What does it mean that Ukraine is focused on promoting domestic adoption?

the Minister for Family, Youth and Sports, Yuriy Pavlenko, held a press conference [on July 3] to announce the official opening of the new [Ukrainian] adoption authority, to be known as the State Department for Adoption and Protection of Rights of the Child (SDAPRC),

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he made clear that promoting domestic adoptions will be the first priority and the main focus of the new adoption authority.

From: US Embassy in Kyiv July 5 email

Let's back up a little bit and discuss OSCE (The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe). Never heard of it... join the club.

With 56 participating States from Europe, Central Asia and North America, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) forms the largest regional security organization in the world.

The OSCE is a primary instrument for early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation in its area.

From: OSCE: Facts and figures

Ukraine is a member of OSCE and has an OSCE office in Kyiv.

How does this relate to adoption? Well, Ukraine OSCE started a new project with the Ukrainian Family, Youth and Sports Ministry on adoption in early 2005.

June 2005 the Ukrainian government announced that the NAC would be closed and adoption authority would be moved over to the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports. Child protection services were under this Ministry and it made sense to consolidate. I always wondered why adoption wasn't part of their "Family and Children Services". The Ministry wanted some outside advise on adoption and turned to OSCE.

This project lead Ukraine OSCE to commission a study on Ukrainian adoption from the ISS.

The International Social Service (ISS) is an international non-governmental organization dedicated to helping individuals and families with personal or social problems

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The idea of creating an international social service was developed in 1921, when delegates from 17 countries met at a world conference in Stockholm in response to the aftermath of the First World War.

From: About ISS

In June and July 2005, Nigel Cantwell, Isabelle Lammerant and Laura Martínez-Mora of the ISS traveled to Ukraine to begin their assessment of the adoption system. They traveled to Kyiv, Lugansk and Odesa. They interviewed NAC staff, judges, NGO staff, orphanage directors, Embassy staff, social workers and other government workers.

Nigel is a consultant to ISS. Isabelle and Laura are employees of the ISS.

Nigel's work helped create the Hague Convention for Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Intercountry Adoption in 1993. And he founded an NGO called Defence for Children International


Isabelle Lammerant is the project supervisor for the ISS's "International Reference Centre for the Rights of Children Deprived of their Family (IRC)" programme.

Laura Martínez-Mora is a programme officer for IRC. And in her own words is:

Spanish lawyer especially interested in protecting child rights in Latin America and all around the world.

From: Queen Mary, University of London

Nigel, Isabelle and Laura completed their 128 page report on Ukrainian adoption in October 2005.

December 12 2005, Ukraine OSCE presented the report to

Senior Ukrainian State officials and experts reviewed the assessment and made policy recommendations on protecting families and orphans, and the adoption system itself. Allegations of trafficking and exploitation of Ukrainian children, through international adoption schemes, as well as issues surrounding the 1993 Hague Convention on child protection, were also discussed.

From: OSCE Project Co-ordinator presents assessment of Ukrainian adoption mechanism

To be continued... Now that I have the backstory set up, we can discuss the assessment of Ukrainian adoption by ISS and how it has been acted on.


Ukraine To Promote Domestic Adoptions

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3