UPDATE: Kyrgyzstan - US Special Advisor for Children's Issues Travels to Kyrgyzstan

The following press release was made yesterday by the Office of Children's Issues. We are assuming this in response to the recent scandal in Kyrgyzstan involving misconduct by US adoption agencies and the subsequent suspension of their accreditation in Kyrgyzstan. We request the US DOS to disclose the identity of the agency alleged to have given bribes to the Kyrg Minister and that the DOS will ensure that the Counsel on Accreditation thoroughly and effectually deals with any agency who has participated in this scandal. The families who have been waiting for years to complete adoptions in Kyrgyzstan need the full assistance of ethical agencies. Further delays caused by the misconduct of US Hague accredited agencies are unconscionable.

Special Advisor for Children's Issues Travels to Kyrgyzstan

Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

August 13, 2012

---

Special Advisor for Children’s Issues Ambassador Susan Jacobs will visit Kyrgyzstan from August 13-15. As part of the State Department’s commitment to facilitating ethical and transparent intercountry adoptions, she will discuss the protection of children and the intercountry adoption process. This is the Special Advisor’s fourth trip to Kyrgyzstan to discuss these topics.

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
For press inquiries please contact CAPRESSREQUESTS@state.gov or (202) 647-1488.

*******For further information on this scandal, please see:
http://pear-now.blogspot.com/2012/07/update-kyrgyzstan-reportedly-revokes.html
http://pear-now.blogspot.com/2012/07/kyrgystan-investigating-allegations-of.html

---

Ethics, Transparency, Support
~ What All Adoptions Deserve.
http://www.pear-now.org/