Peru Temporarily Suspends Adoptions

On September 20, 2016, Peru announced that all adoptions, domestic as well as international, would be suspended while the country conducted an internal review of adoptions over the past five years. Officials cited concerns with post-adoption reporting as one of the concerns. If you adopted a child from Peru, please be sure to submit all required post-adoption reports in a timely manner. If you are in the process of adopting from Peru, please stay in close contact with your adoption agency and monitor adoption.state.gov to stay up to date.

Lagos State in Nigeria to Permit Adoptions by Non-Nigerians

The Ministry of Social Welfare and the High Court Family Division in Lagos State, Nigeria, have announced that it will no longer require prospective adoptive parents from other countries to be Nigerian citizens or of Nigerian descent. The requirement is officially still in place, but the Court has said that it may waive this requirement when it is in the best interest of the child. This announcement does not affect adoption procedures from other states in Nigeria.

Ghana Accedes to the Hague Convention

On September 16, 2016, Ghana acceded to the Hague Intercountry Adoption Convention. The Convention will enter into force for the country on January 1, 2017. After that time, all intercountry adoptions from Ghana will be governed by Hague Convention standards and procedures. If you are in the process of adopting from Ghana, please stay in close contact with your adoption agency and monitor adoption.state.gov to stay up to date.