'Foreign Affairs has been blocking adoptions from Vietnam for weeks'
Eight parents have together instituted summary proceedings against the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which refuses to submit their adoption files to the Vietnamese authorities. In a letter to the parents, Foreign Affairs explains that "the organization of local services in Vietnam does not currently guarantee that the files will be treated seriously."
The eight parents do not agree that an investigation in Vietnam into possible bribery scandals during previous adoptions influences their file. In the interim proceedings, which were initiated this morning, the parents still want the adoptions to take place. The involved families have been waiting for a month and a half for the adopted children they have already been assigned. They all come from the same orphanage in the Vietnamese province of Hung Yen. "We have gone through the entire adoption procedure, have all the documents needed to adopt," says the V. family. "On September 17, the adoption organization gave the green light and we were assigned a child. The only thing we still have was a declaration of intent from Foreign Affairs for our file. " A declaration of intent is a necessary document with which the Belgian government declares all documents in an adoption file to be genuine and also indicates that it will accept the decision-making process of the adoption country.
But Foreign Affairs refuses to deliver the certificates. On September 26, the eight families who want to adopt in the province of Hung Yen will receive a letter from Foreign Affairs that mentions "controversial files (in the province of Hung Yen, SS) in which Vietnamese laws were manifestly violated". When the parents contact Foreign Affairs for more information, they are always prosecuted. "Depending on the day you inquire, you get to hear a different story," says the R. family. "Then the European Commission is conducting an investigation into corruption and child trafficking in Hung Yen. Then again it is the consuls who are sorting out something We will never be told the true facts. "
Several sources suspect that Foreign Affairs is blocking adoptions in the province of Hung Yen because there is an investigation into bribery in the file of another Belgian adoptive mother. He adopted a Vietnamese baby in October last year and had to obtain a visa for the child through judicial channels because there was no principle consent in her file. The eight parents who have been waiting for their adopted child for a month and a half now find it vengeful that they have to bear the consequences. "We do not want to be held responsible for the mistakes of others." Moreover, the parents note, in the meantime other countries can continue to adopt in the province of Hung Yen. Michel Malherbe, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, neither confirms nor denies that the Belgian government is blocking adoptions from Vietnam. "We'll let the judge decide on that." The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also keeps a close eye on an investigation into malpractice in the province of Hung Yen. The only thing that Malherbe wants to say is that "our lawyer will request a deferment in the interim proceedings today".