Romania

Update on Romanian Moratorium on International Adoption (9/21/01)

The Romanian Adoption Committee (RAC) announced a one-year moratorium on inter-country adoption beginning June 21, 2001. The purpose of the moratorium is to allow the Romanian government time to draft and adopt new legislation to reform the adoption system, and to protect this process from external pressure. This decision formalized the de facto suspension, which had been in effect since the new Romanian government took office in December 2000.

Any Romanian orphan who had been assigned by the RAC to a specific adoption agency before December 14, 2000 can still be processed for adoption. Unfortunately, some adoption agencies were distributing pictures and videos of Romanian children in late 2000 who were not, in fact, assigned to those agencies by the December 14 cut-off date. Thus, some matches were not authorized and, therefore, cannot be processed during the moratorium.

There has been concern that other countries may be exempted from the moratorium. The United States government has asked the Romanian government what, if any, exceptions exist. To our knowledge, no exceptions have been made. We are waiting for further clarification from the Romanian government.

We know that there are disappointed prospective parents whose plans to adopt Romanian children have been adversely affected by this moratorium, and the U.S. government has urged the Romanian government to resume controlled, legal intercountry adoptions at the earliest possible date so that orphaned Romanian children can again be placed in caring adoptive homes. Assistant Secretary for Europe and Eurasia Beth Jones discussed this issue with the Romanian Foreign Minister during his most recent visit to the United States. Foreign Minister Geoana said he understands the urgency of this issue and that the Romanian government is committed to resolving adoption and child welfare problems as quickly as possible. We intend to continue our close and frank dialogue with Romanian officials on these issues. However, fundamental decisions on these issues are the purview of the Romanian government. The State Department will continue to update this web site as new information becomes available.

For additional information, you may also wish to access the Romanian Embassy in Washington's web site at http://www.roembus.org. You may also contact the Romanian Embassy through the following e-mail address: adoption@roembus.org. Finally, information is also available on the State Department's web site: http://travel.state.gov.