Russia terminates foreign adoptions
Date
10/12/2024 8:52:28 AM
(MENAFN) In a significant policy shift, Russia has officially ceased all foreign adoptions, according to Anna Kuznetsova, the deputy speaker of the State Duma, the lower house of Russia's parliament. This move marks the culmination of a trend over the past decade, where the number of Russian children adopted by foreign nationals has drastically declined. Kuznetsova reported that adoptions plummeted from 529 children adopted between 2018 and 2019 to just six in 2023. “In 2024, this process was stopped completely,” she stated during a parliamentary session, emphasizing the government's commitment to care for its children domestically.
The lawmaker highlighted a growing interest among Russian citizens in fostering children, suggesting a societal shift towards domestic adoption. “We will take care of our children ourselves,” Kuznetsova declared, stressing the importance of enhancing support for biological relatives to prevent children from entering the foster care system in the first place.
The closure of all foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that previously facilitated adoptions in Russia has been in effect since 2023, further reinforcing the ban on foreign adoptions. Citizens from several countries are now prohibited from adopting Russian children, a restriction stemming from a history of controversial incidents. Notably, the 2013 ‘Dima Yakovlev Law’ was enacted in response to the tragic death of a Russian orphan adopted by an American couple, who left the child in a car for hours, resulting in heat stroke.
In 2022, discussions arose among lawmakers to extend the adoption ban to encompass all nations classified as "unfriendly," with concerns that placing Russian children in these countries would threaten the nation's future by undermining traditional values. However, President Vladimir Putin intervened, expressing concerns that the proposed legislation could infringe on the rights of Ukrainian children currently living in Russia.
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