NGOs in Bulgaria call for removal of secrecy in adoption. Every year, around 150 adopted children submit requests to court seeking to find their birth parents.However, in 90% of the cases, the court does not give approval for disclosure of the biological...
NGOs in Bulgaria call for removal of secrecy in adoption. Every year, around 150 adopted children submit requests to court seeking to find their birth parents.However, in 90% of the cases, the court does not give approval for disclosure of the biological parents.
At a discussion held in Sofia on 21st of July, the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice expressed readiness to amend the Family Code in order to facilitate the access of adoptees to information concerning their origin.
Mariana Dimitrova-Taneberger says that for 31 years she has searched for information about the identity of her biological mother. “I am simply interested to know who she is, whether I have brother or sisters…”, she explained.
Konstantin Penchev, Bulgaria’s National Ombudsman said there was some sort of a stigma in the society that adopted children should not know about their adoption and that disclosing the secret should be criminally liable.
Georgi Bogdanov, executive director of the National Network for Children (an alliance of civil society organisations and supporters) said that in practice adopted children did not have much chance to find their birth relatives. There is a serious obstacle in the legislation, because art. 105 of the Family Code requires important reasons for the disclosure of information, but these important reasons are not regulated. Thus in 90% of the requests, the court does not give approval.
The United Nations Human Right Council has already made a recommendation to Bulgaria to introduce legislation which bans the adoption secrecy. From next week, Bulgaria’s Ministry of Justice will start work on drafting new texts to the Family Code.
Virginia Micheva from the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice says that the new provisions will seek to ensure balance between the interests of the concerned parties – adopted children and biological parents. The new texts of the Family Code should be ready by the end of the year.
Meanwhile millions are trying to find their children and birth parents through the social media networks and many have successfully reunited.
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