February 9, 2006 -
The U.S. Department of State posted the following notice on its Important Notices website, thereby replacing the notice of April 29, 2005.
 

Azerbaijan Adoptions Resume but Slowly

Intercountry adoptions from Azerbaijan resumed in August 2005, after an April 2004 suspension in order to conduct an investigation into adoption practices.  To date, only three American families have completed adoptions.  Many families continue to face bureaucratic delays.

In November 2005, the Baku City Department of Health, a key player in the selection and referral of children in international adoptions, saw a complete turnover of personnel. As a result, many dossiers were, again, held up for an extended period of time and have still not been approved by that department.  In addition, during the transition from one administration to another, two children who already had referrals to American families were re-referred to Azerbaijani families. 

This year the Azerbaijani Parliament will consider a new law on international adoption. However, there are no drafts of the law available and the U.S. Embassy in Baku has not received any information on this new law.  The Embassy will continue to seek clarification from the Azerbaijani Government about the future of adoptions and encourage international adoption as a viable option when domestic adoption is not possible for an Azerbaijani child. 

At this time the Department of State urges all U.S. citizens thinking of adopting in Azerbaijan to consider very carefully the likely difficulties and uncertainty.  Although adoptions are technically open, a number of U.S. adoption service providers have decided the situation is in too much a state of flux for them to operate comfortably.  There are no guarantees that adoptions will be achieved on a regular basis and in a transparent manner.

April 29, 2005
The U.S. Department of State posted the following  notice on its Important Notices website.  JCICS will post any new information on this site as it becomes available.

January 6, 2005
The U.S. Department of State recently sent this notification to prospective adoptive parents adopting from Azerbaijan.

Adoptions Moving Forward

In December 2004, the Government of Azerbaijan allowed 5 adoptions by American families to move to the courts for completions.  Although the highest levels of the Azerbaijani Government have assured U.S. Embassy that international adoptions will resume, official authorization has not yet been given.  The U.S. Embassy sent a diplomatic note, a type of formal inquiry, asking when adoptions will resume. 

Outreach Efforts

The U.S. Embassy met with Azerbaijani MP Gular Akhmedova to discuss her concerns about international adoptions. Embassy officials stressed the many protections that U.S. law affords children and the integrity of the U.S. adoption process.   MP Akhmedova praised aspects of the U.S. adoption process while still expressing concern over alleged abuses in Azerbaijan.

October 22, 2004 - The U.S. Department of State recently sent this notification to prospective adoptive parents adopting from Azerbaijan.  As we learn of new developments regarding international adoption in Azerbaijan we will update this site.

Dear Parents: Like you, the Office of Children's Issues is aware of reports that the Government of Azerbaijan has concluded its investigation into adoption practices and is now allowing adoptions to move forward.  We have asked the U.S. Embassy in Baku to verify with the Government of Azerbaijan whether this is true.  We will send out an update when we received clarification.

Sincerely,

Office of Children's Issues
Bureau of Consular Affairs
U.S. Department of State

October 4, 2004 - JCICS met with U.S. Department of State officials last week and among the topics discussed included Azerbaijan's temporary suspension of international adoptions.  The Department of State has been informed that the investigations are still on-going and no date has been communicated as to when adoptions will resume.  The investigations are impacting both international and domestic adoptions and are not believed to be related to any actions by U.S. agencies.  There are approximately sixteen pending cases by U.S. citizens and 200 pending domestic cases.  The U.S. government has been advocating for the processing of pending cases and has met with many high level officials in the Azerbaijani government.  As JCICS learns of new information, we will post it to our website. 

September 14, 2004 - To date we have not heard that Azerbaijan has lifted the temporary suspension and we have not received a response from our letter sent to the Vice-Prime Minister. We assume that the investigation is continuing but we are seeking clarification and we will continue to advocate for pending cases to be processed and a speedy resolution to the investigation.

June 30, 2004 - Joint Council sent a letter to the Vice-Prime Minister Elchin Efendiyev in Azerbaijan outlining our concern for the waiting children during this extended investigation.  It is our understanding that the investigation has been extended until September 2004.  JCICS is advocating for pending cases to be processed concurrent to the ongoing investigation. In addition to the Vice-Prime Minister, JCICS sent communication to the United States Ambassador in Azerbaijan, along with a consular officer and an Azerbaijani NGO. For a copy of the letter, click here.

May 21, 2004 - The Prosecutor’s Office notified the Embassy on May 20, it has extended its suspension of adoption by 30 days.  The U.S. Department of State has updated their notice on the adoption suspension.