Wait

The war is a boulder on adoption procedures in Ukraine, but also in Russia and Belarus

The war in Ukraine does not spare international adoptions: in the complicated situation that arose after the military attack on Russia, the condition of children waiting to be adopted and of Italian couples about to welcome them has become considerably complicated. Anxiety, dangers, fears for the very life of the little ones have been accompanying the existence of families for many weeks now, who hoped to finally see the adoption path undertaken for some time finally materialized. A situation that, despite the specific differences, concerns the adoption procedures that had been initiated not only with Ukraine, but also with the Russian Federation and Belarus, all countries that have historically seen a large number of adoptions of children and young people at families in Italy.

At the time of the outbreak of the war, last February, there were 23 Ukrainian minors already matched with Italian couples but not yet arrived on our territory. Nine of these, in the first weeks of the war, left the country to be hosted - like many of their peers - in Poland, welcomed in shelters. The other 14, followed by the authorized bodies operating on Ukrainian territory, remained in the country, maintaining constant contact with future adoptive parents where possible.

Mediating and monitoring the situation is the work of the officials of the CAI (Commission for international adoptions), the Italian government body chaired by the minister of the family, Elena Bonetti, who is in charge of following the authorization procedures for adoptions and which in recent months has also acted in close collaboration with the foreign ministry. The evolution of the conflict is unpredictable but, in addition to protecting the minors involved, the declared goal is not to interrupt the procedures already started, continuing the activities to bring them to a conclusion. On the other hand, no new procedures have been started, also because the institution that follows the procedures in Ukraine has suspended its activities. The number of children from Ukraine has been steadily under 40 in recent years.

Less complex, but not without concern, is the situation of the procedures for the international adoption of children from Russia and Belarus: at the moment the sanctions and restrictions imposed on the two countries have not directly concerned the adoption paths, but the suspension of flights, the blocking of banking circuits and in general the deterioration of diplomatic relations constitute significant obstacles that exacerbate a situation already complicated by the pandemic.

Even before the war in Ukraine the number of arrivals from Russia had dramatically collapsed (over 200 adoptions five years ago, just about thirty in 2020), and with Belarus it had even zeroed after the re-election of President Lukashenko due to the tightening of relations between the government of Minsk and the European Union. Now, to complicate matters, the armed conflict has also arrived. Another bitter consequence of the war.

Stefano Caredda

NP Maggio 2022