US Maintains Ban on Cambodian Adoptions UPDATED
Special Advisor for Children’s Issues, Ambassador Susan Jacobs, visited Cambodia on March 17th and 18th and stated, “The United States has not set a date for resumption of inter-country adoption with Cambodia.”
DAP news states that Ambassador Jacobs “met with Cambodian government officials and representatives from other embassies to discuss the state of implementation of prakas and level of compliance to the Hague convention on adoptions.
The United States looks forward to working with the Cambodian government as it establishes a child welfare system and will review carefully the implementing regulations related to the new law on inter-country adoptions as they are issued.”
Voice of America explains that “Cambodian officials say they expect to begin initiating a 2009 law in April this year to bring the country in line with international standards.
The law includes age requirement for prospective parents, between 30 to 45, and an age limit on a child of 18 years. It also includes requirements the adoptive parent is not a criminal and can care for the adopted.”
US Maintains Ban on Cambodian Adoptions
[Voice of America 3/18/11 by Chun Sakada]
US Adoption Official Visits Cambodia
[DAP News 3/18/11 by Virak Va]
Update: On April 19, 2011, Ambassador Jacobs reiterated ” the US is not yet ready to allow its citizens to adopt Cambodians. She says the government has more work to do.
“They are definitely working in the right direction,” she said. “They are taking it very seriously, and they are anxious to do the right thing. So that is very, very promising.”
“The Ministry of Social Affairs says it is drafting the necessary instruments to make adoption safe. But the government needs international help to ensure they are properly written.
Jacobs said the law is just the beginning. More must be done to ensure adoptions are legitimate. For example, it is currently difficult to discern whether a child is truly an orphan, or a child whose parents are alive.
“So, they need to have a database that will have that information in it,” she said. “Right now, it’s my understanding that in Cambodia there is no system for formal relinquishment and that is something that will have to be in the new law.”
Marc Vergara, a spokesman for Unicef, said Cambodia is not ready.
“We believe that mechanisms in place are not positioned and the system in place is not adequate, and these still are not good enough at this stage to resume international adoption in Cambodia,” he said.”
Ban Will Remain on US Adoptions: Ambassador
[Voice of America 4/19/11 by Im Sothearith]
Update 2: Office of Children’s Issues posts Notice about Cambodia on June 6, 2011. Text pasted below:
“Notice: Update of status of adoptions in Cambodia
The Office of Children’s Issues wishes to provide a further update for American Citizens interested in intercountry adoptions with Cambodia. Although Cambodia is a party to the Hague Adoption Convention, they are still working to establish the necessary internal child welfare structures to function as a Hague partner.
The Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation recently announced to all embassies with diplomatic and consular missions in Cambodia that the Cambodian Government has decided to delay the date that it will begin receiving adoption petitions until April 1, 2012. The delay provides additional time for Cambodia to implement all necessary prakas (regulations), add staff, and complete training necessary to meeting its obligations under the Hague Adoption Convention.
The Special Advisor for Children’s Issues, Ambassador Susan Jacobs met with Cambodian officials in March 2011, and explained what protections must be in place from the U.S. perspective before we will be able to resume adoptions between our two countries. She also encouraged the Cambodian Government to finalize and implement procedures that will enable Cambodia to operate as a Hague Convention partner country.
The United States continues to support Cambodia’s efforts to create a child welfare system and an intercountry adoption process that fulfills its obligations under the Hague Adoption Convention. We welcome Cambodia’s efforts to fully implement its new law on intercountry adoption.”
Update 3: DOS gives March 19, 2012 notice see at this link here and pasted below
“Notice: Update of status of adoptions in Cambodia
The Office of Children’s Issues wishes to provide a further update for U.S. citizens interested in intercountry adoptions with Cambodia.
The Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation recently announced to all embassies with diplomatic and consular missions in Cambodia that the Cambodian government has decided to delay the date that it will begin receiving adoption petitions until January 1, 2013. The Cambodian government is still working to establish the necessary internal child welfare structures to function as a Hague partner.
The Special Advisor for Children’s Issues, Ambassador Susan Jacobs, met with the host government officials in January 2012 regarding Cambodia’s ability to meet obligations for conducting intercountry adoptions. The United States continues to support Cambodia’s efforts to create a child welfare system and an intercountry adoption process that fulfills its obligations under the Hague Adoption Convention. We welcome Cambodia’s efforts to fully implement its new law on intercountry adoption.”
Let the marketing begin! Any bets on which agencies start opening programs first?
REFORM Puzzle Piece
Update 4: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday officially announced that a ban on adoptions to the United States will be lifted on January 1. [Well the US announced this in March 2012, which was why Jacobs was there to begin with.]
In 2001, the US, United Kingdom, Canada, France and Australia suspended adoption petitions citing the scant regulations in place. Cambodia later instituted a ban of its own on all foreign adoptions in 2009, passing a law that placed severe limitations on who was permitted to adopt in-country.
The announcement came following a meeting between Secretary of State Long Visalo and Ambassador Susan Jacobs, a US special adviser for children’s issues, who has been visiting regional nations this week.
“We made the law according to The Hague Adoption Convention, and we are thinking about the future of Cambodian children, as they will be able to receive a good education after being adopted,” said Visalo. “We are not allowing them to be abandoned.”
A quota of 100 to 200 children per year will be enforced, said Visalo, with the aim of preventing the exploitation and trafficking of children, and only children younger than 8 will be permitted to be adopted.
Visalo declined to comment on whether the ban will be lifted for all countries or only for the US.
Ith Sam Heng, minister of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation said that the Cambodian government is still working to establish the necessary child welfare institutions in order to expand adoptions to other countries.
Am Sam Ath, a technical supervisor for rights group Licadho, said that he supported the new policy, but has concerns over its potential loopholes.
“We have remaining concerns over the issue of inter-country adoption, because there were many problems in the past related to exploitation and the trafficking of children,” said Sam Ath.” [So adopting ONLY young children out presumably to the same agencies that had problems before will solve that, huh? Good luck with that.]
Ban on US adoptions to end with new year
[The Phnom Penh Post 10/30/12 by Vong Sokheng]
Update 5: “Adoption between Cambodia and the United States will not resume on January 1, as announced by the government this week, the US Embassy said yesterday.
In a statement released after a two-day visit by US Ambassador Susan Jacobs, Special Adviser for Children’s Issues, the US Embassy poured cold water on Monday’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announcement that adoption with the US would begin with the new year.
The US “has made no decision or commitment about the timing of inter-country adoptions between our two countries to resume”, the embassy statement read.
The US suspended adoption relations with Cambodia in 2009, citing lack of regulation.
“Cambodia has made good progress on implementing its law on inter-country adoption and related regulations on alternate care for children, but there remains work to be done,” the embassy stated.
Secretary of State Long Visalo, who made the government’s announcement, could not be reached. ”
No adoption agreement in place: US
[The Phnom Penh Post 11/2/12 by Rosa Ellen]
I wonder what adoption agencies have been talking with the Ministry for them to have that announcement to begin with.
Update 6: DOS now issues a notice backing up the article from one month ago.
See here and pasted below.
“Notice: Update on Inter-country Adoptions in Cambodia
The Special Advisor for Children’s Issues, Ambassador Susan Jacobs, met with host government officials in Cambodia on October 28 and 29 regarding Cambodia’s efforts to meet obligations under the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption (the Convention). The United States continues to support Cambodia’s efforts to improve its child welfare system and intercountry adoption process. We welcome Cambodia’s efforts to implement fully its new law on intercountry adoption.
The Cambodian government has indicated that it intends to begin accepting adoption petitions on January 1, 2013. Based on this information, the Department of State is currently assessing whether consular officers will be able to certify that individual adoptions will comply with the Convention, the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, and U.S. implementing regulations. The Department has made no decision as to when intercountry adoptions between the United States and Cambodia will resume.
We continue to caution adoption service providers (ASPs) and prospective adoptive parents that important steps must still take place to ensure that adoptions between Cambodia and the United States comply with the Convention, the U.S. law, and implementing regulations before intercountry adoptions between the United States and Cambodia may resume. ASPs should not initiate, nor claim to initiate, adoption programs in Cambodia until they receive notification from the Department of State that it will resume processing Convention adoption visa applications in Cambodia.”
DOS begs adoption agencies to pretty, pretty please with a cherry on top:don’t market this program. But that is all the teeth that this notice has.
Update 7: Pretty, pretty, pretty ,pretty please don’t market this program says DOS on January 2, 2012.
See here and pasted below:
“Notice: Update on Status of Intercountry Adoptions between the United States and Cambodia
The United States has determined that it will not be able to process intercountry adoptions in Cambodia at this time, under the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-Operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (the Convention).
Despite Cambodia’s initiatives to strengthen its child welfare system and improve the integrity of its domestic and intercountry adoption processes, it does not yet have a fully functional Convention process in place. We caution adoption service providers and prospective adoptive parents that important steps, consistent with the requirements of the Convention, must take place before intercountry adoptions between the United States and Cambodia may resume. Adoption service providers should neither initiate nor claim to initiate adoption services in Cambodia for prospective adoptive parents in the United States until they receive notification from the Department of State.”
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