U.S. Mission Kazakhstan has reported that President Nazarbayev signed into law the new Family and Marriage Code on December 26, 2011. The Ministry of Education now awaits government approval of its new policies to accredit agencies and process adoptions.

The Department will post information on the new accreditation process and the new adoption procedures on www.adoption.state.gov as soon as we receive it, and will confirm when the new Hague Convention adoption process is in place in Kazakhstan.

The Ukrainian legislature is in the process of voting on a bill that would suspend all intercountry adoptions from countries without bilateral agreements with Ukraine, including adoptions from the United States. The bill passed a first reading and vote, but must still pass a second reading and be signed into law by the president. The second reading could take place in the next few weeks. If the bill passes the second reading, it may be signed into law as early as the end of 2010. The draft bill appears to include suspension of all adoptions in progress. The Department will post updates as information becomes available.