Moldova: President asks to investigate abuses in adoption

President Vladimir Voronin chaired a meeting on the adoptions\' issue Wednesday. Participating in the event were government and parliament decision-takers, leaders of law and control bodies, presidential advisers, according to the presidential press service. The participants in the meeting unveiled materials on direct involvement of competent officials from local public administration subdivisions in cases of illegal adoption. A report presented at the event shows that criminal institutional schemes were created within these subdivisions, which used to favor illicit adoptions, especially in cases of international adoptions. The president described this situation as revolting, as it gravely violates the rights and freedoms of children - citizens of Moldova. The head of state also said that this state of things was possible, first of all, because of the extreme corrupting of the officials involved in cases of criminal adoption, as well as because of the imperfection of the legislative and normative framework in the adoptions field and tacit approval of the emerged situation by the bodies in charge. Voronin asked to urgently undertake drastic measures, so as to eliminate any kinds of gaps, abuses and negligence from the adoption procedures. The president stressed that he cannot promulgate the law on the juridical status of adoption without the inclusion of the necessary amendments. The head of state proposed to set up and establish by law a national commission for international adoptions led by a deputy prime minister and a national commission for domestic adoptions, led by the social protection, family and child minister. The president reiterated the need to create and implement a National Registrar of Adoptions, so as to establish a strict record of the adopted children and the adoptive families. Moldova\'s diplomatic missions will be wooed in the process of checking international adoptions, conditions in which there are the children adopted abroad.

The participants in the meeting ruled to establish a moratorium on international adoptions during the period of making the necessary normative, legislative and organizational amendments.

Moldpres