Hey Steven Bell, I just got this email from my senator in Illinois regarding adoption in the Dem. Republic of the Congo. I think youre going to enjoy this read. Dear Mr. McInturff: Thank you for contacting me about the difficulties facing American families seeking to adopt children from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). I appreciate hearing from you. As a member of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption and a longtime supporter of intercountry adoption, I recognize this is an important issue for many American families. Americans adopt more than 20,000 children from abroad each year. I have been in close communication with officials at both the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security about the future of DRC adoptions. We also have been in contact with families from Illinois who are currently waiting on the outcome of their adoption in the DRC. On April 1, 2008, the United States signed the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. This convention regulates the international adoption process by establishing uniform standards and procedures that protect the rights and interests of adopted children, birth parents, and adoptive parents. However, the Convention is only applicable if both the child’s country of origin and the adoptive parents’ home country are members. DRC has not yet signed or ratified the Convention and the process is therefore governed by a separate bilateral agreement to protect the parties. The State Department and the Department of Homeland Security jointly administer the U.S. international adoption program. They have reported problems in DRC’s handling of adoption cases under the current agreement. However, U.S. officials have been working toward a resolution of these issues with government leaders in DRC, consular officials, and Susan Jacobs, the Special Advisor for Children’s Issues at the State Department. I recognize that thousands of American families have welcomed Congolese children into their homes and that many others are awaiting the adoption of a child born in DRC. I will continue to press the U.S. agencies overseeing this process to take all possible steps to allow legitimate DRC adoptions to move forward in a manner that protects children, birth parents and adoptive parents. Thank you again for taking the time to share your concerns with me. Please feel free to keep in touch. Sincerely, Richard J. Durbin United States Senator
Posted on: Sun, 27 Apr 2014 13:28:15 +0000
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