Kyrgyzstan Adoption Update

Dear Families,

Below you will find an update from the State Department regarding Kyrgyzstan. This update is directed to the families that are stuck but it has relevant information about the general issues in Kyrgyzstan and some hopeful promises. I will update you as I receive new information.

Warm regards,

Brent

Brent E. Yoder, LCSW
Executive Director

Dear Kyrgyz Adoptive Families:

I am writing from the Office of Children’s Issues to provide you with a brief update on recent developments regarding the pending adoption cases in Kyrgyzstan, following the visit of Kyrgyz officials in late May.

On May 27 three officials from the Kyrgyz government, Deputies Gulnara Derbysheva and Damira Niiazalieva, and Child Protection Expert Ekaterina Khoroshman, met with adoptive parents, adoption professionals, and government officials as part of a U.S. Government-sponsored international visitors program. The visit succeeded in helping these officials better understand, first-hand, the intense commitment that U.S. families have for their prospective adoptive children. The officials also learned about the standards and protections for adoptive children that are built into the U.S. intercountry adoption process.

After they returned home, these officials held meetings and interviews to address some of the questions and concerns that people in Kyrgyzstan had raised about intercountry adoptions. These officials are clearly following up on the promise they made to work for release of the sixty-five cases.

In June, the State Department also sponsored the visit of a U.S. adoption expert to Kyrgyzstan. This expert met with Kyrgyz government officials, private organizations, and individuals to answer questions about U.S. adoption law and to explain the support and protections available to adoptive children in the United States. During these presentations, the expert emphasized the importance of resolving the sixty-five adoptions currently pending for the well-being of the children.

Recently, the State Department received promising news that proposals regarding these sixty-five cases may be presented to the Kyrgyz Parliament in the coming days. As of this writing, no official action had yet been taken. It is not clear what concrete effect these proposals might have, since the Parliament itself apparently does not have the authority to resolve these cases. Further, Presidential elections are scheduled for July 23. Nevertheless, we welcome this interest and are optimistic that if the proposals are introduced and passed, they could initiate a more positive shift in momentum on the sixty-five cases.

I cannot yet report any specific, concrete developments either in Kyrgyz adoption policy or on any of the pending adoption case files. We, in the Office of Children’s Issues, will continue to follow this issue closely and will make every effort to report to you if there are any new developments.


Gerry W. Fuller
Adoption Division Co-Chief
Office of Children’s Issues