Kyrgyzstan Minister Arrested After Taking Bribe from International Adoption Agency UPDATED

The moratorium was originally instituted in February 2009 because of corruption in the adoption system and reasonable fears children were not being protected. (The campaign later drew sensationalist coverage in press reports, which played on fears of “Americans harvesting our children’s organs”). Despite repeated promises to prospective parents to lift the ban, it dragged on because of chaos in government. For at least 65 American families who had already started the adoption process, the freeze left dozens of children in limbo for years. A fair number had congenital illnesses and needed treatment in the West. Some died waiting.

In 2011, new procedures were established for accrediting a limited number of international agencies to facilitate adoptions from Kyrgyzstan, prompting the end of the moratorium. A handful of adoptions have since proceeded.

Now it looks like this new system is already falling apart. The Prosecutor General’s office has demanded the Ministry of Social Development revoke the agencies’ accreditation, CA-News.org reported last week. The news comes on the heels of the July 5 arrest of Minister of Social Development Ravshan Sabirov, after his assistant allegedly took a $10,000 bribe and demanded $20,000 to accredit an international adoption agency. Sabirov is charged with extortion.

Why Sabirov? That’s a good question in a country where graft is as pervasive among officials as it is in Kyrgyzstan. Extortion should be punished, of course, but that happens so rarely that when it does, many doubt official explanations. Indeed, some are wondering if this tussle is over control of a lucrative industry rather than a serious attempt to root out corruption. And Sabirov – an ethnic minority without a strong extended network of supporters threatening to block a road somewhere – is low-hanging fruit.

Moreover, how many of the accredited agencies paid bribes? (There are between four and 10 international adoption agencies accredited now, according to various reports.) Globally, there is a history of unscrupulous Western middlemen turning a blind eye to exploitation and profiteering, as they facilitate the adoption of vulnerable children from poor to rich countries. Public scandals elsewhere in Asia, although not yet in Kyrgyzstan, have revealed children being kidnapped from their parents, put in institutions and passed off as orphans available for adoption in return for hefty dollar donations.

In other words, does this latest development demonstrate that Kyrgyz authorities are admirably serious about preventing corruption in this sector and protecting the best interests of children? (After all, the Kyrgyz parliament has just approved the Hague Convention on international adoption, a significant commitment.) Or are they engaged in something much less honorable

Besieged Prime Minister Omurbek Babanov, harried by an oft-postponed vote of no confidence in parliament, has threatened to impose a new moratorium – a move that will likely earn him points among the many people suspicious of what a Westerner, or a local middleman, could end up doing to an adopted baby. He can wave the proposal as a feather in the cap of his long-promised anti-corruption campaign, but its effects on child welfare in Kyrgyzstan remain very unclear.”

Washington, DC

August 13, 2012

In 2008, Kyrgyzstan suspended intercountry adoptions, and many U.S. families who began the adoption process prior to the suspension are still waiting for their adoptions to be finalized. As part of her trip, Ambassador Jacobs will urge the Government of Kyrgyzstan to resolve these adoptions as quickly as possible, keeping the best interests of the children in mind. She will also meet with other organizations interested in child welfare issues.

For more information about children’s issues, please visit: ChildrensIssues.state.gov

For updates on Special Advisor Jacobs’ trip, follow her on Twitter: @ChildrensIssues”

Her tweets say that she is there to discuss with the President both “child protection” and “intercountry adoption.” After that tweet, she congratulated Kyrgyzstan on signing Hague. Seriously! After the scandal that has broken, that was her tweet!

Update 5: Another minister arrested in conjunction with adoptions.

“Kyrgyzstan has announced the arrest on suspicion of bribe-taking of an official of the Social Protection Ministry who worked to arrange the adoption of Kyrgyz children by foreigners.
State Committee for National Security officials said Gulnara Derbisheva was arrested on August 31.
She is accused of taking bribes during her tenure as deputy social protection minister in connection with arranging the adoptions of Kyrgyz children.
Last week, former Social Protection Minister Ravshan Sabirov was arrested for alleged bribe-taking and later transferred to house arrest.
Officials say investigations into the cases are continuing.”

Kyrgyz Adoptions Official Arrested For Bribery

[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty 9/3/12]

“Clause of international adoption in Kyrgyzstan favours traffic in children,” the head of Children’s Rights Advocates League, Nazgul Turdubekova, told 24.kg news agencycommenting on detention of the ex-Deputy Minister of Social Development Ms. Gulnara Derbisheva.

According her, clause of accreditation of international adoption organizations creates loopholes for corruption. “The former heads of the Ministry – Mr. Sabirov and Ms. Derbisheva – decided themselves what organizations could be submitted for the commission’s consideration. Documents collection procedure is opaque. Often decisions were made irrespectively from presence or absence of conclusion of state agencies responsible for safety of children,” said Nazgul Turdubekova.

 

The human right advocate noted that the clause must undergone thorough anti-corruption examination, both state and independent ones. “International adoption was always scandalous issue in Kyrgyzstan and great temptation for officials. The legislation furthers corruption. Children are taken abroad illegally and are treated like a commodity. Not in vain the Prosecutor General’s Office has suspended accreditation of all international adoption organizations,” said Nazgul Turdubekova. She stressed that the procedure must be transparent, up to cancelation of adoption secrecy. Otherwise fight against corruption will be inefficient.

 

Recall, the Social Welfare Office Director was detained at the moment of $7 thousand bribe acceptance by officers of the Antigraft Service of the State National Security Committee (GKNB) on August 31, 2012. On September 1, Pervomaysky district court sustained a motion on her arrest for a month and put the official in the pretrial detention center of GKNB.

 

According the Antigraft Service, in 2011 Gulnara Derbisheva, holding the office of the Deputy Minister of Social Development, extorted bribes (around $30 thousand) from international organizations for illegal issue of permissive documents on foreign adoption. She is charged with extortion and acceptance of bribe.

 

Earlier, the ex-Minister of Social Development Ravshan Sabirov was accused of acceptance of bribe from an international adoption company. The criminal case against him was submitted to the court; the first hearing is set for September 5, 2012.”

 

Clause of international adoption in Kyrgyzstan favours traffic in children – Nazgul Turdubekova

[24 9/3/12 by Makhinur Niyazova]

Update 6: “Intelligence agencies of Kyrgyzstan have released a corrupt scheme of child adoption by foreign citizens, Anti-Corruption Service under the State Committee for National Security (GKNB) informed 24.kg news agency .

According to the Anti-Corruption Service (ACS), the scheme looks like: a foreign married couple pays for adoption services from $35 to $50 thousands to a firm. This sum is spent on receiving of Kyrgyzstan’s staying visa and settling of legal issues. In its turn, every foreign international adoption organization gets certificate for the right to engage in this activity in Kyrgyzstan. As to investigation, officials of the Ministry of Social Development for Adoption receive $15-20 thousand bribe for providing the certificate.

 

The service points, that at least 10 firms have gained certificates for the right to work only in 2012 and every if them has planned to take abroad 15-20 Kyrgyz children. Moreover, officials of the Ministry of Social Development get up to $2 thousand for every referral for acquaintance of a couple with a child. A thousand dollars “tariff” has been also fixed for findings about the proposed adoption for a court.

 

Remind, that Gulnara Derbisheva, Director of Department of Social Services under the Ministry of Social Development has been arrested for taking $7 thousand bribe by officials of the Anti-Corruption Service the other day. The official is under arrest at the Pre-Trial Detention Center of GKNB on resolution of Pervomay District Court.

 

As to ACS, Gulnara Derbisheva, taking the post of deputy head of the department in 2011, has extorted large scale bribes (about $30 thousand) for illegal issuance of permits on adoption of children by foreigners from international organizations. She was charged with extortion and taking bribes in especially big amount.

 

Earlier on, Ravshan Sabirov, Ex-Head of the Ministry of Social Development has been charged with extortion of a bribe in especially large amount from an international organization for issue of a license. Criminal case against him has been submitted to court, the first session has been scheduled for September 12, 2012.”

 

Kyrgyzstan’s intelligence agencies release corrupt scheme of foreign adoptions

[24 9/6/12 by by Makhinur Niyazova]

So, let’s do some math. Agencies pay $15-20,000  per year and they are guaranteed 15-20 kids  per year (with no consideration of whether that many children need international placement) .  Officials receive an additional $2,000 per referral. With 10 agencies approved (this article indicates that all 10 would be paying these “fees”), the Ministry officials were set to receive $450,000 to $600,000 per year for 150 to 200 children. Judges/courts would get $150,000 to $200,000 for their tariff.

The remaining children  in the orphanages were not going to receive that money. The officials are alleged to have illegally taken the initial agency money and were planning to keep this other per-referral money.

Let’s compare that “take” with the average income in Kyrgyzstan. With a conversion rate of 46 Som for $1, the average annual income in Kyrgyzstan is $280 and it is projected that in 2012, it will raise to $326 . Gee, I thought international adoption is “non-profit”?

Update 7:
“Kyrgyzstan’s officials call on to complete initiated cases on international adoption of children, press service of the Social Development Ministry reported.

Aссording its data, foreign parents have already adopted 9 children as of today. “They live with their foster families and have already gone abroad. Other 16 have been waiting for completion of adoption process since 2008. Procedures on them have been suspended due to temporary expiration of certificates of international accredited organizations. According to regulations of The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, ratified by the republic, all initiated adoption cases are subjected to be completed and any amendments in regulatory legal acts should not be applied to them,” the report said.

Remind, that 10 international adoption agencies have been accredited as of July 1, 2012. Moreover, certificates of six international organizations have been suspended for two months and certificates of four- terminated by the ministry due to protests and representations of the General Prosecutor’s Office. Therewith, activity of a commission for accreditation of international organizations has been also suspended for two months.”

Previous articles did not say how long the commision for accreditation was suspended.

Kyrgyz officials call on to complete initiated cases on international adoption

[24 9/10/12 by Anastasia Berngard]

One of those 9 children who have been adopted is showcased in a new article. Kahlers bring son home from Kyrgyzstan after four year wait  [My West Texas.com 8/8/12 by Kathleen Petty]

A few excerpts:

• AP says””We know that adoption is a picture of the gospel,” Mike Kahler said. “When  (God) adopts you into his family, it’s not conditional. Our commitment has got  to be to (Asa) if we feel like God’s called us to him.”
• “In 2010, the agency with which they’d been working presented the opportunity  to adopt a special-needs child from China, and the Kahlers decided to  proceed.

They still were waiting for Asa. But knowing their wait may never lead to his  homecoming, they also wanted to provide a home to another little boy in  need.”

• “They continued to send money each year to friends in Kyrgyzstan so needed  supplies and Christmas presents could be purchased for Asa’s orphanage. Their  friends would send pictures back, showing them Asa’s growth and assuring them he  was still there and still in need of a home.”
• “We were the only chance for him to have a family,” Karla Kahler said. “There  aren’t people lining up for a 4-year-old boy who has a hip displacement.” [They clearly haven’t read waiting children adoption forums!]

Update 8: “For a group of prospective North American parents whose attempts to adopt Kyrgyzstani children wound up on the wrong side of a 2009 moratorium on foreign adoptions, the last four years have been a harrowing education in the cut and thrust of Kyrgyz politics. The lifting of the moratorium last year offered the group – sometimes known as the “Kyrgyz 65” – hope, but recent corruption scandals appear to have brought the whole process to a grinding halt once again.

Gabrielle Shimkus, whose hoped-for son Azamat, now four, is one of the original 65 cases, shed “tears of joy” when the ban was lifted in May 2011, and further tears when the first of the long-stalled adoptions was completed this summer. But members of the group, who together lobby the Kyrgyz government, have had plenty of other reasons to cry over the years. A new ban on the work of all accredited international adoption agencies in Kyrgyzstan has given the remaining prospective parents a sickly feeling of déjà vu.

Under the Hague Convention, which Kyrgyzstan ratified on June 29, agencies accredited by a designated state institution are necessary go-betweens in international adoption cases. But several of the ten agencies operating in Kyrgyzstan are suspected of bribing officials to obtain their licenses (four have had their licenses revoked and the remaining six were suspended on July 26 for two months pending an investigation). The scandal led to the July 5 arrest of Social Development Minister Ravshan Sabirov and, on August 31, of his deputy Gulnara Derbisheva. Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security (GKNB) accuses both Sabirov and Derbisheva of taking bribes worth over $10,000 each from international agencies seeking accreditation.

The arrests have prompted calls for further house cleaning in Kyrgyzstan’s graft-ridden social sector and even a second moratorium on international adoption altogether. The threat of another delay has “devastated” Shimkus and her husband Frank. They fear that that Azamat, who requires surgeries on a cleft lip and palate, will be stuck in a Bishkek children’s home for the foreseeable future.

“The older [Azamat] gets, the more difficult these [cleft] surgeries are to do,” Gabrielle Shimkus explained by email. Citing additional concerns about the boy’s speech and stunted growth, Shimkus added, “He has a long way to go, and the longer the delays are in our adoption, the more significant his problems become.”

Lawmakers in Bishkek have not always shared the urgency felt by the Shimkuses and other prospective parents. After the 2009 moratorium, two of the 65 children died from illnesses that might have been treatable. With no end in sight, some prospective parents reluctantly dropped out of the process. And this January, about 20 families found out that the children they had been waiting for were adopted by local couples, who are given priority under Kyrgyzstan’s May 2011 family code. Nine of the original 65 children are now living with their adoptive parents in the United States.

Sixteen families are still waiting, bombarded by mixed messages from the country’s rotating elite.

Edil Baisalov, who replaced Sabirov as acting minister social development, has given perhaps the firmest statement of support to the families still waiting. On August 30 he told local journalists there would be no new moratorium. “In the course of discussions about the renewal of the adoption process, we must not forget the most important thing — the child. Every day in a children’s home is a day without affection,” the 24.kg news agency quoted him as saying.

But underscoring the challenges Kyrgyzstan’s volatile political system present, a week later the ministry had a new head.

Before his ouster in August, then-Prime Minister Omurbek Babanov, the fourth of five premiers since the original moratorium in February 2009, had talked up the possibility of a second ban; some nationalist hardliners in parliament – where any motion would have to pass – remain firmly opposed to international adoption.

Explaining the public ambivalence, Nazgul Turdubekova, director of the non-profit Children’s Rights Defenders League and a member of the Ministry of Social Development’s public oversight board, argues, “the corruption of [Kyrgyz] officials has discredited the very idea of international adoption.” Perceptions that local prospective parents were kept on never-ending waiting lists while “all paths were opened for the international agencies” fueled the public outcry that led to the original moratorium.

“An opinion has formed that [international adoption] is a big business,” Turdubekova told EurasiaNet.org.

Yet legislators have provided few alternatives to the crowded children’s homes dotted around Kyrgyzstan. According to Radio Free Europe, there were 11,000 orphans and abandoned children in such institutions in May 2011, while officials from Kyrgyzstan’s Interior Ministry told the Vechernii Bishkek newspaper that 99 newborns were handed over to children’s homes in the first seven months of 2012. (Not all of these children are orphans. Many are left part-time in the homes by indigent or migrant parents unable to provide full-time care.)

Moreover, international adoptions have never been a panacea. Between 2006 – when Kyrgyzstan began accepting regular applications from international families – and 2008, only about 100 international adoptions occurred each year.

For her part, Gabrielle Shimkus refrains from criticizing either government officials or the adoption agencies (because she has to kiss butt and may have to shell out another 30 K ?), but believes she has done everything in her power to prove she is a worthy parent for Azamat. “We believe in the new family code and children’s code that the ministries and parliament have worked so hard to create,” she said. “But the last moratorium cost us and our children four years of being apart. [During that time] a part of my heart has been in Kyrgyzstan.”

Kyrgyzstan: Long-Stalled International Adoptions Face New Hurdle

[Eurasianet.org 9/20/12 by Chris Rickleton]

Update 9: “Foreign parents spend from $30 to 60 thousand on adoption of Kyrgyzstan’s children,” Nazgul Turdubekova, Head of Children’s Rights Advocates League Public Fund, told at 24.kg news agency today.

According to Turdubekova, nobody properly tracks fates of the adopted and taken abroad children. “There is not any state report on the issue. Therefore, to work in the country, it will be enough to accredit 5-6 foreign agencies, involved in international adoption. And when we learn to monitor, then we’ll talk about increasing that number,” Nazgul Turdubekova said.

“We want to remove the secrecy of adoption and submit to the Ministry of Justice the request of the Social Development Ministry on working out of Regulations on the accreditation of international adoption organizations, and set the required not less than 25 years working experience for foreign agencies,” she added.”

Nazgul Turdubekova: Foreign parents spend $30-60 thousand on Kyrgyz children adoption

[24.kg 11/8/12 by Anastasia Berngard]

Update 10: CWA, the US agency that was temporarily suspended, has marketed themselves in a new fluff piece in the Kyrgyzstan news.

The article started strongly with correctly stating that children are sent to RTCs in the US. Then the CWA and client part came in and reality went out the door.

“Despite a temporary ban on international adoption, the society is still in fever.

Children are “stored” at ranchos

A few days ago the Head of Children’s Rights Advocates League Public Fund Nazgul Turdubekova again spoke to reporters and outraged by the fact that neither the officials nor law enforcement agencies raise the issue of removing the secrecy of adoption. This good corruption screen remained the norm in the legislature, the human rights activist outlined.

She is also concerned about intention of the Social Development Ministry to increase the number of accredited foreign companies involved in the selection of foreign parents for Kyrgyz orphans. “Even when there were 8 agencies, we have seen what illegal activities have taken place. These firms merge with the relevant government agencies and even those children who have biological parents are taken abroad for adoption. At the same time nobody properly tracks fates of the adopted and taken abroad children, foreign reports on them are not available. At first we should learn to monitor. Otherwise, we can repeat the experience of Russia, when the Russian children are abandoned in America, and teens are “stored” at ranchos, to which the Russian authorities have no access,” Nazgul Turdubekova stated.

The Social Development Ministry, of course, does not agree with such criticism. In order to assure and reassure the public in reporting of foreign parents, the Deputy Minister Edil Baisalov allowed 24.kg news agency journalist to see it firsthand. “We bought special shelve stand, where we store all the information. You can take any report and get acquainted with the story of each of 236 children, adopted from 2006 to 2008, including those children who were taken to South Africa. This is not the Wild West, not a slave market. Here, for example, four brothers and sisters, who had been adopted by one family – amazing case. And this is the girl, who was adopted at the age of 12. Look at these eyes. Eyes of an orphanage child can always tell,” he said. However, lack of an eye by one of the children did not scare potential foreign parents. According to the documents, doctors put the girl an artificial eye and the child looks good, like a doll, at the picture. By the way, the first reports on children, taken out in May 2012, have been recently received.

Lucky ticket

Foster parents of 6-year-old Zhazgul consented to tell the press about her fate. They adopted the girl from Belovodsky psycho-neurological orphanage. Main part of her life, 4.5 years, the girl was waiting for new parents – biological abandoned her. In infancy Zhazgul was found on the street and was placed in the orphanage. “The child is suffering from infantile cerebral paralysis and hydrocephalus. Because of heaviness of her head she was able to sit up by herself only when she has turned three years, and at five – first stood up,” the director of the Kyrgyz program of Christian World Adoption Agency in the United States Anya Rutherford told. “After the adoption and practically from the plane the girl was taken for examination and was urgently operated. Now she gets a powerful physical therapy and other treatment. Now Zhazgul, she is also Alexandra, spends almost all her time in walking frame and she really likes it. She already speaks English in full sentences! In homeland a child with such a serious diagnosis would be simply doomed. During adaptation, mother visited Zhazgul every day and the child was waiting for her at the doors, sitting in a wheelchair. The girl is cheerful, she smiles very often and relatives are just fascinated by her. Mother cherishes the opportunity to spend with her daughter every day and does not plan to return to work. Father provides the family financially. ”
Time is ticking away

“Today they try to blame me in abolition of the temporary moratorium on adoptions. But it is our task! Try to understand that children can grow up and remain without a family forever. Two kids, who have been waiting for years, as you know, have already died. Children will not hold press conferences. They are in their orphanage beds as before. The accreditation provision is under consideration in various ministries and departments. We hope that the government will approve the document before the end of 2012 and then the accreditation process will be re-started. But it can take another 5-6 months. Earlier on – before imposition of a temporary moratorium – 17 cases have been suspended at various stages. We want to complete them after all. These children do not have to pay for the mistakes of adults once again. All the more that Kyrgyzstan has ratified the Hague Convention. Right, 3- year- olds still believe in the good and wonders. But there are boys and girls who are 12-13 years old. They gave up hope and did not believe that they would ever be taken by moms and dads, teenagers are firmly convinced that they are absolutely not needed. And who of our people will make such a responsible step and adopt physically handicapped child? ” Baisalov said.

From a letter of parents wishing to adopt a child. “We hope to adopt A. since April 2008. Why are we waiting for her all this time? They say there is an invisible thread that connects hearts of those who were born to be together. I can not prove it to be true, but we have such a connection and affection towards A. We have an adaptation period with a child, one day the girl asked, if we take her “home.” At first we thought that she wanted to return to her group because all her life the girl spent in an orphanage and could not know what “home” is, but the child made it clear that she wants to leave with us. We are concerned about how seriously delay in the adoption process can affect the physical and psychological development of the girl. ”

Foreign native

“It’s easy to tell about fates of the children overseas. And is anyone interested in children adopted by citizens of Kyrgyzstan? A 18-year-old boy was placed at Bishkek shelter for the homeless. He was adopted at the age of 11 in Nookat. The teenager did not attend school a single day and has been working over the years in the field and was beaten with a pan. And has a human rights activist asked whom is to blame for it and why it was allowed that the foster parents used the child, cruelly mocked him, made the boy physically challenged and where are these pseudo-parents now at all? Surprisingly, but there is no national indignation about it. But every year we give to local adopters about 600 children. However, in most cases, orphans, foundlings and children in difficult situations, are adopted by relatives. Unfortunately, few people care about what happens in Nookat region, all are more interested in what is happening in Oklahoma,” Edil Baisalov said.

Last hope

“Some people believe that post-adoption reports can be faked, but all the papers notarized and legalized. They simply can not be faked. Americans are very law-abiding and always fulfill their obligations.[Oh Pulllease!]  At present, 17 cases are at various stages of consideration. Kyrgyzstan ratified the Hague Convention, and, according to it, all the things that were initiated before the document’s ratification should be completed. We ask the Ministry of Social Development and the Kyrgyz government to allow these children to go home to the United States. They have been waiting for a new family for almost 5 years. Parents consider them as their children, call them “our daughter” or “our son”, sit on suitcases and are ready to come to Kyrgyzstan to take children even tomorrow. Could parents wait so many years, if they do not truly love them? They just believe they have no right to play false with the children. They are ready to kneel in front of the government and the “White House.” We fully support actions of the government to develop a new position on accreditation, improvement of legislation in the field of international adoption, but we beg to let these children go. Of course, children’s homes do their best for them, but children need mom and dad, who would care for them, talk, love, provide them with medical services. Children feel themselves betrayed and abandoned, nobody can explain them why they are not taken home,” Anya Rutherford told.

From a letter of potential parents. “Our son just turned 13 years old. He was born with a cleft palate, and he needs additional surgeries to ensure a normal life. We implore the Kyrgyz government: our son needs a family, and he wants to have a family. We have been waiting so long for this moment, did everything we were asked to make this happen. We will tell him about his native country, acquaint the boy with Kyrgyz traditions. Please help the boy to come home, where he has been already waited for 4 years.”

Who would need this teenager if there was nobody in our country who would like to adopt him for so many years? Nobody. After a few years the boy will become an adult, independent person, whose fate forced him to believe in nobody and nothing. Each year, several dozen orphans leave orphanage walls and arrange their adult life. As best they can. Because the state, which has to provide them with housing by law, turned from them away. Then why not to give a last chance for normal life to tens of boys and girls? After all, every day spent in the orphanage has a heavy and sometimes irreversible impact on the physical and psychological state of the children.

From a letter of potential mother. “For four years, I am trying to adopt a child. Boy is cute, funny, with a good sense of humor. He is fond of cars, different instruments, dogs, and especially – of meals. I spent with him two wonderful weeks, at first he was quiet and shy, but once looked at me, called “mother” and smiled. I want my son to know about his background and culture, to celebrate traditional holidays and visit Kyrgyzstan again, when he will grow up. Most of all, I want to be with him, to love, to give a good education and a decent life. There is a place for him in our family, it is also in our hearts. Please do not make him wait even longer to reunite with his family. I promised the boy to return for him as soon as I will be allowed. Please help me to fulfill my promise and give opportunity to tell the boy again how much I love him.”
Thin thread of hope

[24.kg 11/13/12 by Anastasia Berngard]

Update 11: US media covers months-old arrrests but not US agency corruption.

“Kyrgyz lawmakers are considering stricter regulation of international  adoptions after officials have been accused of “selling” orphans as thousands of  children languish in poorly funded state-run orphanages.

Stricter rules are expected to further slow Kyrgyzstan’s international  adoption process, which already has been hobbled by the recent license  suspension of all international adoption agencies working in the country amid an  ongoing bribery investigation.

In September, Ravshan Sabirov, head of the Ministry of Social Development,  which oversees adoptions, and his deputy — Gulnara Derbisheva — were arrested  and charged with taking tens of thousands of dollars worth of bribes from  adoption agencies.

What’s more, Kyrgyzstan’s international adoptions had been halted from 2009  to 2011 following reports of orphanages falsifying certificates of illness and  disability in order to expedite adoptions — accusations that still plague the  system.

“Strict rules must be set down,” says lawmaker Erkin Sakebayev. “Then, of  course, we can give Kyrgyz kids up for adoption to foreigners. It’s better that  a poor child live abroad and find happiness and normal parents than stay in our  orphanages, where the conditions are terrible.”

According to the Ministry of Social Development, 11,000 children reside in  state-run homes, which officials say are underfunded and poorly run.

As many as 80 percent of the children are “social orphans” who have one or  both parents living but unable or unwilling to care for them, according to the  Integrated Regional Information Networks, a service of the U.N. Office for the  Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

“Today, a child has become a commodity, and there is no one to protect his  interests,” says Chinar Kozhobekova, a former orphanage employee who specializes  in children with health issues.

“Government agencies assigned to supporting families and children misreport  mothers as alcoholics, or as dysfunctional families,” Mr. Kozhobekova said.  “Orphanages are ready to give children up for adoption in exchange for financial  support for the institution.”

Particularly difficult to place are children with disabilities.

“Here in Kyrgyzstan, people don’t like to adopt unwell children,” says  lawmaker Shirin Aitmatova. “Sadly, those ill children can’t find parents.  The  best-case scenario is when a child is handicapped and [nurses] wipe kids’ butts  and put on dry pants.

“But with a single nurse on a tiny salary looking after 50 kids [in these  homes], they have no stimulation that could help them overcome their  disabilities,” she says.

“We can’t leave them there as they will rot there — it’s sin,” Ms. Aitmatova  says. “But it is also sin to sell them like goods.”

Activists say more should be done to keep children with their families before  of sending them to live in far-flung corners of the world.

“First, the state must just take all steps to house a kid in his or her  family surrounding, to be brought up in their biological environment by blood  relatives,” said Nazgul Turdubekova of Defenders of Children’s Rights. “And only  if there is no such surrounding should a child be put up for adoption.”

Edil Baisalov, who has taken over as acting head of the Ministry of Social  Development since Mr. Sabirov’s arrest, says the top priority is to find  adoptive families in Kyrgyzstan but that is not easy, particularly in the case  of children with illnesses and disabilities.

“[Illness] is the most likely reason that biological parents bring their  children to state orphanages,” he says. “We are not going to avoid our duty to  those kids. We can’t let them grow up and be a burden on our society either as  these kids in car often end up being institutionalized or in prison while  suffering throughout their lives.”

Mr. Baisalov insists that everything is being done to restart the adoption  process. He hopes that new legislation aimed at closing loopholes that allowed  corruption will be in pace by mid-December, and aims to see the number of  international adoption agencies working in the country increase from 10 to  15.

But observers bemoan an atmosphere of paranoia in which accusations of  “selling” Kyrgyz children have been aggravated by Russian TV reports in  Kyrgyzstan documenting cases of Russian children suffering abuse at the hands of  adoptive parents in the U.S.

Meanwhile, three of 65 children set for adoption by Americans and Canadians  have died since 2009, as officials wrangle over the shifting bureaucracy.

“No child should wait days, months, years for family, love, caring,” says  Elena Voronina, a human rights activist in Bishkek. “While state officials  decide who should deal with international adoption, how to avoid corruption and  what mechanisms should be in place, 36 [of the remaining 62 children] are in  need of complex operations, which they will not receive in our country. Are they  doomed to a slow death?””

 

Orphan scandal prompts scrutiny, action by Kyrgyz authorities

[Washington Times 11/19/12 by Tolkun Namatbaeva]

Update 12: Civil Activists decry corrupt draft resolution on adoption agency accreditation .

“Civil activists urge the President of Kyrgyzstan not to sign  “corrupt” resolution” on accreditation of international adoption  agencies, League of Child Rights Defenders non-governmental  organization reported.

According to the foundation, the Ministry of Social Development  of Kyrgyzstan ignores request of the civil society to eliminate       possibility of corruption in accreditation. “The department is  sheltering itself behind NGOs and their formal invitation. At  that, officials are triggering conflict of interests by inviting representatives of foreign organizations, accreditation claimants, for discussion of that document,” the report said.”

The Coalition of Civil Initiatives for reform of social security and the Anti-corruption Business Council call on the President and the Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan to “protect children, eliminate  possibility of child trafficking by stopping promotion of the  corrupt resolution and not signing the document”.”

Civil activists urge President not to sign “corrupt” draft resolution on accreditation of international adoption agencies

[24.kg 12/27/12 by Anastasia Bengard]

Update 13: Ambassador Jacobs of Office of Children’s Issues travels to Kyrgyzstan January 14-18.

See here and pasted below:
“Special Advisor for Children’s Issues Travels to Kyrgyzstan
Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
January 14, 2013

Special Advisor for Children’s Issues Ambassador Susan Jacobs will travel to Kyrgyzstan from January 14-18, 2013. This is the Special Advisor’s fifth visit to Kyrgyzstan. [Why so much effort for this country?]

In Kyrgyzstan, Special Advisor Jacobs will meet with government officials and nongovernment representatives and participate in the Annual Bilateral Consultation meetings to discuss intercountry adoption issues. For more information on the Annual Bilateral Consultation and the U.S. delegation led by Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert O. Blake, Jr., please click here.”

This article links the Russia ban to her visit:

“Uzbek authorities blamed Kyrgyz border guards for escalating the  crisis, saying they fired on residents protesting the installation  of electricity towers. The Sokh district is surrounded by the  southern Kyrgyz province of Batken. The region has been a source  of tension between the Uzbek and Kyrgyz governments for more than  a decade.

A brief hostage situation coincided with last week’s security  incidents. Security officials, however, said the situation is  relatively stable.

The U.S. State Department said its special adviser for children’s issues, Ambassador Susan Jacobs, arrived Monday in Kyrgyzstan to       discuss adoption issues following a Russian ban. The department  made no mention of the situation near Sokh.”

Emergency declared in parts of Kyrgyzstan

[UPI Asia 1/15/13]

Update 14: CWA, the lone US agency, has filed for bankruptcy. See our CWA closure post here.

In the lead up to the closure, there was another Kyrgyzstan article published by David Crary.It appears that they are using the children’s real names. One PAP has only met their referred child once and admits that 2 surgeries were able to be performed on the child.

“The boy, named Vladimir, is 5 1/2 years old, struggles at learning to count and draw, and lives in an orphanage in Kyrgyzstan. His would-be parents in New York have had just five brief visits since they signed on to adopt him in 2008, yet they refuse to abandon the quest.

“We have already bonded with this child,” said Frances Pardus-Abbadessa. “Probably a day doesn’t go by that we don’t think of him. In our mind, he’s our child. If we don’t wait for him, what’s his fate going to be?”

Frances and her husband, Drew, were among a group initially known as the “Kyrgyz 65” – Americans who were in the process of adopting 65 orphans from the Central Asian republic when it suspended international adoptions in 2008 due to allegations of fraud.

The group’s ranks have dwindled over the ensuing years while Kyrgyzstan’s adoption system has been disrupted by political turmoil and persisting corruption problems.

Some of the Americans gave up, some of the children were placed in domestic adoptions, and last summer nine of the remaining children finally were allowed to go to America. The Pardus-Abbadessas are now among 16 U.S. families still waiting, five years later.

Drew describes their predicament as “an emotional roller-coaster.” But he and others in the waiting group are cautiously encouraged by the efforts of Kyrgyzstan’s new social development minister, Edil Baisalov.

A 35-year-old English-speaker and avid Twitter user, Baisalov has brought an uncharacteristic level of openness to government business in his post-Soviet nation during six months on the job. He is working on new anti-corruption regulations and hopes for swift government approval that might help clear the way for the remaining U.S. adoption cases to be completed.

It’s not a sure thing. Various anti-corruption and children’s rights activists in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, have criticized the proposed rules as inadequate and vowed to oppose them. But one of the waiting Americans, Shannon Fenske of Reeseville, Wisconsin, said Baisalov nonetheless had raised hopes after so many disappointments.

“We are so incredibly impressed and grateful for what he has done since taking over,” Fenske said. “He’s been the most vocal in favor of moving our cases forward.”

Fenske, a medical technician, and her husband, Kevin, an aircraft maintenance manager, were matched in July 2008 with an infant Kyrgyz girl afflicted by a severe cleft lip and palate. They arranged for two operations for Kamila that improved her condition, but pain and speech problems linger.

The Fenskes have four other adopted children with special needs, including a 6-year-old boy adopted from Kyrgyzstan in 2007. But even with a bustling household, there’s no thought about dropping the quest to adopt Kamila, whom they’ve visited only once – last June.

“She’s our daughter – it’s that simple,” Shannon Fenske said. “We promised her a family. We will not stop fighting for her until she’s here, where we feel she belongs.”

The plight of the Fenskes and the other waiting families, while far more prolonged, shares some similarities with the circumstances of dozens of American families who were trying to adopt children from Russia when the Russian government banned such adoptions in December amid a rise in tensions with Washington. In both Russia and Kyrgyzstan, large numbers of abandoned children live in orphanages, and domestic adoptions are not sufficient to meet the needs.

Kyrgyzstan is an economically struggling country with often ill-equipped orphanages. Resources are scarce, specialist training to care for severely disabled children is limited, and the daily food budget at some facilities is $1.50 per child. [According to a 2010 report  here the average “cash income remained very low at US$1.4 per person per day in rural areas and US$2.1 per person per day in urban areas.”While food insecurity does plague over one-third of the Kyrgyz population, the amount spent per day on food for  children in orphanages is comparatively good. The report says 60% of income is spent on food, which would be 84 cents to $1.26 per day depending on rural or urban setting.]

 

Unscrupulous bureaucrats dealing in what was effectively a trade in children led to two halts in foreign adoptions – in 2006 and 2008 – by Kyrgyz authorities.

Last July, adoptions were again frozen after the arrest of Baisalov’s predecessor, Ravshan Sabirov, for allegedly extorting funds from foreign adoption agencies seeking accreditation. Sabirov eventually was acquitted, but nonetheless lost his post.

Under the new rules being pushed by Baisalov, any adoption agency working in Kyrgyzstan will have to secure separate agreements with four government ministries and with the security service, the successor to the Soviet-era KGB. Foreign agencies will be required to provide detailed financial statements to reduce the odds of corruption.

Despite that, the Bishkek-based Protection of Children’s Rights League remains unconvinced and insists that many problems still need resolving. The league’s leader, Nazgul Turdubekova, says corrupt local officials and unscrupulous intermediaries are commonly seen at international adoption agencies’ offices.

Baisalov described criticism of proposed adoption rules as “absolutely irrational.”

“They are just using children for their own public relations aims,” he said. “They are criticizing provisions they developed themselves and are thus delaying the reunification of Kyrgyz children with their parents.”

Drew and Frances Pardus-Abbadessa fervently hope for such a reunion with Vladimir, who they already consider their son. They’re hoping to rename him Franco Michael, after the first names of their parents.

The couple is wary of sharing photos that show his face, for fear of breaching adoption protocol. But they readily recall their five visits with him, dating back to June 2008, when he was 7 months old and they found him at his orphanage in a large pen filled with crying children.

Their last meeting was in July 2012. Since then, said Drew Pardus-Abbadessa, they’ve been sending letters and packages but have been told not to visit.

“You’re introduced to a child, and they become part of your heart, part of your family,” Drew said. “Then there are the delays, all the ups and downs. You have your hopes raised and they’re dashed again.”

Drew, an environmental engineering consultant, and Frances, who works for New York City’s Office of Child Support Enforcement, completed a domestic adoption while waiting for a resolution in Kyrgyzstan. They’re intent that son Pavol, who turns 2 on Feb. 22, will have an older brother.

“It’s not what we signed up for – adopting a child that old,” Frances said of Vladimir. “It will be harder for us. He will have bonding issues. But at least he’ll have love and support, a chance he’ll never have if he stays in that orphanage.”

The Pardus-Abbadessas, the Fenskes and the other waiting families have an ardent well-wisher in Ann Bates, a 41-year-old pediatric transport nurse from Bernville, Pennsylvania, who was one of the nine members of the Kyrgyz 65 able to complete her adoption last summer. Bates – a single mother now engaged to a long-time friend – says her 6-year-old daughter, Krystina, is developmentally delayed compared to other children her age, but is physically healthy and a joy to have around.

Bates also adopted a boy from Russia in 2010, and considers herself lucky, given the ban imposed by Russia in December.

Bates remains in touch with the families still waiting for Kyrgyz adoptions and yearns for their success.

“My heart still bleeds for all of those kids,” she said. “I’ve seen them, I’ve held them, I’ve helped advocate for the last five years.

“I see the huge improvements that Krystina has made in six months that she would never have made in an institution,” Bates added. “To know the others are not getting that attention is heartbreaking.””

For 5 years, US families pursue Kyrgyz adoptions

[Huffington Post 2/1/13 by David Crary and Leila Saralayeva]

Update 15: The original minister arrested for taking bribes, “Ravshan Sabirov, is sentenced to 5 years: the court found him guilty of taking a bribe.  Ravshan Sabirov himself blankly denies his guilt and has filed an appeal to the second instance court. “

The successor to Sabirov has now resigned. “Kyrgyzstan’s President Almazbek Atambayev accepted resignation of Minister of Social Development, signing an order for dismissal based on the latter’s resignation letter.

Recall, Kylychbek Sultanov had already mentioned he wouldn’t work under the guidance the of the Vice Prime Minister Kamila Taliyeva who is thwarting social reforms. Kamila Taliyeva had already fired deputy head of the profile department of the ministry Edil Baisalov, saying he failed to perform his duties.

Kylychbek Sultanov is a businessmen and owner of the most popular newspaper in Kyrgyz language. He was nominated to the ministerial post by Ata-Meken faction and took control over the ministry after a number of corruption scandals in international adoption.”

Kyrgyz President accepts resignation of Social Development Minister

[24.kg 4/22/13]

Update 16/June 21, 2013

“International adoptions process will be resumed in Kyrgyzstan, Social Development Minister of Kyrgyzstan Kudaybergen Bazarbayev told journalists today.

He reminded the adoption of Kyrgyz children by foreigners has been suspended by the Prosecutor General’s Office in summer of 2012.

“Currently, the government adopted a new regulation on the accreditation of agencies engaged in international adoption. Some companies, which operated in the Kyrgyz Republic, declared bankruptcy. I would like to stress once again: we place a priority on national adoption. Only in cases when the Kyrgyz people do not want to adopt a particular child, he/she can be adopted by foreigners. And it is wrong to say that this is the sale of children, one should not create an atmosphere of suspicion and negativity. The issue needs to be discussed calmly and carefully,” the Minister said.”

Kyrgyzstan to resume international adoption

[24.kg 6/21/13 by Anastasia Bengard]

Update 17/June 25,2013

“Kyrgyzstan will start accreditation of international adoption organizations in July. The information was voiced by the Social Development Minister Kudaybergen Bazarbayev at a session of the Social Policy Committee.

According to him, a special adoption commission starts its work. “I have already met with the Ambassador of the United States on the issue and stressed that the Social Development Ministry will not deal with adoption till we change public attitude towards the issue,” Kudaybergen Bazarbayev said.”

Kyrgyzstan to start accreditation of international adoption organizations in July

[24.kg 6/25/13 by Dilya Yusupova]

Update 18/July 29, 2013

161 children is the official number of legally available children.

“Knews agency published an interview withKudaiberghen Bazarbaev, Minister of social development of the Kyrgyz Republic where he talks about international kids’ adoption. “I mean, clearly, the international adoption of children will not be possible as long as our society perceives it as the sale of children, until all realize that ministry does not violate laws.

According to him, due to two resonant facts, the whole society thinks that all Ministerial staff is corrupted and bribable.

“I think the essence of corruption is that there are so far quotas for accredited companies representing the country. I don’t think families from Zambia will come to Bishkek to adopt a child, mostly we receive requests from America, because it is normal in the United States to adopt a kid. But I want to emphasize that national adoption remains a priority in this issue. Only those children who were not taken by local families, for some reason, must be considered for international adoptions. We have prepared a draft of the new regulations on firms’ accreditation; we introduce radical simplification of the document. The working version is ready. It remains only to coordinate with the ministries,” says Kudaiberghen Bazarbaev.

Is the fate of those children who have already been adopted monitored?

“Our ministry curates this issue only 3-4 years, two out of which we did not monitor. 254 child were adopted in the entire history of Kyrgyzstan. In comparison with Russia, from 40 to 50 thousand children are adopted each year there. Since 2011, when the moratorium was imposed, we’ve got 14 children on the waiting list. That is why it is easy for us to monitor our children as there are no many of them abroad. We have 161 child registered in our data base, and 234 Kyrgyz citizens are on waiting list to adaptation. They are waiting for other kids as those 161 they have already seen. Our citizens have the right to chose. They want to find healthier child”

29/07/2013 – 234 Kyrgyz families are in the waiting list to adopt a child

[The Times Central Asia 7/29/13]

Update 19/August 13, 2013

Two new items: One fourth of children in Kyrgystan orphanages were born in Moscow. and a recap of the past year’s suspension.

“At least 271 children have been placed to orphanages of Kyrgyzstan in 2010-2012. The information was voiced at presentation of a study, conducted in March-April of 2013.

According to the study, the main part of the children was left in the health care institutions- maternity and children’s hospitals. The majority of abandoned kids were born in Bishkek, Osh and Chui province. One fourth of the orphans abandoned in 2012 in Kyrgyzstan were born in Moscow. They are children of migrant workers. All of their biological mothers have been repatriated to their homeland.

More than a half of mothers (59 percent), who participated in the study, are women between the ages of 20 and 29. At the same time percentage of women at the age of 30 years and older is quite high (30 percent).” [What finagling will the US allow to get these children adopted internationally when they are Russian citizens?]

One fourth of orphans in Kyrgyzstan born in Moscow (Russia)

[24.kg 8/7/13]

“More than a year has passed since international adoption of children has been suspended in Kyrgyzstan after a scandal and arrest of a number of involved individuals. However, talks about its resuming continue.

Under parents’ wing

24.kg news agency has already told about 6-year-old Zhazgul. Largest part of her life (4.5 years) the girl has been waiting for new parents- her biological ones had abandoned her. Zhazgul was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and hydrocephalus. Because of large head she has managed to sit up by herself only when she was three years old, and stand up only at five. In the spring of 2012 the little girl got the winning ticket: she was adopted by American parents.

The Social Development Ministry receives reports about adopted by foreigners Kyrgyz children twice a year. There are some reports about changes in Zhazgul’s life. “According to the last document, the general condition of the girl is good. She has received all the necessary vaccinations. In early 2013, she underwent a computer tomography, the results of which were perfect,” head specialist of the Ministry Dzhanyl Dzhumabayeva told.

Photos of girls before and after the adoption stagger. Pink cheeks, bright eyes, smile on her face. There is not a shred of doubt that the child is happy and growing in love, affection and care.

“Other boy has also spent in the orphanage most part of his life, but being adopted by a family, he literary blossomed. In Kyrgyzstan, the child suffered from strabismus, giardiasis, scabies, psychomotor retardation that is not surprising – he has stayed in the orphanage for six years. According to the last report, new family treats him good. The main achievement of the boy is that he is learning the English language. Previously, he did not know a single word, and now he speaks more actively from day to day,” Dzhanyl Dzhumabayeva said.

Temporary permanent

Will the dozens of other disabled children have a chance to be adopted by foreigners? When the process of international adoption will be resumed? Minister of Social Development of Kyrgyzstan Kudaibergen Bazarbayev told about it to 24.kg news agency .

– There will be no international adoption till our society has an opinion that it is a sale of children and illegal profit. The Ministry is working in this direction.We are trying to prove to citizens that the international adoption is a normal process. And it’s not as massive in the Kyrgyz Republic, as in other countries. In Russia, for example, 40-50 thousand children are adopted annually. If 5-9 children will be adopted in our country per year, careful attention will be paid to each child. We, of course, place priority on national adoptive parents.

– Former heads of the Social Development Ministry spoke about nationwide information campaign to promote the idea of adoption of children in 2013 and allocation of 1 million soms for the purpose. It was planed to open resource centers in Bishkek and Osh. What is about the project?

– First, we can not claim that such work was done. Second, one can promote the idea of national adoption at places without opening of resource centers and additional finances. The main thing is will.

– Previous regulation on accreditation of foreign agencies, involved in international adoption, has caused a lot of criticism. The Social Development Ministry has been working on a new project quite a long time. Is document ready?

– It is ready and was submitted to the government for consideration. In comparison with the previous one, which was confusing and cumbersome, we have simplified the current version by reducing its volume almost twice. In general, we simplify the process of international adoption by eliminating all the moments that can lead to corruption.

What for the moments they are?

-Quota was one of the corrupt components- a country could accredit not more that three agencies. We lift this restriction. Therewith, we strengthen responsibility of public authorities for positive decision on this or that organization. Responsibility of the Social Development Ministry in the adoption of children will be also strengthened. All the corruption mechanisms are excluded today. I state it to you authoritatively.

– The former leadership has said the same. Minister, as you know, was sentenced to five years in prison …

– God will punish everyone who will try to sell children. He sees everything. We want to work honestly, openly and transparently. We enlist the Anti-Corruption Business Council, and not only in the field of international adoption, but also in all spheres of our activity.

-When will the process of international adoption be resumed?

– After the government adopts the resolution, we will create a new Commission on Accreditation of foreign organizations. After accreditation, agencies will be able to start working. But I repeat: we have to change public opinion in parallel.

– How long will it take? A year, two?

– Not a year or two. Commission on Accreditation will start its work in September of 2013. We understand that those children, who are in need of emergency treatment and care, can not wait. And the public should understand that. Before introduction of a temporary ban on international adoptions, we have considered the cases of 14 children. Seven of them have passed all the necessary procedures and they need a court decision only. These cases must be brought to its logical conclusion. Children are not guilty that few people have laid down a spot on the entire system.

Whole life in waiting

A 15-year-old boy Emir is also in the list of waiting for adoption. He had cleft lip and cleft palate but was operated. Furthermore, he has mild mental retardation. First time foreign parents decided to adopt him in 2008. Then a moratorium on adoptions hindered the process. After the resumption of adoption process, the parents and Emir have passed 10-day adaptation period in 2012. But the court did not have time to make a decision again. Not a single family in Kyrgyzstan wanted to adopt the boy for 15 years of his life. The teenager hardly has a hope to find a mom and a dad.

According to the database of the Social Development Ministry, at least 161 children can be adopted today. But our citizens do not want to adopt them as most of them are children with disabilities. And all people, of course, want healthy kids. The age of the children is from one year to 18 years. But Kyrgyzstanis usually adopt children up to five years in order to keep the secrecy of adoption. In a year Emir will graduate from his boarding school, evidently, not being adopted by a family. Where will he go?”

International adoption: like a dog in manger

[24.kg 8/13/13 by Anastasia Bengard]

 Update 20/September 21, 2013

“U.S. Special Advisor for Children’s Issues, Ambassador Susan Jacobs will travel to the Netherlands, France, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan from September 16-27, 2013, the U.S. State Department reported.

“From September 23-24, Ambassador Jacobs will meet with Kazakhstani government officials to discuss mutual concerns about the welfare of Kazakhstani children adopted by U.S. citizens and the Kazakhstani government’s suspension of adoptions to the United States,” the U.S. Department said.

The trip will end with her second visit this year to Kyrgyzstan to press for resolution of adoption cases that have been pending since 2008. She will also discuss with government officials the resumption of adoptions generally.”

U.S. Special Advisor to discuss children adoption issues in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan

[Trend 9/17/13 by E. Kosolapova]

Update 21/September 26, 2013

“The U.S. Special Advisor for Children’s Issues of the U.S. Department of State Susan Jacobs handed over a petition from a number of U.S. Senators with request to finish the process of adoption of 14 “ incompletely adopted” children during the meeting with the Minister of Social Development of Kyrgyzstan Kudaibergen Bazarbayev.

She also asked how much time is required to start accreditation of agencies, which are engaged in international adoption.

“I have been working on this post for three months only. We have been actively operating in this sphere from the very beginning. Human rights are not an empty words for me. We will finish work on this provision within a month, and then we will start the accreditation of the organizations. But in any case, the court will make a final decision. The court hasn’t considered these 14 cases yet. Yes, 7 cases were reviewed, but the court returned them to us due to suspension of the process,” Kudaibergen Bazarbayev said.

Recall, the international adoption process in the Kyrgyz Republic was suspended more than a year ago after a scandal and the arrest of a number of individuals, involved in the case. The cases of 14 children were considered before introduction of the temporary ban. But the court didn’t bring in a verdict.”

U.S. Senators ask Kyrgyz Social Development Ministry to hasten international adoption process

[24.kg 9/25/13 by Anastasia Bengard]

“Kyrgyzstan’s minister for social development, Kudaibergen Bazarbaev, told Jacobs at the meeting in Bishkek on September 25 that a new regulation to facilitate the adoption of Kyrgyz children by foreigners was being outlined.

Jacobs raised the issue of 14 Kyrgyz children whose adoptions by U.S. families had not yet been finalized.

Kyrgyz authorities suspended their adoption proceedings last year after the country’s former minister of social protection, Ravshan Sabirov, was convicted of accepting bribes in connection with arranging adoptions.

Jacobs’ involvement in a similar adoption delay in 2011 helped dozens of Kyrgyz orphans finally move to their new homes in the United States.”

U.S. State Department Official Discusses Kyrgyz Adoptions

[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty 9/25/13]

Update 22:USDOS claims http://adoption.state.gov/country_information/country_specific_alerts_notices.php?alert_notice_type=notices&alert_notice_file=kyrgyzstan_2

“Adoption Notice: Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Social Development to Accept New Applications from Adoption Service Providers

The Kyrgyz Ministry of Social Development published its final regulations regarding the authorization of adoption service providers on its Russian/ Kyrgyz language website on January 9, 2014. The announcement includes contact information for the Ministry and instructions on the procedure for interested adoption service providers to apply for authorization to operate in Kyrgyzstan l. The regulations go into effect on Sunday, February 23, 2014.

The Department of State will provide updated information on adoption.state.gov as it becomes available.”

Update 23: “Three organizations from the USA intend to deal with adoption of Kyrgyz children, the Ministry of Social Development said to 24.kg news agency.

 

Recall, applications for accreditation of foreign organizations, dealing with international adoption in the KR, are received since January 10, 2014. In all there were 4 applications; one of them is from Finland organization.

 

Application deadline expires on February 23.

 

The process of international adoption was suspended more than a year ago till a new regulations will be approved. The document was signed in December 2013. The priority in the country is given to the national adoption and decision on international adoption is accepted only by the court.

 

The Ministry of Social Development previously reported that on February 1, 2014 there are 168 children without parental care. These children are at the age from one to eighteen years, orphanage foster children including psychoneurological ones.”

 

Three organizations from USA to adopt Kyrgyz children [24.kg 2/15/14 by Anastasia Bengard]