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		BELARUS Apparent suspension of international adoptions in Belarus continues, with no word on when adoptions will resume. An adoption moratorium was imposed Oct. 14, 1997, pending revision of Belarus's Family and Marriage Law. The moratorium was lifted on June 5, 1998. The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption went into force in Belarus on Nov. 1, 2003. In October 2004 President Aliaksandr Lukashenko announced he would impose strict restrictions on adoptions. The new adoption law of Jan. 4, 2005 requires that children eligible for adoption be placed on a central registry, the National Orphans Database, for six months, making them available for adoption locally, before being considered for intercountry adoption. The National Adoption Center will review cases on the list over six months and then send files to the Minister of Education for approval before proceeding to court. [U.S. State Department, travel.state.gov/family/adoption/notices/notices_2083.html, Feb. 14, 2005] Adoptions Suspended -- The Department of State has heard from parents trying to complete adoptions in Belarus that intercountry adoptions are on hold. Belarus hasn't said why there is an apparent suspension or how long it might last. [U.S. State Department, travel.state.gov/family/adoption/notices/notices_2196.html, March 30, 2005] In its Jan. 31, 2006 notice, the U.S. State Dept. said almost all intercountry adoptions in Belarus have ceased since Oct. 4, 2004, when President Lukashenko order a review of international adoptions. In 2005 Belarus changed its adoption procedures but adoptions have yet to move forward. The government hasn't said how long the apparent suspension will last, or what will happen to adoptions in process before October 2004. An Apr. 11, 2007 report from Belarus quoted Deputy Education Minister Tatsyana Kavalyova as saying that four Belarusian orphan children had been adopted by foreigners since the start of the year. There are over 32,000 orphans in Belarus, with 23,176 placed in adoptive families or foster care homes. _____________________ For resources on Belarus adoption, see Adoption Resource Central, Country-specific Resources - Belarus. Find an agency for the country you've chosen: Agency Chooser, www.familyhelper.net/ad/chooser.html Descriptions of agency programs are at Adoption Agencies, www.familyhelper.net/arc/agy.html PERMISSION TO REPRINT You may reprint this item with the credit: "Source: Family Helper (www.familyhelper.net)" Country News is written by Robin Hilborn, author of Family Helper, www.familyhelper.net