Unicef voices concerns over Ethiopian adoption boom

Unicef has highlighted growing concerns about adoption practices in Ethiopia, a country with which Ireland is considering an agreement to adopt children.

Irish people adopted 201 children from Ethiopia up until 2010, making it the fifth most popular country for Irish adoptive parents after Russia, Romania, Vietnam, and China.

There has been growing pressure in recent months for Ireland to agree a bilateral agreement with Ethiopia in order to begin adopting from the country, with a large number of TDs questioning Children’s Minister Frances Fitzgerald on the subject. A delegation from the Oireachtas foreign affairs committee to the country has also raised the issue.