As a result of the invasion of the occupying forces into the territory of Ukraine and the conduct of a full-scale military operation, Ukraine faced several challenges, and not only of a military nature. One of them is the comprehensive observance of the rights of the child, namely the issue of adoption and temporary placement of children under martial law. And on May 4, 2022, a master class on this topic was held for applicants for the higher education of the 2nd year of the Faculty of Law by a lawyer with 20 years of practical experience Olga Fazeeva.
The moderator outlined to the students the main aspects related to the adoption and temporary placement of children under martial law, taking into account the norms of national legislation. It is reported that under martial law it is often difficult to find documents and establish the real state of the child's parents, therefore, the risks of violation of their rights increase. In this aspect, it is fundamentally important to ensure the highest interests of the child to provide stable and harmonious conditions for his life. Consequently, it is important to take all measures to search for parents or other relatives and be sure to contact the child welfare service.
“For the period of martial law, the adoption procedure did not change. However, children who become orphans due to hostilities are not yet registered for adoption, and therefore it is not yet possible to start the procedure for their adoption. At the same time, the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine notes that children evacuated to other states as a result of an emergency, including children who have been granted refugee status in other states, cannot be adopted, since most of them are not orphans or there is no official evidence of such state. These persons should be provided with temporary care for possible reunification with their families in the future,” said Olga.
The lawyer drew the attention of those present to the rights and obligations of persons who expressed a desire to become adoptive parents, the requirements for these persons, enshrined in the norms of national legislation, spoke about the packet of documents that must be collected and submitted to the territorial department for children, the adoption procedure and features of adoption by citizens of Ukraine, living abroad and foreign citizens.
It has been noted that the National Social Service does not consider cases and does not issue consent/permission for the adoption of children by foreigners and citizens of Ukraine living outside its borders. This is because due to active hostilities it is impossible to ensure a quality check of the documents of foreign citizens who have expressed a desire to adopt a child, to ensure contact between the candidate for adoptive parents and the child, to find out the opinion of the child about adoption by this particular candidate, to obtain the opinions and consents of interested parties (parents), institutions in which children lived, guardianship and guardianship authorities, etc.).
At the end of the event, Olga Fazeeva wished all the participants to always go towards their goal, despite the problems and difficulties they faced today.