ECUADOR: 3RD CONGRESS ON ADOPTION

RELAF was invited by UNICEF Ecuador to take part in the 3rd Congress on Adoption, organised by the Directorate of Adoptions and Family Reintegration of the Sub-secretariat of Special Protection, which is under the authority of the Ministry of Social and Economic Inclusion. The event was carried out on July 30 and 31 at Eugenio Espejo Conventions Centre in Quito, Ecuador.

We were invited in order to contribute in the generation of appropriate conditions for the promotion of deinstitutionalisation processes in the country. In this sense, María Sánchez Brizuela, who participated on behalf of RELAF, made two interventions:

• A presentation on the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children,
• and a presentation along with Jorge Valles, UNICEF Deputy Representative in Ecuador, on the Regional Initiative to eradicate the internment of children under the age of 3 in institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The need to improve and reform the national child protection system using a human rights approach is one of the main issues that arose during the Congress. In addition, the situation of 760 children aged under 4 who live in institutions is of special concern, as well as the poor work carried out towards family reintegration and the very incipient pilot test of foster care, which still does not resort to the experience gained and lessons learnt in the country in the previous years. We will continue to work with our local allies in order to keep boosting the necessary changes and to contribute in generating the conditions that shall make it possible to achieve a commitment towards the eradication of the institutionalisation of babies in the framework of the Call to Action.