standpoint f children. Below, we reproduce some of his answers to this interview.

“I believe that very important changes have taken place in recent years, above all in everything concerning international adoption. Until the Convention on the Rights of Children in 1989, the idea of international adoption aroused objections and prejudices. It was considered that international adoption was in the hands of purely profit?making Mafias or organisations ignoring any code. But the International Convention on the Rights of Children provided an important support for the idea that international adoption was good and healthy for the interests of many children all over the world. This development of a normative type was really decisive in overcoming the prejudices. But all of it had to be put into practice and at this point it has, no doubt, run into many obstacles. In this sense, a second main point of progress has been the creation of entities and organisms officially authorised to process the pro?cedures for international adoption. At present, I be?lieve that we should avoid those channels for inter?national adoption that move away from the paths that have finally been officially marked. We have to put an end to trading in children.”

“In order to act in the best interest of the child, the collaboration of the authorities and the training and education of the adopting parents is necessary. To overcome prejudices, because they exist, we require a pedagogy addressed at the adoptive parents. The adopting couple requires extra training and education for it assumes a great responsibility with adoption. The formative and the educational aspects of the candidates adopting is, for me, a basic element. Later on, during the evolution of adoption, they have to be assisted, supported, helped by specific orga?nisations specialised in children. One cannot enter into an adoption process, even for charity... One has to do it with love, with the vocation to serve the development of the child.”

“To help Homes that shelter abandoned children can never be recriminated; however, to help Homes for children who will never be adopted is more praiseworthy as it silences any suspicion that the help is carried out in order to have a kind of _cradle’ of adoptable children; this is something which must be avoided by all means. In this sense, the The Hague Agreement clearly specifies that the couple who adopts a child will have to defray the costs adoption implies; however, under no circumstances will the couple have to pay any money to obtain the adoption.”