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; 
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•HRES 588 EH 

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— 
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•HRES 588 EH 

(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.