Foreign adoptions of Cambodian orphans are set to resume following the approval by the Council of Ministers Friday of legislation aimed at streamlining the process for prospective parents.
Council Spokesman Penn Thol said Friday that the sub-decree on orphan adoptions was devised in response to criticism of previous adoption practices.
Foreign adoptions in Cambodia were suspended last May following claims of corruption, which included allegations of massive payments to government staff to ease through paperwork and an incident of alleged buying by an orphanage of children to be sold later to foreign adoptees.
The suspension followed several complaints to the Interior Ministry regarding adoptions.
The new adoption process will ensure “international standards” are followed in Cambodia, said Penn Thol, adding that foreign adoptions increased dramatically in Cambodia during 1999 and 2000.
A number of legal provisions already existed on adoption but the process was confused, with no clear procedure, Penn Thol said.
“The [sub decree] is to smooth the process, to eliminate the non-satisfaction…[and] to make it transparent,” Penn Thol said.
“[The sub decree] is better than the procedure of asking around to adopt children with no framework,” he added.
An international child rights expert said Friday on the condition of anonymity that while the sub-decree is welcome in setting clear adoption procedures, these are not the most urgent issues.
An adoption law would have been more beneficial in the curbing odious practices of “backhand payments” to corrupt officials and “child buying,” which have evolved around foreign adoptions in Cambodia, the expert said.
Chief among the issues any law must confront is the verification of a each adopted child’s origin, the expert said.
“Before the procedure was too complicated. There were too many authorities involved and still there was not enough checking on origin,” the expert said.
“If you cannot ascertain the origins of a child, then the conditions of adoption are doubtful,” the expert added.
Foreign adoptions have boomed in Cambodia for several years following Vietnam’s tightening of its foreign adoption process, which it suspended in April 1999.
The adoption suspension in Cambodia stranded doz-ens of foreign couples who were adopting children but only partway through the paperwork.
According to Penn Thol, the sub-decree does not specify punishment for those found guilty of profiting from the adoption process or procuring children for adoption. Such provisions already exist in several laws, Penn Thol said.
“The sub-decree does not state punishment…. [But] any corruption will be punished by other laws against corruption,” he added.
Among the provisions in the sub-decree, which will be signed by the Prime Minister Hun Sen next week, is the requirement that foreigners who adopt a Cambodian child report to the Cambodian embassy in the country that the child lives, every year, until they reach 18 years of age.
Adopted children will also be permitted to hold dual citizenship, Penn Thol said, noting “we cannot cut our flesh and blood.”
Minister of Social Affairs Ith Sam Heng, who drafted the new sub-decree, said Friday it will lead to more accountability and transparency in the country’s adoption process.
