The Presidential Council did not support the ban on the adoption of children by citizens of unfriendly countries

The Council under the President of Russia for the Codification and Improvement of Civil Legislation did not support the draft on a ban on the adoption of orphans by citizens of unfriendly countries. In particular, the council pointed to the restriction of the rights of Ukrainians living in Russia if the bill is adopted.

In the conclusion of the council on the outcome of the meeting (.pdf) says that from February to November 2022, more than 4 million Ukrainian citizens arrived in Russia. The approach proposed by the bill is unacceptable, since “good reasons” are required to restrict the rights of citizens of unfriendly states, the council argues.

The Council notes that for more than ten years the number of Russian children adopted by foreign citizens has been declining. According to the Ministry of Education, in 2004 foreign families adopted 9,419 children, and in 2022 – 57. This is due, among other things, to an increase in the number of children adopted by Russian citizens.

The statement also mentions three agreements signed by Russia with Italy, France and Spain on cooperation in the field of adoption. The text of the bill does not specify the conditions for terminating or suspending the agreements. In addition, the issue of transferring children to relatives who have acquired the citizenship of unfriendly states has not been worked out. The ban in this case violates the eighth article of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

“It is in the sphere of family relations that extreme caution is especially important when making political and legal decisions that involve the introduction of prohibitions and restrictions, since the implementation of such measures can cause irreparable damage to the rights and interests of minor children,” the conclusion says.

According to the data provided by the Codification Council, in 2022, Italian citizens adopted 43 children from Russia, Germany and France – 5 children, Argentina and Finland – one child each. Two Russian children were adopted from the CIS countries.

Bill submitted to the State Duma on August 1, 2022 (now it is being considered in the first reading). Its authors are deputies Leonid Slutsky (leader of the LDPR), Boris Chernyshov (LDPR), Dmitry Pevtsov (New People), head of the State Duma Committee on Family Affairs Nina Ostanina (KPRF), Yana Lantratova (Fair Russia – For Truth) ).

The explanatory note of the bill states that the transfer of children from Russia to unfriendly countries is “a blow to the future of the nation”, since the “collective West” replaces the concepts of good and evil, destroys traditional values.

In 2012, Russia banned US citizens from adopting Russian children (known as the “Dima Yakovlev law”). The authors of the draft on the ban on adoption for citizens of unfriendly countries, referring to the “Dima Yakovlev law”, argue that the refusal of foreign adoption “was the right decision”, since as a result the children were placed in Russian families.

Lusine Balasyan