Azernews.Az

By Sabina Idayatova

Children are joy of every family. After getting married everybody wants to have a child, to give birth to the world's sweetest human beings, to see their first steps, to hear their first words. However, it should be taken into account that bringing a child into the world is not the only task to be fulfilled, as both parents are responsible for doing their best to upbring, educate and raise a child in order to grant the society a useful personality.

However, some families are not lucky enough to have a child. The fate of having no children often leads to a divorce. Nevertheless, some people seek various ways to prevent the break-up of their family, either by adopting children of relatives or applying to government agencies for child adoption. But this responsible process is not as easy as it looks.

There are a number of children who are adopted in Azerbaijan both by local and foreign families.

According to the deputy head of Legal Aid Department of the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs (SCFWCA) Vasila Mohsumova, child adoption and children's rights issues are generally regulated by Azerbaijani legislation, through the Family Code, Civil Procedure Code, as well as the Constitution. Furthermore, the Azerbaijani state policy in this regard is regulated by decisions of the Cabinet of Ministers such as the approval of accredition rules of legal assistance bodies for the foreigners and stateless people for child adoption, the registration rules of children who are deprived of parental care and adopted, the registration rules of people willing to adopt a child, the registration rules of foreigners who want to adopt Azerbaijani children, etc.

"The Azerbaijan Republic joined the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption on March 30, 2004. After a relevant decree of the Azerbaijani President in 2006 the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs was appointed as the central authority for child adoption and conducted numerous activities in this area," Mohsumova said.

Azerbaijan carries out inter-country adoption in accordance with international conventions and the domestic legislation.

In general, underage children aged under three are preferred for child adoption in world practice in order for the child to adapt to the new family since an early age.

According to Mohsumova, there are types of families that adopt children for charity purposes though they already have their own kids.

In the latter case, the age of children is not the main thing, as foster parents take only the child's interests as a basis, she said.

Mohsumova also noted that the State Committee is interested in child adoption mostly by local families.

However, the interest of foreigners in Azerbaijani citizens is characterized by the national consciousness, cultural richness, character and temper, as before the child adoption process, comprehensive information is determined about the history and people of the country whose citizens are adopting the child, she said.

According to the Azerbaijani legislation the children who are deprived of parental care and were not adopted by their close relatives as well as repeatedly offered to local families can be adopted by foreign families.

A committee representative attends meetings between the child and potential foster parents. The key point here is choosing the family which would meet the requirements of the child, Mohsumova said.

In general, the children deprived of parental care are those considered for adoption by local families. The children who are rejected for adoption by local families are considered for foreign adoption. In general, children can be adopted only in case they are not supported by their parents, close or distant relatives.

One of the most important points in this issue is the post-adoption period, the further fate of the adopted children. Do the adopting parents provide true parental care to the children, do they support them in their further endeavors?

Mohsumova said that a final decision on child adoption is taken by a court.

In the court decision, the State Committee suggests that the foreign adopting family should present a report to the Committee on the living conditions, health, education, and environmental adaptation, after every six months within three years after the adoption. The report also includes the child's photos, a video of at least 15 minutes, etc. The report should also be approved by the authorities of the adoptive family's country.

As regards domestic supervision, Mohsumova noted that Guardianship and Patronage Commissions under local executive bodies exercise control over the post-adoption period. The State Comittee has developed a new project whereby the rules on local and intercountry post-adoption of children are reflected.

Paperwork regarding the child adoption process requires a number of documents to be presented to the State Committee and the commissions in charge of guardianship. These are notarized copies of identity cards, marriage certificates, and health condition certificates on special infectious diseases, drugs, mental illness, certificates on invalidity, etc. Furthermore, the job, residence and wage certificates are needed for determination of future well-being of the children.

Compared to the local family adoption process, foreign foster parents are required to present more documents to the State Committee. The foreigners need to present a home study report which reflects the psychological state of the family, an immigration document, certification of the absence of criminal record, approval of a relevant central body of the corresponding state, etc.

According to statistics, 41 Azerbaijani citizens were adopted by 39 foreign and stateless persons' families in 2007-2013. Most of them are Azerbaijani families living in neighboring Russia who mostly adopt the children of their relatives or acquaintances.

The total number of children adopted is 989 in 2012, 226 of whom are under one year. 145 of these are girls. The number of the adopted children aged 1-5 is 438, 202 of whom are girls. The number of the adopted children aged 6-10 is 95, 90 of whom are girls. Some 130 children aged 11-17 were adopted in 2012, with 45 of them being girls.

Furthermore, Mohsumova said that unlike the neighboring states where many-year-long queues are required, Azerbaijan is a country which can easily implement the child adoption process. The main reason of the long queues for child adoption in Azerbaijan it the lack of candidate children compared to potential foster families.

The adoption of children depends on the child's peculiarities, as some of them can easily adapt to the new family from the first day, while for some others it would take a month, and for others it would last months.

If children do not successfully undergo the adptation process, they are returned to the children's facilities upon a court ruling.

Mohsumova added that the main goal of child adoption is the provision of children with a comfortable and happy life. Thus, the successful activity of the State Committee since its establishment serves this principle, and no psychological, physical or financial problems have occurred so far.