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 in-
vestments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, pro-
viding an estimated $758,102,000 in development, hu-
manitarian, and security assistance, including peace-
keeping activities, in fiscal year 2013; 
Whereas cyclical and violent conflict has plagued the Demo-
cratic Republic of the Congo since the mid-1990s; 
Whereas, according to the United States Department of 
State, the policy of the Administration toward the Demo-
cratic 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;
•HRES 588 EH 
Whereas, on September 27, 2013, the Congolese Ministry of 
Interior and Security, General Direction of Migration, in-
formed the United States Embassy in Kinshasa that ef-
fective 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 nec-
essary 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 Gen-
eral Direction of Migration confirmed to members of the 
United States Department of State that the current sus-
pension 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 im-
pact on children and families of the Democratic Republic 
of the Congo’s suspension of exit permits; and 
(4) respectfully requests that the Congolese Govern-
ment—
•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 co-
operation between the United States Department of 
State and the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs to improve the inter-
country adoption process and ensure the welfare of 
all children adopted from the Democratic Republic 
of the Congo. 
Attest: 
Clerk.