[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 588 Engrossed in House (EH)]

H. Res. 588

                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                          July 8, 2014.
Whereas according to UNICEF, over 4,000,000 orphans are estimated to be living 
        in the Democratic Republic of the Congo;
Whereas the United States has made significant financial investments in the 
        Democratic Republic of the Congo, providing an estimated $758,102,000 in 
        development, humanitarian, and security assistance, including 
        peacekeeping activities, in fiscal year 2013;
Whereas cyclical and violent conflict has plagued the Democratic Republic of the 
        Congo since the mid-1990s;
Whereas, according to the United States Department of State, the policy of the 
        Administration toward the Democratic Republic of the Congo is ``focused 
        on helping the country become a nation that * * * provides for the basic 
        needs of its citizens'';
Whereas the United Nations has recognized a child's right to a family as a basic 
        human right worthy of protection;
Whereas adoption, both domestic and international, is widely recognized as an 
        important child protection tool and an integral part of child welfare 
        best practices around the world, along with family reunification and 
        prevention of abandonment;
Whereas, on September 27, 2013, the Congolese Ministry of Interior and Security, 
        General Direction of Migration, informed the United States Embassy in 
        Kinshasa that effective September 25, 2013, they had suspended issuance 
        of exit permits to adopted Congolese children seeking to depart the 
        country with their adoptive parents, affecting hundreds of children;
Whereas there are American families with finalized adoptions in the Democratic 
        Republic of the Congo and the necessary legal paperwork and visas ready 
        to travel home with these children but are currently unable to do so; 
        and
Whereas on December 19, 2013, the Congolese Minister of Justice, Minister of 
        Interior and Security, and the General Direction of Migration confirmed 
        to members of the United States Department of State that the current 
        suspension on the issuance of exit permits continues: Now, therefore, be 
        it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) affirms that all children deserve a safe, loving, and permanent 
        family;
            (2) recognizes the importance of ensuring that international 
        adoptions of all children are conducted in an ethical and transparent 
        manner;
            (3) expresses concern over the increasing number of new adoption 
        cases that have been opened and the impact on children and families of 
        the Democratic Republic of the Congo's suspension of exit permits; and
            (4) respectfully requests that the Congolese Government--
                    (A) resume issuing exit permits for all children that have 
                been adopted, and continue processing adoptions that are already 
                underway;
                    (B) expedite the processing of those adoptions which involve 
                medically fragile children; and
                    (C) encourages continued dialogue and cooperation between 
                the United States Department of State and the Democratic 
                Republic of the Congo's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to improve 
                the intercountry adoption process and ensure the welfare of all 
                children adopted from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.