The State Department on Adoption and Child Rights Protection will be created within Ukraine’s Ministry of Family, Youth and Sport Affairs by May of 2006, Yuri Pavlenko the Minister of Family, Youth and Sport Affairs told in the press conference.
He noted the Department would substitute the centre on adoption functioning within the Ministry of Education and Science. According to the Minister, the corresponding changes were introduced into the Family Code.
Pavlenko informed that the key target of the new agency is the direct protection of the child rights. The whole adoption procedure will be within the jurisdiction of the agencies of under-age affairs of all levels.
Pavlenko believes that the new created Department will provide the realization of every child right on family upbringing, promote the domestic adoption, cooperation with consulates and the embassies and the urgent establishment of the orphan-status.
“The aim of this agency is to unite all functions and to accept the responsibility of the child’s upbringing,” said the Minister Pavlenko.
He stressed that within the first three months the Education Ministry will preserve the functions connected with adoptions and prepare the whole database of the adopted children for transfer to the new committee. The great attention should be paid to the children adopted by foreigners, Pavlenko told.
“it is not a question of the foreign citizens but Ukrainian children who recognize them as their own parents,” added Pavlenko.
