It is a fair point that generally kids are taken in to care due to unfit parents, but that is not the purpose of the paper is it?
The UK signed the Convention in 1964. Signatories have the following duty, without exception, under Article 37 (b) of the Vienna Convention of Consular Relations 1963: Article 37 (b):
âoeIf the relevant information is available to the competent authorities of the receiving State, such authorities shall have the duty:
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to inform the competent consular post without delay of any case where the appointment of a guardian or trustee appears to be in the interests of a minor or other person lacking full capacity who is a national of the sending State.â
Thats pretty clear, if you take a kid into care you are obligated to inform the consol for that childs country that you are doing so. The Consol may or may not intervine but they should be informed.
while you do get circumstances where parents are unfit, there are also cases where familys have been made homeless after losing jobs and having no recourse to public funds have ended up on the streets and the kids have been taken in to care.
Consul assistance could be quite essential to the outcome of such cases even if it is limited to informing family back home or enabling assistance from ex pats within communities in the UK. From providing some sort of housing maybe even the use of a spare room or help returning home. It depends on the case and the nationality and circumstances as to what can be done.
While some consuls will not lift a finger to help while others will but without being informed they can do nothing
at all and the UK has obligations under the Vienna Convention of Consular Relations 1963.
Going by the numbers of children affected this report should be noted and acted upon.