Parliament has requested the Department of Social Development to have a policy position on inter-country adoptions. File picture
Cape Town - Parliament has requested the Department of Social Development to have a policy position on inter-country adoptions.
This comes after a number of countries announced that they would be discontinuing the programme.
According to the department, the Netherlands expressed its intention to cease working with South Africa in a phased manner and was expected to provide an update this month.
Norway is no longer working with South Africa and Sweden is expected to visit South Africa in October and will thereafter communicate its intention.
The department was also expecting the potential withdrawal of France, while Denmark is said to also be working on its withdrawal, however, this was not certain.
The department said the large number of withdrawals was not unique to South Africa, with other countries facing the same situation.
This comes as adoptees have flagged that data was sometimes incorrect or some adoptions were conducted illegally, leaving them unable to find answers related to the origin or identity of adopted children.
The department said receiving countries had noted, throughout the period of inter-country adoption, serious structural abuses and that some countries and their intermediaries had been aware of this since the 1960s.
The department’s media liaison officer, Bathembu Futshane, said there had been no reports of illegal activities so far.
Futshane said the department’s response would be communicated in due course but at this stage it was unable to confirm when it would be providing more information on when a decision would be ready.
The department was also urged to take a policy decision on the use of the safe relinquishment of babies, through a device known as baby savers, and the traditional aspect of parental rights and responsibilities of unmarried fathers.
Often resembling an incubator, a baby saver is a form, or any similar construction, sometimes mounted to or inside a wall, which allows for the safe and anonymous relinquishment of babies.
Once the baby is detected inside, an alarm is triggered, immediately notifying and activating care workers.
The founder of Helderberg Baby Saver, Sandy Immelman, said she supported the call for legislation and regulations for the use of baby savers in South Africa due to the number of unsafe abandonments throughout the country.
“A child’s right to life has to be acknowledged and measures put in place to ensure this wherever possible. Safe relinquishment is offered as an option in many countries in order to save little lives. It is widely acknowledged that two out of every three abandoned babies found are deceased – and the ones found alive are usually severely compromised. Surely a safe alternative to abandonment is essential to ameliorate this?”
shakirah.thebus@inl.co.za
Cape Argus