NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
QUESTION 1538
FOR WRITTEN REPLY
Date of publication on internal question paper: 08 June 2012
Internal question paper no. 17
1538. Mr. M Waters (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development
1) Whether any working agreements on inter-country adoptions are waiting to
be approved or rejected; if so, (a) how many, (b) what is the target time
for approving or rejecting applications and (c) in each case, (i) from
which agency was the application received and (ii) when was it submitted;
(2) whether her department has a policy for the approval or rejection of
working agreements with receiving countries; if not, why not; if so, (a)
what is the policy, (b) which official developed the policy and (c) when
was it formulated
(3) whether the said policy is contained in a written document; if not, why
not; if so, to what extent does the policy accord with the principles of
(a) the Hague Adoption Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-
operation in Respect of Inter-Country Adoption and (b) international
adoption practice;
(4) whether the said policy has been communicated to (a) South African
adoption agencies and (b) adoption authorities in other countries; if not,
why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(5) whether she will provide Mr M Waters with a copy of the policy; if not,
why not? NW1858E
REPLY
(1) Yes, there are working agreements on inter-country adoption awaiting
approval
(a) There are 7 applications waiting for approval
(b) Target for approval is 6 months after application was received
(c) (i) Johannesburg Child Welfare, Child Welfare Durban and District,
Catholic Womenâs League (JHB), Tongaat Child and Family Welfare, Cape
Town Child Welfare and Impilo.
(ii) The Child Protection Organizations submitted their applications
for accreditation in April 2010, they had to be accredited to render
inter-country adoptions before consideration for working agreements
2. Yes, the Department has a policy for the approval or rejection of
working agreements with receiving countries
a) The policy is âDocument on inter-country adoption working agreementâ
b) The South African Central Authority developed the policy
c) The policy was formulated on 27.01.2010
3. Yes, the said policy is contained in a written document.
a) The policy is in line with the following principles of (a)The Hague
Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of
Inter-country Adoption and (b) international adoption practice:
Article 1 of the Convention emphasises cooperation between contracting
States to the Convention to work together to ensure that:
⢠Adoptions take place in the best interests of the child and respect
for his or her fundamental rights
⢠Measures to safeguard and prevent the abduction, sale and trafficking
in children for adoption are established
Article 7 emphasises the exchange of information between Central
Authorities as to the laws of their state concerning adoption
Article 8 emphasises the prevention of improper financial gain or other
gain in connection with inter-country adoptions
Article 11 states that an accredited body shall pursue only non-profit
objectives
Article 12 states that working agreement of adoption agencies should be
approved by the Central Authority
Article 17 indicates that States must ensure that all inter-country
adoptions are agreed upon by both countries
4. Yes, the said policy has been communicated
a) The department has been communicating the said policy with the
South African Adoption Agencies through presentations during the
broader Child Protection Forumâ meetings which are held on
quarterly basis.
b) The department as the South African Central Authority has also
communicated the policy with adoption authorities in other
countries by sending the working agreement policy to them during
the 2011/12 financial year.
5. Copy of the policy will be provided on request.