US embassy cable - 05HANOI286

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 000286 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
 
DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR CA, CA/OCS, CA/OCS/CI, CA/OCS/ACS/EAP, 
CA/OCS/PRI, DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR CA/VO/F/P, EAP/BCLTV, L/CA 
AND L/T 
HO CHI MINH CITY FOR CONS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CASC, PREL, VM 
SUBJECT: Vietnam Adoptions - Senate StaffDel Met With 
Department of International Adoptions, Ministry of Justice 
 
Ref:  Hanoi 204 
 
1.  In one of several meetings set up by the Vietnamese 
Embassy in Washington, Senate Foreign Relations Committee 
Senior Staff Member Keith Luse met January 4 with Mr. Nguyen 
Van Khanh, Deputy Director of the Department of 
International Adoptions (DIA) at the Ministry of Justice, to 
discuss the status of inter-country adoptions in Vietnam. 
(Mr. Luse's other meetings with representatives of the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Assembly 
reported reftel.) 
 
Moratorium on Adoption by Foreigners 
------------------------------------ 
 
2.  Mr. Khanh explained that Decree 68 was promulgated 
because legal procedures were violated and illicit gains 
were made under the previous system.  The United States and 
Vietnam are holding talks on a bilateral agreement as 
required by Decree 68 and have agreed on many significant 
issues. 
 
Amendment of Decree 68 
---------------------- 
 
3.  Mr. Khanh reported that the Ministry of Justice will 
send a draft amendment to Decree 68 for the Prime Minister's 
signature this month.  This amendment is necessary to 
accommodate the adoption of special needs children prior to 
the signature of a broad bilateral agreement. 
 
4.  Mr. Luse offered the possibility of Senate hearings to 
bring attention to the matter.  When Mr. Khanh suggested 
that hearings should be put off until after Decree 68 was 
amended, Mr. Luse said that he would not recommend the 
Senate hold hearings at this time. 
 
Bi-Lateral Agreement Requirement for Inter-Country Adoptions 
to Resume 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
---------- 
 
5. When asked whether the upcoming amendments to Decree 68 
might make a bilateral agreement unnecessary for resumption 
of inter-country adoptions, Mr. Khanh responded that, 
without an agreement, adoptions may only be allowed in 
exceptional cases.  Mr. Khanh mentioned that his department 
has turned away many applications from foreigners, including 
Americans, due to the lack of a bilateral agreement. 
 
6. Mr. Luse expressed the hope that the GVN would not 
require a treaty in order to resume inter-country adoptions 
with Americans and noted that the Senate will not understand 
why a treaty is required when China is allowing the adoption 
of thousands of children without such a formal document. 
Mr. Khanh said that, in the future, the GVN hopes to have a 
comprehensive adoption system that follows the Chinese model 
to make procedures convenient for the government and 
transparent to others. 
 
Building the Capacity of the DIA 
-------------------------------- 
 
7. Mr. Khanh noted that further legislation is needed to 
strengthen the authority and resources of the DIA to conduct 
adoptions.  Future amendments to Decree 68 will concentrate 
authority to conduct adoptions in the DIA and away from the 
64 individual provinces and localities.  The GVN will also 
increase the capacity of the DIA to handle larger numbers of 
adoptions.  The DIA recently acquired software to collect 
data on prospective adoptive parents and children. 
 
Ratification of The Hague Convention on Intercountry 
Adoptions 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
--- 
 
8. Mr. Khanh said that the GVN hopes to join The Hague 
Convention by the end of 2005 or 2006.  He quipped that 
prospective American adoptive parents wonder why their 
government has yet to ratify the convention.  Once Vietnam 
ratifies the convention, all countries that have already 
ratified would immediately benefit.  He suggested that 2006 
is an ideal year for both countries to ratify, a process 
that may take less time than a bilateral agreement. 
 
MARINE