Americans banned from adopting children from Kazakhstan

U.S. citizens will not be able to adopt Kazakhstan children until U.S. authorities explain how two orphans from Kazakhstan ended up at the American ranch, Tengrinews.kz reports citing chairwoman of the Commission for Children's Rights Protection of the Kazakhstan Ministry of Education and Science Raissa Sher. “Last July it turned out that 2 of our kids were staying at the ranch. This ranch is similar to our schools for children with deviant behavior. Kazakhstan Foreign Ministry and the Children's Rights Protection commission filed a request, asking for details and explanations, but received no answer. In this relation we are not going to resume adoption practices with the U.S. until we receive a reply from this country in line with the Hague Convention and the international obligations it undertook,” Sher said. She gave the following statistics: over 47 thousand children have been adopted in Kazakhstan since 1999, 8,800 of them by foreign citizens. Kazakhstan citizens adopt around 3 thousand children every year. According to Sher, Kazakhstan suspended acceptance of documents for adoption in relation to ratification and preparation for transition to the Hague Convention on foreign adoption. “A new adoption strategy has been formed and several legislative and regulative bylaws were developed to regulate these activities,” she noted. “Inter-authority commissions have been created in the country's regions. They include representatives of justice, healthcare and education authorities. They decide whether a child can be adopted and in their decisions they are guided by the child's interests and benefit. As for foreign adoption, there is a totally new regulatory legislative base has been developed. It has been presented to the government, comprehensive consultations have been held with all diplomatic missions and children protection services,” she said. By Altynai Zhumzhumina