1/28/2015

When is it OK to remove a child from the birth family? - CoE report

“Children have the right to be protected from all types of violence, abuse and neglect. But children also have the right not to be separated from their parents against their will, except when the competent authorities determine that such separation is necessary for the best interests of the child,” Olga Borzova (Russia, NR) says in her report, adopted on 26 January 2015 by the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).


"In the absence of a child being judged to be at risk or imminent risk of suffering serious harm, in particular physical, sexual or psychological abuse, it is not enough to show that a child could be placed in a more beneficial environment for his upbringing to remove a child from his or her parents and even less to sever family ties completely.

Children’s rights are violated both by unwarranted decisions taken in member States to remove them from (or not to return them to) parental care, and by unwarranted decisions taken in member States not to remove them from (or to return them too early to) parental care. Member States should thus put into place laws, regulations and procedures which truly put the best interest of the child first in removal, placement and reunification decisions. The competent Council of Europe body should develop policy guidelines for member States on how to avoid practices deemed abusive in this context, i.e. (except in exceptional circumstances) severing family ties completely, removing children from parental care at birth, basing placement decisions on the effluxion of time, and having recourse to adoptions without parental consent."

The report, that is to be debated at the spring Plenary session of PACE in April 2015, contains a number of draft resolutions and recommendations, including the fact that "even when such separation is necessary, children have the right to maintain personal relations and direct contact with both parents on a regular basis, except if it is contrary to the child's best interests." It also mentions that "financial and material poverty should never be the only justification for the removal of a child from parental care, but should be seen as a signal for the need to provide appropriate support to the family. It is not enough to show that a child could be placed in a more beneficial environment for his upbringing to remove a child from his or her parents and even less to sever family ties completely."

The lack of support to families - among a number of other areas - is elaborated on in detail (p. 10-11)
Read the full report here



11 comments:

  1. Thank You for posting this report here! We are having SUCH a hard time in the UK that I'm seeking support from wherever it can come! See our online petition https://www.change.org/p/the-rt-hon-chris-grayling-mp-return-whistleblower-kids-and-abuse-survivors-of-london-school-to-their-russian-family and Abolish Adoptions without Parental Consent, live in the PETI Committee: http://mckenzie-friends.co.uk/2014/11/13/ep_petitions-in-brussels-on-forcedadoption-and-childsnatching-in-uk/

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    1. It is terrible to hear that even in the UK of all places you have huge issues about adoption and birth families. If you think EPA can help you, feel free to contact us directly by e-mail. You can find our contact details on our website euparents.eu

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    2. I didn't manage to find an email address even though I tried!... :(

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    3. office @ euparents.eu or president @ euparents.eu

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  2. When we say “no punishment without crime”,defenders of the system answer that a lot of abuse takes place that is not a crime .My reply is that if alleged abuse is not a crime,then it is not abuse at all !

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    1. Do you wish to make them crime officially?

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  3. my question is how can a mother be deemed a bad parent in the uk but be deemed a good parent in france? 5 of my children were removed from my care in the uk forever and put up for forced adoption 1 of the 5 i was deemed to be a good mum and the french had no issues with my care. i thought i could use the judgement in the uk to save my other children but the uk would not listen to any thing said to the by the french. when i fell pregnant again i left for france and again i was deemed to be a good enough mother for my daughter. the french struggling to understand how i lost my children. my own solicitors didnt fight my case no one has ever helped me with an appeal. how can you fight the uk when your hands are constantly tied behind your back? and your children are removed for the risk some thing may happen in the future but with no evidence to show that the children have suffered or whittnesed a thing. Gena

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