MOSCOW, September 8 (RIA Novosti) - The lower house of the Russian parliament intends to consider a document persuading Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov of the necessity of adopting urgent measures to protect Russian children adopted by foreigners, State Duma vice speaker Vladimir Katrenko said Thursday.
Deputies say the state is doing too little to protect children up for adoption.
Adoptive parents more often use physical violence with their adopted children. Thirteen adopted Russian children have died in the United States, two of them in 2005, after their foster parents subjected them to physical violence.
But Russians only became aware of the cases through the media, causing deputies to wonder if all the cases of violence against Russian children adopted by foreigners are being reported.
The Duma is concerned over the fate of some 64,000 adopted Russian children residing outside of Russia.
Parliament members say there is no state control over the observance of these children's rights and legal interests and, therefore, bilateral agreements on interstate cooperation in adoption should be signed.
The current practice, deputies say, testifies to the high degree of commercialization and criminalization of all stages of adoption.
Deputies also want to establish a system in which Russian parents seeking to adopt would be given preference over foreigners.
