Corker, Bipartisan Group Of Lawmakers Urge Democratic Republic Of Congo to Act On Adoption Reform

  • Thursday, October 30, 2014

Senator Bob Corker joined Senators John Cornyn (R-Tx.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Mn.) and a bipartisan group of 183 lawmakers in a letter this week urging parliamentary leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to pass adoption reform legislation and resume intercountry adoptions after the country suspended issuance of exit letters last year:

 

“We are concerned about the welfare of the hundreds of Congolese children who have been legally adopted under Congolese law by U.S.

citizens but who are unable to depart the DRC even though they possess valid visas to immediately enter the U.S.,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter. “We respectfully request that the Congolese National Assembly and Senate prioritize legislation that strengthens the Congolese intercountry adoption process. This legislation would ensure that intercountry adoptions of Congolese children can be completed in an honest, ethical manner, and that the children who are currently waiting to be united with their legal parents can finally benefit from living with the security of a permanent, loving family.”

 

In September 2013, the DRC suspended the issuance of exit permits for children adopted by foreign parents. According to the U.S. Department of State, approximately 325 children who have been legally adopted by U.S. families and have been given Congolese passports and U.S. visas await exit letters, including several children with urgent, life-threatening medical problems.

 

Advocacy groups indicate more than 20 families in the Volunteer State are affected by the DRC’s halt on adoptions. Corker has met with several Tennessee families in various stages of the adoption process and continues to work toward a solution that will bring the children home to the United States. Corker’s staff has also met with State Department officials, including the U.S. ambassador to the DRC and the DRC’s ambassador to the U.S., to discuss a resolution to this issue.

 

In August 2014, the Senate passed unanimously a resolution concerning the suspension of exit permit issuance by the DRC for adopted Congolese children seeking to depart the country with their adoptive parents.

 

Below is the full text of the letter to the DRC parliamentary leaders:

 

Dear President Kengo and Speaker Minaku:

 

We the undersigned members of the United States (U.S.) Congress send greetings to you and the members of the National Assembly and the Senate. We value the good relationship between our two countries, and hope that the United States of America and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will continue to work together on issues of mutual concern. As fellow legislators, we also understand and respect your commitment to serving the needs of the constituents you have been elected to represent.

 

We understand that your government has been engaged in a year-long process to strengthen your country’s intercountry adoption process. We share your concern that this process be as protective of the children as possible. At the same time we recognize how vital it is for children living without the love and protection of a family to be placed with an appropriate family as quickly as possible. As Parliament considers the agenda for this legislative session, we ask that legislation to strengthen the adoption process be a top priority.

 

We are concerned about the welfare of the hundreds of Congolese children who have been legally adopted under Congolese law by U.S. citizens but who are unable to depart the DRC even though they possess valid visas to immediately enter the U.S. Some of these children have remained separated from their legal parents for over a year waiting for this final departure permission from the DRC. Tragically, some of these children have died while waiting for exit permission, and others are very ill and need immediate medical attention. We hope that you will agree that swift action is necessary to prevent further loss of innocent lives and the continued suffering and distress for the children and their legal parents.

 

We are aware of your concerns about the integrity of the DRC intercountry adoption process, and we respect your duty to discern how to protect the best interests of Congolese children. For this reason, we reiterate our April 17, 2014 offer to President Kabila and Prime Minister Ponyo to support your government’s efforts to follow up on the well-being of Congolese children adopted by U.S. citizens and to work together to ensure that intercountry adoptions between our countries continue to be conducted in an ethical, transparent manner. 

 

As lawmakers, we wish to assure you that U.S. law protects all children in our country, regardless of their country of birth or citizenship. For example, for 40 years the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) has provided our states with support to improve their child protective services, ensuring that communities are able to prevent, assess and treat cases of child abuse and neglect. CAPTA sets high standards that have helped greatly in ensuring that all incidents of abuse or neglect are reported in a consistent manner and has enabled us to provide better protection and assistance to children experiencing abuse or neglect.

 

The U.S. Congress has also enacted many laws that prohibit trafficking, sexual abuse and exploitation of any children in the U.S., regardless of their country of birth. The laws also impose stiff penalties, up to life imprisonment or death, for those convicted of committing such horrible crimes. With respect to intercountry adoptions, Congress has passed two laws in the past 15 years which have strengthened our internal systems for overseeing and managing international adoption service providers. These two laws, the Intercountry Adoption Act (P.L. 106-279) and the Intercountry Adoption Universal Accreditation Act (P.L. 112-276), together require that all U.S. adoption service providers be accredited through a rigorous review process which holds them to high ethical and performance standards. These changes have resulted in a sharp decline in the number of adoption service providers because only those who meet these high standards are allowed to operate in the U.S.

 

In conclusion, we remain committed to ensuring that federal laws in the U.S. continue to protect all children against abuse and neglect, and to appropriately punish any persons who violate these laws. We respectfully request that the Congolese National Assembly and Senate prioritize legislation that strengthens the Congolese intercountry adoption process. This legislation would ensure that intercountry adoptions of Congolese children can be completed in an honest, ethical manner, and that the children who are currently waiting to be united with their legal parents can finally benefit from living with the security of a permanent, loving family.

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