Namibia-Selling Babies is Illegal UPDATED

Isn’t it sad that has to be stated? According to Namibia: Selling Babies is Illegal – Gender Ministry [All Africa.com 12/14/11], it DID have to be stated because local media ads are being taken out by individuals trying to sell babies or to encourage people to “give up” their child for adoption.

“The Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare has strongly rejected recent media reports and advertisements in the local media “where individuals are either trying to sell their children or invite others to give up their children for adoption”.

“The ministry wishes to state clearly that this is tantamount to human trafficking and exploitation and such individuals are making themselves guilty of an offence,” read a strongly worded statement issued by the ministry on yesterday.

The statement, from the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Sirkka Ausiku, said it is illegal for newspapers and parents to place such adverts “but also ethically wrong to sell and buy children who need care and protection. The ministry therefore advises such individuals to approach the ministry for support”.

Around 80 children are adopted every year in Namibia. These adoptions are regulated by the Children’s Act 33 of 1960 as amended, the constitution of the Republic of Namibia and the Convention on the Rights of children.

The children who are adopted fall in various categories such as children who have lost one or both parents, children who have been abandoned, neglected or abused, children with special needs such as those who are HIV positive or children living with disabilities.

“Adoption is identified as one of the alternative care systems that provide stability and the benefits of family life to children who will otherwise not have proper parental supervision,” read the statement.

It further clarified that there are two types of adoptions in Namibia, closed and open adoptions.

For an adoption to be finalised by the court, both parents are required to give consent.

The statement further indicated that the ministry, in an effort to safeguard the welfare of all Namibian children, was in the process of finalising the enactment of the Childcare and Protection Bill and acceding to the Hague convention on inter-country adoptions. These would regulate adoptions, including inter-country adoptions. The ministry is calling on those interested in adopting children or giving up their children for adoption to visit the ministry’s social workers for screening and registration.”

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update: The US has only adopted 3 children from Namibia since 2001. Birth registration is still not universal and a special commission from UN has raised concerns in their latest report.

“THE United Nations has expressed concern at the effectiveness and quality of services provided to orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) in Namibia.

This is contained in a report entitled ‘Extreme Poverty and Human Rights’ on Namibia by Special Rapporteur Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona which will be discussed at the 23rd Regular Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva Switzerland, starting today until 14 June 2013, where over 50 country situations will be presented.

According to Sepúlveda Carmona’s findings, the situation of children in Namibia, especifically OVCs, is particularly “concerning” as problems occur in coordination services, training and support of staff.

“Lack of trained social workers, heavy workloads and time-consuming administrative tasks impact on the effectiveness and quality of services provided to orphans and vulnerable children. Facilities for children in need, such as places of safety or children’s homes are also in short supply,” the report states.

Sepúlveda Carmona in her findings however acknowledged that Namibia has developed a system of alternative care and seeks, as far as possible, to keep a child within his or her social context, before options of removal to a residential facility or for adoption are considered.

Under its human rights obligations, in particular the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Namibia has the obligation to protect and promote the rights of all children in its territory, without discrimination of any kind and irrespective of the sex, race, national origin, ethnicity or other status of the child or their parent.

According to Sepúlveda Carmona’s findings though, this is however not the case.

She outlines in the report that despite significant budgetary investment, considerable gaps remain in both coverage and quality of basic services for children, with large socio-economic and geographical variations in access and significant challenges in quality.

“During the visit, the Special Rapporteur witnessed serious gaps in basic public service provision for poor children, children living in rural areas, non-registered children, children with disabilities, children living with HIV-AIDS, orphans and children born to non-Namibian parents,” the report states.

Every child has the right to a legal identity, as laid out in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and stated in the Namibian Constitution. Without a birth certificate, children encounter difficulties in enroling in school, receiving health care or child welfare grants.

“In 2007 only around two-thirds of children had their births registered, with the poorest children almost half as likely to have been registered compared with children from the richest quintile,” the report findings state.

Sepúlveda Carmona noted that she welcomed recent progress made by the government towards ensuring universalisation of birth registration.

“However, further efforts are needed to ensure that the poorest children, including those living in the most isolated areas, are registered. Furthermore, the Birth, Marriage and Death Registration Act of 1963, which regulates birth registration, is outdated and inadequate. It should be modified as a matter of priority with the aim of facilitating the registration of children,” she said.

She noted that she is particularly concerned with the status of orphans born in Namibia to parents of Angolan origin as many are not registered at birth and have no proof of parentage and therefore are at risk of statelessness “as they cannot demonstrate that they are Namibian or have acquired Angolan or another nationality by descent”.

“It is of central importance to full enjoyment of every child’s right to acquire a nationality under the Convention on the Rights of the Child,” she said.

Sepúlveda Carmona recommends that government ensures the effective implementation of the National Agenda for Children, which calls for an integrated response to vulnerable children, encompassing issues of child protection and social protection.

She also recommends the Namibian government to improve governance, resource allocation and monitoring mechanisms for the effective implementation of child protection services.

“Ensure immediate and universal birth registration of all children without discrimination of any kind, ensure that the lack of a birth certificate is not an impediment for children accessing basic public services such as education, health and social protection and establish a children’s rights division in the Office of the Ombudsman, to be responsible for monitoring children’s rights violations,” she said.”

Namibia: UN Concerned About Nam Orphans

[All Africa 5/30/13 by Selma Shipanga]