Severance of Russian-U.S. agreement on adoptions may cause big problems - Astakhov
MOSCOW. Dec 17 (Interfax) - Presidential children's rights ombudsman Pavel Astakhov has expressed concerns about the possible denunciation of the Russian-U.S. agreement on adoptions, saying it may make it difficult to monitor the observance of Russian children's rights in America.
"The agreement was created to help the thousands of Russian children living in U.S. adoptive families. The purpose of the agreement is to track their lives. If the agreement is denounced, this monitoring will only be possible within the framework of consular communication, which may lead to colossal problems," Astakhov told Interfax on Monday.
Astakhov said he wanted that agreement to be adopted, but "the legislator has a right to make any decisions."
At the same time, he believes Russia should have reacted to the violations of the rights of Russian children earlier.
Astakhov also reiterated that Russia had to stop foreign adoptions and put all Russian children left without parental care in foster families anyway in the long-term perspective.
Astakhov said changes will need to be made to the Russian Family Code if the agreement is denounced and foreign adoptions are banned.
