Italy’s PM Gets 31 Children Home After Congolese Delay and US DOS Gives an Alert UPDATED

“A government plane has been sent to the Democratic Republic of Congo to collect Italian parents and children at the centre of an adoption row, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on Monday. In a message posted on Twitter, the premier said: “I have just given the go-ahead: [for] a plane from the Italian Republic to leave for the Congo and bring back the children whose adoption has been blocked for months.” The move comes more than six months after 24 Italian couples arrived in the DR Congo to pick up the children they had agreed to adopt. The Italians have been stranded in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, ever since after local authorities suspended the children’s exit permits. According to Italian press reports the families had refused to leave the country without their adoptive children, appealing to their government for help. In December, one of the parents told ANSA news agency that they feared for their safety, as members of an armed group attacked the capital. Fifty two fights were killed in the violence, which forced the airport to temporarily close.”

PM sends plane to Congo amid adoption row[The Local 5/26/14]

“An Italian Air Force jet carrying 31 Congolese children adopted by families in Italy arrived Wednesday from Kinshasha, marking the happy conclusion of a painful affair. Twenty four Italian couples had been unable to bring their adopted children home from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) despite having completed the adoption process, due to lack of final clearance by Congolese authorities. The government in Kinshasa in September suspended permissions on all international adoptions out of suspicion of irregularities, but admitted that none of the procedures in question concerned Italy. Former integration minister Cecile Kyenge, who was also in charge of international adoptions – and is herself DRC-born – in November went on mission to the country and garnered reassurances of a positive outcome. After continued standstill, however, the Italian government recently sent a delegation to the African country that made a breakthrough. Reform Minister Maria Elena Boschi, who has worked on the case and went to the DRC to complete the mission, walked down the steps from the aircraft at Rome’s Ciampino airport holding hands with two of the children. “The children are well, they are happy to be with their adoptive families and in the airplane they plaited my hair,” Boschi told reporters. “During the flight the children slept a lot because they were tired. They went mad with joy once we had landed at Ciampino and they recognised their parents from the cabin windows,” the minister added.” Adopted Congolese children arrive, happy end to long dispute[Gazetta Del Sud online 5/28/14 ] REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update: US DOS gives an Alert . See http://adoption.state.gov/country_information/country_specific_alerts_notices.php?alert_notice_type=alerts&alert_notice_file=democratic_republic_of_congo_7 and pasted below:

“Alert: Democratic Republic of the Congo to issue Some Exit Permits; Others Must Wait for New Adoption Laws

On May 26, the Congolese General Direction of Migration (DGM) informed members of the diplomatic corps that it was prepared to issue exit permits to 62 children adopted by foreigners whose cases fully conform to existing Congolese adoption laws. The DGM’s list includes 15 children adopted by U.S. families. The U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa will contact those families via email by May 28. The DGM cautioned that all other children adopted by foreigners will not be issued exit permits until a new law reforming intercountry adoptions enters into force, even if their cases met the DGM’s previous exception criteria (as outlined in the Department of State’s October 23, 2013 Adoption Alert). This new law has not yet been drafted and Congolese authorities are not able to commit to a particular timeframe in which they expect to develop and implement any new law(s). The Department of State has reiterated our previous offers of technical consultations and will seek clarification from the DGM on this recent decision’s impact on the remaining cases involving children adopted by U.S. families. Congolese authorities have not yet responded to inquiries from the U.S. Embassy regarding adopted children with life-threatening medical conditions. NOTE:  Revisions to Congolese adoption laws may include retroactive provisions that could affect cases that have already been completed or are in progress. While the courts may continue processing adoptions, the children adopted during the exit permit suspension will not be able to obtain exit permits to depart the country and are not guaranteed to be eligible for exit permits once any new law is promulgated. Please direct questions related to this alert or a specific adoption from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the Department of State, Office of Children’s Issues at 1-888-407-4747 within the United States, or 202-501-4444 from outside the United States. Email inquiries may be directed to AskCI@state.gov.”  Article “Iowa families in the process of adopting children from one African country have reason to be hopeful this week. Families attempting to adopt from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were hopeful their pleas for help were being heard after months of pressuring government officials to lift a suspension of exit letters, a document required for their legally adopted children to leave the DRC. Lawmakers believe there are approximately 460 families in the U.S. — at least a dozen of them in Iowa — that are impacted by the adoption standstill. On Tuesday, the State Department issued a release stating Congolese officials planned to issue exit permits for 62 children but others “must wait for new laws.” The statement can be read in its entirety here: http://adoption.state.gov/country_information/country_specific_alerts_notices.php?alert_notice_type=alerts&alert_notice_file=democratic_republic_of_congo_7 According to the release, the issuance of exit permits impacts 15 families in the U.S.. However, the Peat family in Dubuque had not received any notification Tuesday evening about whether its family was among those able to bring their children home from the DRC. “The fact that the Congolese government has begun issuing exit visas for some of thUUpese families is a positive step, but the overwhelming majority of families still find their children blocked by senseless red tape,” said U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, who represents the Peat family’s district in Dubuque. “There are hundreds of families like the Peats who’ve had their families effectively pulled apart — and this won’t be over until all of them are given the chance to reunite with their legally adopted children. Now’s the time to keep up the pressure, not to declare victory.”” 15 Congolese adoptions resume in U.S. after public pressure[KWWL 5/28/14 by Shelley Russell] Update 2: US DOS gives notice and is pasted below: http://adoption.state.gov/country_information/country_specific_alerts_notices.php?alert_notice_type=notices&alert_notice_file=democratic_republic_of_congo_14 “Invitation to follow-up Conference Call regarding the Exit Permit Suspension in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) The Department of State invites adoptive families and prospective adoptive families to participate in a conference call Wednesday, June 11 from 10am-11:30am EST to address families’ concerns regarding the DRC exit permit suspension. The call is being held in response to families’ requests for additional time following our May 16 call.  We will also address what we have learned to date regarding the latest developments reported in our May 27 adoption notice.  There will be brief remarks regarding developments followed by a question and answer period. If you would like to send your questions ahead of the call, please send them to ExitPermitSuspensionDRC@state.gov.  We will try to address as many questions on the call as we’re able, but will respond to all questions via email.

Conference Call Information:

Wednesday, June 11, 2014 10:00am EST – 11:30am EST Calling from the United States: (800) 288-8967 Calling from Overseas: (612) 288-0340″

Articles

“U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley has written an open letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, urging him to make halted international adoptions from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) a priority — and he wants Iowans to sign on.

Braley is calling on Iowans to pressure Kerry to solve this issue after a family in his district, Michael and Erin Peat, had the adoption process of their two children suspended as they were getting ready to bring their children home to Dubuque. “I want the State Department and the Congolese government to understand that this is an issue that people care deeply about throughout our entire state,” Braley said in a written statement Friday. “Iowa stands behind the Peats and hundreds of other families that are being kept apart from their children — and I’m going to continue doing everything I can to keep up the pressure until this issue is resolved.” Braley is asking Iowans to co-sign his letter to Secretary Kerry on his website at braley.house.gov. “No child should be denied a loving home because of bureaucratic paperwork,” the letter states. Earlier this week, the State Department announced that the Congolese government would issue a total of 62 “exit letters” — 15 of which would be issued to American families. In a statement, Braley said the overwhelming majority of U.S. families have received no update from the Congolese government and their adoptions remain in limbo. Approximately 460 families have had their adoptions suspended, but the Peats are one of only about 50 families that have had it occur at such a late stage in the process. They were granted their adoption visa by the United States. However, the DRC suddenly refused to issue exit letters, which is the final step allowing families to bring their children to the United States.”

Bruce Braley asks Iowans to help resume DRC adoptions

[KWWL 5/30/14 by Shelley Russell]

“More than 200 American families check their email each day for word from the state department that the Democratic Republic of Congo is releasing their newly adopted sons and daughters. Tennessee has more of those families than any other state with two right here in east Tennessee. The families say it’s tough. The kids are legally their’s, but they’re at the mercy of the DRC, needing exit papers to bring them home. Chrissy and Ray Evans are all smiles as they watch 6-year-old Bereket at his first day of baseball camp. But one thing’s missing. Little brother Christian is stuck in a foster home in the Democratic Republic of Congo. “Legally he’s our. He has our name, and everything except him being here. He’s our child,” said Ray. The couple got their first picture of Christian a year and a half ago. “[We’ve gone] through thorough investigations and have [gone] through mounds and mounds of paperwork,” said Chrissy. “[We’ve been] finger printed twice. It’s… We’ve been through the process quite a bit for almost a year and half now. We just want him home” Chrissy brought Bereket home from Ethiopia less than 5 years before any of this. She didn’t expect trouble. “It means a lot. I was really sick, but now i’m really happy that my mom got me. So I’m really happy she got me,” said Bereket “He’s got a very loving heart. He just wants his brother here. Wants to share those experiences we were planning to have a year ago,” said Chrissy. That was before the D.R.C. put holds on adoptions . After flying 15 U.S. families in last week, the other 200 got word the D.R.C. would review adoption laws. That would make Christian’s homecoming indefinite. “Pray. Prayer changes things and it changes people’s hearts,” said Chrissy. For now, Secretary of State John Kerry just returned from a visit to the D.R.C., but there’s no word on whether those negotiations will be the key to bringing Christian and hundreds of other kids home. Italy and Belgium have been allowed to fly adopted children to their new homes. But because of human trafficking claims in the U.S., the adoption process sits in limbo for American families.” Congolese adoption limbo drags on, families wait to learn fate[LOcal 8 6/3/14 by Allie Spillyards]

Update 3: US DOS issue another alert found here: http://adoption.state.gov/country_information/country_specific_alerts_notices.php?alert_notice_type=alerts&alert_notice_file=democratic_republic_of_congo_8 and pasted below: “Alert: Request for information about medically critical cases pending in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) The Department of State continues to engage the Direction Générale de Migration (DGM) concerning the issuance of exit permits for adopted children affected by the DRC’s exit permit suspension. The DGM has been willing to consider cases of adoptive children facing serious medical conditions that cannot be treated in the DRC. To aid in this effort, the Department of State seeks information from adoptive families regarding the number of children that are subject to the exit permit suspension with serious medical conditions that cannot be treated in the DRC. To date, the DGM has granted one exit permit to an adoptive child with a life threatening medical issue. We ask that adoption service providers (ASPs) send information concerning children waiting on exit permits with serious medical conditions that cannot be treated in the DRC to ExitPermitSuspensionDRC@state.gov. Note: If you are an adoptive parent not working through an ASP, please send the following information to ExitPermitSuspensionDRC@state.gov: Your name and email address Your child’s name, date and place of birth, DRC passport number, current location (i.e. which orphanage or foster home they reside in) A description of your child’s medical condition and current treatment of that condition, if available in DRC. (No medical documentation should be sent at this time.) Date of your final adoption decree Date of bordereaux letter, if applicable Whether your child’s U.S. immigrant visa has been issued The deadline for submitting information to the Department of State is June 17, 2014.”

Update 4: Another Alert by DOS! See it http://adoption.state.gov/country_information/country_specific_alerts_notices.php?alert_notice_type=alerts&alert_notice_file=democratic_republic_of_congo_9 and is pasted below: ”