[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 915 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 915
Urging the Government of Ukraine to review and modify its decision to
suspend adoption by foreign nationals with a view to resuming such
adoptions, particularly in cases where the mutual concerns of the
Governments of Ukraine and of the United States can be substantially
addressed.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 6, 2023
Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. Norcross) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign
Affairs
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RESOLUTION
Urging the Government of Ukraine to review and modify its decision to
suspend adoption by foreign nationals with a view to resuming such
adoptions, particularly in cases where the mutual concerns of the
Governments of Ukraine and of the United States can be substantially
addressed.
Whereas adoption, including the adoption of child nationals of one country by
adult nationals from another country, can be a profoundly beneficial way
to unite children in need of parents with families that are eager and
able to open their hearts and homes to children, providing the benefit
of a permanent family to children who are orphaned or whose biological
parents are otherwise unable to care for them;
Whereas adoptions require government safeguards to insure that they promote the
best interest of the child and in order to prevent the abduction, sale,
exploitation, or trafficking of children;
Whereas the Government of Ukraine has not acceded to the Hague Convention on
Intercountry Adoption, and the circumstances of Russia's unprovoked war
against Ukraine render its accession currently difficult;
Whereas, since at least 1992, the Government of Ukraine has facilitated the
adoption of Ukrainian children by United States citizens through its
domestic law and process, and in the ensuing decades both Ukraine and
the United States demonstrated that they shared the concern to protect
and ensure the best interests of the child;
Whereas, as a direct result of the Russian Federation's unprovoked invasion of
Ukraine in February 2022, the Government of Ukraine temporarily
suspended any adoption proceedings and protocols for the placement or
adoption of its children with foreign nationals, on March 13, 2022;
Whereas the Government of Ukraine had very significant reasons to suspend
intercountry adoption in March 2022, including that it was faced with
the urgent and temporary displacement of Ukrainian children, including
those who had been previously placed in institutional settings and
orphanages, and the impossibility or extraordinary difficulty of
conducting official business to protect and ensure the best interests of
the child while under the shock of invasion and occupation of Ukrainian
territory;
Whereas the Government of Ukraine has substantially restored its ability to
conduct official business, including resuming the process of adoptions
by Ukrainian nationals since May 31, 2022; and
Whereas the Government of Ukraine has not lifted its suspension of the
processing of adoptions by foreign nationals, including United States
citizens, nor has it identified a time-frame or protocol for doing so:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) urges the Government of Ukraine to review and modify
its decision to suspend adoptions and preadoptive placements of
Ukrainian children by United States citizens, and to actually
and in good faith resume such adoptions in cases where the
mutual concerns of the Government of the United States and of
Ukraine to protect and ensure the best interests of the child
can be substantially addressed;
(2) recommends as particularly urgent cases in which
prospective adoptive United States parents have already
complied with the requirements under Ukrainian domestic law for
the adoption of Ukrainian children and that process has
confirmed the legitimacy of the adoptability of these children,
and cases in which the prospective adoptive United States
parents have completed the process set forth under domestic
Ukrainian law and have had their dossiers vetted and approved
by the Ukrainian Government before the suspension of the
adoptions by foreign nations on March 13, 2022;
(3) recommends that in those cases in which Ukrainian
children had already participated in ``hosting'' programs
facilitated by the Government of Ukraine and placed with
individual families within the United States prior to the
suspension of adoptions by foreign nationals, that regarding
those children which have already been determined by the
Ukrainian Government to be legally adoptable, the United States
parents be permitted to initiate the process for adoption and
be permitted to receive the preadoptive placement of such
children during the Ukrainian domestic adoption process; and
(4) recommends that in those cases in which Ukrainian
children had already participated in ``hosting'' programs
facilitated by the Government of Ukraine and placed with
individual families within the United States prior to the
suspension of adoptions by foreign nationals, that regarding
those children whose status regarding legal adoptability
remains uncertain at this time, the United States parents be
permitted to make application to receive such children in
preadoptive placements until the Ukrainian Government either
establishes their adoptability or locates or identifies their
biological parents.
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