Update on Kazakhstani orphans brought to Africa

The Ministry of Education and Science responds to the Prosecutor Generals’ inquiry concerning Kazakhstani children adopted to Kenya and South Africa, Tengrinews reports. The Children’s Right Committee’s Raisa Sher of the Ministry of Education and Science said that children who were allegedly adopted by South African and Kenyan nationals, were in fact adopted by U.S. and Netherlands citizens who were working in Africa at the time them made the adoptions. “A couple of professionals from the Netherlands was working in Kenya, but they are not living there anymore. The same situation is with the Philippines. As for the RSA, the U.S. nationals who adopted the children (from Kazakhstan) had been working and living in South Africa,” Sher said at the meeting. Earlier, the Prosecutor General’s Office reported 36 children were adopted and brought to Kenya and South Africa where there were no Kazakhstan’s diplomatic missions. There are 37 accredited foreign adoption agencies from 8 countries, said Sher. “If you remember, earlier citizens from more than 30 countries came (to Kazakhstan) to adopt a child. As of today, the number has been limited to 7 European countries and the USA,” added Sher. The Chairwoman of the Education Ministry's Committee explained that Kazakhstan was not imposing any limitations on the accreditation. “Those who applied in 2012 with proper documents that met the requirement of the Kazakhstan legislation were accredited. More than 60 agencies from different countries applied, but only 37 agencies from 8 countries passed the accreditation,” Raisa Sher concluded.