G20 Must Create a Human SOP For Situations Where Foreign Services Take Indian Families' Children Away

The child's fundamental humanity must come first, and the child's ethnic and cultural background cannot be disregarded.

  Image Source:- thewire

With 32 million people, India has the largest diaspora in the world, and more than a million of our nationals travel overseas for employment each year.

Notably, there are not many Indians who give up their citizenship. There were 0.16 million Indians who renounced their citizenship in 2021. This indicates that our migrant population's ties to India are still strong.

The relationship goes beyond a simple legal one of citizenship. According to data for 2021, personal remittances to India were the greatest in the world at US $ 89 billion. This year, it's anticipated that they will reach US $100 billion. Indians who work overseas give this money to their family in India. The relationship is emotional and filial to the native nation. Even after living far from home for decades or even generations, cultural traits are preserved.

There's little doubt that migration is no longer a one-way track. Significantly, migrants from various backgrounds have recently chosen to retire in India, even if some have elected to remain there permanently. Graduating from our esteemed engineering and business management colleges, these highly trained individuals are increasingly preferring to return to India to settle after spending a few years abroad. This trend is being fueled by India's rapidly developing metropolitan landscape.

The picture that takes shape is consistent with the G20 Summit's catchphrase, "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam," which means "the world is one family." Beyond its origins in abstract ideals of universal humanity and brotherhood, the idea of the globe as one family has taken on a concrete shape of lived experience for diaspora families of expatriates moving between home and the rest of the world. A diverse, international culture is spreading across society.

New opportunities and difficulties inevitably arise for both the sending and the receiving nation. 

The ongoing saga of the Gujarati baby in Berlin, who is currently in the care of the German child services agency after court orders were passed to strip the parents of their parental rights, has once again brought to light a delicate but upsetting issue. The parents are denied easy access while the appeal is still pending.

The fate of Indian children who have been taken from their parents' care by foreign child welfare organizations and forced to grow up in a controlled atmosphere is at stake. During my time as external affairs minister as well as that of my direct predecessor, Mr. S.M. Krishna, we dealt with this matter. Additionally, it happened under the direction of my late successor as minister of external affairs, Mrs. Sushma Swaraj. We exert all of our effort to find a quick fix in any situation.

Infants, toddlers, and elementary school aged children make up the majority of the population. They frequently don't know the language or culture of the area. The milieu from which they are removed, including the cuisine, language, and religious practices, is basically that of an Indian household. However, these kids are sent to foster parents who are citizens of the nation where they are living. No racial or cultural ties exist between the foster parents and the child.India is not the only country that must deal with this problem. In the nations of Western Europe, the United Kingdom, North America, Australia, and New Zealand, expatriate families from other countries in South Asia, South America, Eastern Europe, and Africa are similarly impacted.

When such children are taken away, the countries of origin step in on an as-needed basis to arrange for their return to their extended family or a foster placement there. However, because there are no standard operating procedures in place, this necessitates drawn-out negotiations that cause a lot of distress for everyone involved, especially the young, impressionable youngsters. Parents occasionally succumb to the pressure. A few days ago, an Indian mother who had her children taken away by Australian child protection agencies tragically committed suicide. The instances of Mrs. Chatterjee (later depicted in the movie Mrs. Chatterjee vs. Norway), Mrs. Shah vs. Germany, Mrs. Patil vs. Australia, Mrs. Yusuf vs. England, and Mrs. Annie Johansson are among some notable ones recorded in recent years.

The international community urgently needs to create a procedure for the repatriation of children taken from their parents by foreign child services in order to prevent similar tragedies of this nature. There would seem to be no reason to reject this when the home country is ready to assume responsibility for the child's safety and wellbeing, as the Indian government did in the instance of the Gujarati baby in Germany.

The fate of such children should not be decided on a technical and jurisdictional basis, even though we must respect foreign legal systems for intervening to remove children they believe are in danger or are the victims of child abuse, without currently dealing with the parents' claims of cultural bias and lack of due process. The child's fundamental humanity must come first, and the child's ethnic and cultural background cannot be disregarded.

According to reports, a number of prominent former high court judges have written to the G20 to ask for a sympathetic and sensible solution to this human issue. Despite having a full schedule, the Indian government will perhaps start a conversation on this issue at the G20 Summit.

Content Source:- https://thewire.in/diplomacy/children-removed-families-migrants-g20

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