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Difference between revisions of "Adoption Alert for Congo, Democratic Republic of the"

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<span style="color:red">'''Alert: U.S. Secretary of State Meeting with [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] (DRC) President (August 5, 2014)'''
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<span style="color:red">'''The Department of State Strongly Recommends Against Adopting from the DRC at this time (October 6, 2014)'''
  
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On August 4, Secretary of State John Kerry met with DRC President Joseph Kabila to stress the urgency of lifting the suspension on the issuance of exit permits for Congolese [[adopted]] children. Secretary Kerry strongly emphasized our humanitarian concern for the children and families affected by the suspension, and urged that children whose adoptions were completed in Congolese courts should be allowed to obtain exit permits and join their adoptive families in the United States.  
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In light of the DRC’s September 26, 2014 announcement that its exit permit suspension for [[adopted]] children remains in effect indefinitely, the Department of State has asked all [[Adoption Agencies|adoption agencies]] to cease referring new DRC adoption cases for U.S. prospective [[Adoptive Parents|adoptive parents]] at this time. The Department of State strongly recommends against initiating an adoption in the DRC at this time, as adoptive children cannot leave the DRC without an exit permit issued by the DRC’s Directorate of General Migration, even with a finalized adoption.  Congolese courts continue to issue adoption decrees under existing Congolese law, despite the exit permit suspension.
  
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President Kabila did not provide any new information during the meeting regarding the DRC government’s policy to not review cases during the suspension.  President Kabila stated that the DRC adoption process has involved many inconsistencies in case processing and needs to be reformed.  
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We continue to press the DRC government on lifting the suspension so that Congolese children with finalized adoptions waiting for an exit permit can join their adoptive families as soon as possible.We are committed to working with the DRC government to address their concerns and continue to advocate for opportunities to engage on long-term adoption reforms in the DRC.  
  
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The Department of State deeply regrets that families continue to face an indefinite wait for exit permits.  We will continue to stress to the DRC government our concern for Congolese [[adopted]] children who are not able to obtain exit permits and stress our commitment to addressing the Congolese concerns about intercountry adoptions.  Our offers to provide technical expertise, and to bring a delegation of Congolese officials to the United States, remain on the table and will continue to be reiterated at every opportunity.
 
  
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<span style="color:red">'''Status of the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] (DRC) exit permit suspension for [[adopted]] children (September 29, 2014)'''
  
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<span style="color:red">'''Alert: [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] (DRC) Announces End to Exit Permit Exceptions Until New Law is Promulgated (July 11, 2014)'''
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On September 26, 2014 Director General of the Directorate of General Migration, Francois Beya, announced the DRC’s official policy that the exit permit suspension for [[adopted]] children will remain in place until further notice.  The Congolese government initially issued the exit permit suspension for [[adopted]] children on September 25, 2013, indicating that the suspension would be in effect for up to 12 months.
  
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On July 10, Ambassador James Swan met with Director General Beya of the Congolese General Direction of Migration (DGM) to seek clarification on the DGM’s decision to no longer issue exit permits to any [[adopted]] Congolese children until a new adoption law is promulgated. DGM Beya stated that his office will not accept any cases for consideration in the interim, even those involving children with medical conditions or those cases that met the DGM’s October 2013 exception criteria.
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Although the Department of State and the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa have pressed the Congolese government repeatedly to lift the exit permit suspension, the September 26 announcement is the only definitive response the Congolese authorities have provided to us since they originally stated that no exit permits would be issued until promulgation of new adoption laws in the DRC in July.
  
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During the meeting, the DGM stressed that it considers no intercountry adoptions from the DRC to be completely free of fraud. The DGM said it believes all the bordereaux letters it recently reviewed to be falsified or back-dated and therefore invalid for purposes of seeking an exit permit.
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Bringing relief to the children and adoptive families impacted by the exit permit suspension remains a high priority for the Department of State. We understand the hardship children and families are facing and we remain vigerously engaged on this issue at all levels.  Secretary of State John Kerry met multiple times with DRC President Joseph Kabila since May to advocate on behalf of the affected families.
  
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Over the July 4 weekend, the Second Lady of the United States, Dr. Jill Biden, raised the exit permit suspension and all the pending cases with Congolese parliamentarians and the Minister of Gender and Family, all of whom emphasized their concerns about problems in the adoption process. The parliamentarians further cautioned that they consider many Congolese judges to be corrupt and that few government officials have confidence in completed adoptions.
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President Kabila and the Congolese government continue to state that the reason for the suspension is that the DRC adoption process needs to be reformed because it does not adequately protect Congolese children.  We are committed to working with the DRC government to address their concerns and continue to advocate for opportunities to engage on long-term adoption reforms in the DRC. We will also continue to press the DRC government on lifting the suspension so that Congolese [[adopted]] children waiting for an exit permit can join their adoptive families as soon as possible.
  
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The Department of State deeply regrets that families are once again forced to wait indefinitely for exit permits. On July 3, the DGM accepted eight medical cases from the U.S. Embassy for humanitarian consideration. In the July 10 meeting, the DGM stated that it will not consider exit permits for any of these eight medical cases. To date, the DGM issued exit permits for four children whose cases were submitted to the DGM prior to July 3. At the July 3 meeting, the DGM refused to accept 29 grandfathered cases received from adoptive families in response to our June 13 Adoption Alert.
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The U.S. government still receives immigration applications for [[adopted]] and prospective adoptive children in the DRC. We also understand that Congolese courts continue to issue adoption decrees under existing Congolese law, despite the exit permit suspension.  Given these circumstances, we strongly urge all [[Adoption Agencies|adoption agencies]] to inform prospective adoptive families of the suspension on exit permits and caution prospective [[Adoptive Parents|adoptive parents]] who are interested in adopting from the DRC to weigh the risks and uncertainty of the process at this time.  Prospective [[Adoptive Parents|adoptive parents]] should be aware that children may not be able to leave the DRC even with a finalized adoption.
  
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The Department of State will continue to engage the DRC government on ways we can address its concerns about intercountry adoptions. Our offers to provide technical expertise, and to bring a delegation of Congolese officials to the United States, remain on the table and will be reiterated at every opportunity. We will also continue to strongly emphasize our message that all children whose adoptions were completed in Congolese courts should be allowed to obtain exit permits and join their adoptive families in the United States.
 
  
 
Source: [http://travel.state.gov/content/adoptionsabroad/en/country-information/alerts-and-notices.democratic%20republic%20of%20the%20congo.html]
 
Source: [http://travel.state.gov/content/adoptionsabroad/en/country-information/alerts-and-notices.democratic%20republic%20of%20the%20congo.html]
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Back to [[Adopting from Congo, Democratic Republic of the]]

Latest revision as of 23:31, 6 October 2014

Women and children in Kinshasha, The .
Source: Wikipedia.org.

There have been numerous U.S. State Department adoption alerts for the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The most recent alerts are included here.


The Department of State Strongly Recommends Against Adopting from the DRC at this time (October 6, 2014)

In light of the DRC’s September 26, 2014 announcement that its exit permit suspension for adopted children remains in effect indefinitely, the Department of State has asked all adoption agencies to cease referring new DRC adoption cases for U.S. prospective adoptive parents at this time. The Department of State strongly recommends against initiating an adoption in the DRC at this time, as adoptive children cannot leave the DRC without an exit permit issued by the DRC’s Directorate of General Migration, even with a finalized adoption. Congolese courts continue to issue adoption decrees under existing Congolese law, despite the exit permit suspension.

We continue to press the DRC government on lifting the suspension so that Congolese children with finalized adoptions waiting for an exit permit can join their adoptive families as soon as possible.We are committed to working with the DRC government to address their concerns and continue to advocate for opportunities to engage on long-term adoption reforms in the DRC.


Status of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) exit permit suspension for adopted children (September 29, 2014)

On September 26, 2014 Director General of the Directorate of General Migration, Francois Beya, announced the DRC’s official policy that the exit permit suspension for adopted children will remain in place until further notice. The Congolese government initially issued the exit permit suspension for adopted children on September 25, 2013, indicating that the suspension would be in effect for up to 12 months.

Although the Department of State and the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa have pressed the Congolese government repeatedly to lift the exit permit suspension, the September 26 announcement is the only definitive response the Congolese authorities have provided to us since they originally stated that no exit permits would be issued until promulgation of new adoption laws in the DRC in July.

Bringing relief to the children and adoptive families impacted by the exit permit suspension remains a high priority for the Department of State. We understand the hardship children and families are facing and we remain vigerously engaged on this issue at all levels. Secretary of State John Kerry met multiple times with DRC President Joseph Kabila since May to advocate on behalf of the affected families.

President Kabila and the Congolese government continue to state that the reason for the suspension is that the DRC adoption process needs to be reformed because it does not adequately protect Congolese children. We are committed to working with the DRC government to address their concerns and continue to advocate for opportunities to engage on long-term adoption reforms in the DRC. We will also continue to press the DRC government on lifting the suspension so that Congolese adopted children waiting for an exit permit can join their adoptive families as soon as possible.

The U.S. government still receives immigration applications for adopted and prospective adoptive children in the DRC. We also understand that Congolese courts continue to issue adoption decrees under existing Congolese law, despite the exit permit suspension. Given these circumstances, we strongly urge all adoption agencies to inform prospective adoptive families of the suspension on exit permits and caution prospective adoptive parents who are interested in adopting from the DRC to weigh the risks and uncertainty of the process at this time. Prospective adoptive parents should be aware that children may not be able to leave the DRC even with a finalized adoption.


Source: [1]

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