Alert: Government of Ghana Suspends Intercountry Adoptions May 13, 2013 The Government of Ghana has temporarily suspended processing of all adoption cases, including intercountry adoptions, pending Ghana’s review of its current adoption procedures. The U.S. Embassy in Accra is seeking further clarification of the scope and duration of this temporary suspension by the Government of Ghana and how this suspension …
Category: DOS Office of Children’s Issues
Department of State Alert: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Alert: Democratic Republic of the Congo Immigration Authorities Suspend Issuance of Exit Permits to Adoptees May 2, 2013 Democratic Republic of Congo On April 29, the Congolese Ministry of Interior and Security, General Direction of Migration (Direction Generale d’Immigration, DGM) informed the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa that the DGM has temporarily suspended issuance of exit permits to adopted Congolese children …
Notice: Malian Law Restricts Intercountry Adoptions
Department of State Notice for Mali Mali May 1, 2013In December 2011, the Malian National Assembly passed a new Code of Person and the Family. The Code includes a provision that only Malian citizens will be able to complete intercountry or domestic adoptions from Mali. In the case of couples planning to adopt, both members of the couple must be …
Department of State Notice for Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo April 30, 2013 Notice: Clarification regarding Embassy Kinshasa adoption-related immigrant visa procedures This notice is intended to clarify the recent procedural changes in processing adoption related immigrant visas and their impact on pending and future adoptions from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). We appreciate the patience of families and all those involved in adoptions …
DOS Adoption Alert: Serbia Adoption
March 29, 2013 Alert: Serbia Adoption U.S. Embassy Belgrade has received reports that one or more U.S. adoption agencies may be giving prospective adoptive parents misleading information about the process of adoption in Serbia. Serbia places a priority on domestic adoption. The only children who are generally available for intercountry adoption are children with special needs. There are no adoption …
Adoption Alert: Morocco Update
Morocco March 8, 2013 Alert: Morocco On September 21, 2012, Moroccan Justice Minister El Mostapha Ramid published a notice instructing Moroccan prosecutors to oppose any petitions filed with a juvenile judge seeking the granting of Kafala guardianship decrees to foreign prospective adoptive parents (PAPs) who do not reside in Morocco. In his notice, he asks the prosecutors to emphasize to …
DOS Adoption Notice: Adoptions from Lesotho to Begin Under the Hague Adoption Convention
Lesotho March 1, 2013 Notice: Adoptions from Lesotho to Begin Under the Hague Adoption Convention The Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-Operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Convention) entered into force for Lesotho on December 1, 2012. At that time, Lesotho did not yet have a fully functional Convention process in place and elected to suspend intercountry …
DOS Alert: Russian Supreme Court Letter on Implementation of Federal Law No. 272-FZ
Russia January 24, 2013 Alert: Russian Supreme Court Letter on Implementation of Federal Law No. 272-FZ On December 28, 2012, President Vladimir Putin signed into law Federal Law No. 272-FZ. This law went into effect on January 1, 2013. It bans the adoption of Russian children by U.S. citizens, bars adoption service providers from assisting U.S. citizens in adopting Russian …
FY 2012 Annual Report on Intercountry Adoption
DOS released the FY 2012 Annual Report on Intercountry Adoption on its website today: http://adoption.state.gov/ Ethics, Transparency, Support~ What All Adoptions Deserve.http://www.pear-now.org/ People for Ethical Adoption Reform www.pear-now.org
Ambassador Jacobs to Travel to Kyrgyzstan
Special Advisor for Children’s Issues Travels to Kyrgyzstan Media Note Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC January 14, 2013 Special Advisor for Children’s Issues Ambassador Susan Jacobs will travel to Kyrgyzstan from January 14-18, 2013. This is the Special Advisor’s fifth visit to Kyrgyzstan. In Kyrgyzstan, Special Advisor Jacobs will meet with government officials and nongovernment representatives and participate in …