Latvian Welfare Minister receives letters asking to not ban child adoption by foreigners

Latvian Welfare Minister Ramona Petravi?a has received 17 letters from children who were adopted by foreigners and who now live abroad, asking her to not ban child adoption by foreigners for children who remain in orphanages, as confirmed by the minister’s advisor for communication affairs J?nis Zari?š.

Authors of those letters shared with the minister their adoption experience, expressing gratitude for the opportunity be adopted into a family that cares for them. Letters have also been received from grown-up youngsters, who described their life now, says Zari?š.

Considering the content of those letters, more than a dozen of NGOs and activists have turned to Latvia’s top officials, government, parliament and the ombudsman, detailing confusion over Saeima’s Human Rights and Public Affairs Committee’s decision on establishing a moratorium on child adoption by foreigners. Zari?š says activists outline the fact that only representatives of NGOs that are publicly against allowing foreigners adopt children were present at the committee’s meeting. Activists also mention in the letter that there were no representatives of orphan courts or orphanages among the people invited by the committee. Nor there were there representatives of child right protection institution or representatives of organizations that represent the children who grew up in the system, says Zari?š.

The rush with decision-making is also confusing, because there is currently no crisis in Latvia with child adoption by foreigners, nor are there any major human rights violations. Zari?š says the letters addressed to the welfare minister also reference Section 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which provides that member states’ duties include making sure every child able to formulate their opinion has the right to ask questions regarding them, and the state has the duty to listen.

«By banning child adoption to foreign countries, children would be denied their interests and their opinion would be ignored.»

The letter also outlines the situation when children end up in orphanages, and, upon reaching 18 years, they have no way of enrolling on studies in a higher education institution, find a well-paid job, provide for themself and form a healthy family. Before implementing the initiative regarding the ban of child adoption by foreigners, NGOs urge the government to develop support for children who have reached the age of 18 to start a life, says Zari?š.