9 April 2008
Maputo — The Mozambican Parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, on Wednesday unanimously passed a government bill on minors' courts and their jurisdiction.
These courts have the power to take "criminal prevention measures" for children under the age of 16 (the age of criminal responsibility in Mozambique), who have committed an offence, who have difficulty adapting to a normal social life, who behave in an anti-social fashion, or who are seriously at risk.
The measures the courts may decree range from a simple warning up to internment in a centre for juvenile delinquents. They also include a ban on attending particular places or seeing particular people, community service, medical or psychological care, or placement in a foster family.
In civil matters, minors' courts deal with matters of adoption, maintenance, and regulating parental power. This includes determining which parent will care for children in the event of divorce or separation, and the visiting rights of the other parent.
If the court determines that neither parent is competent to look after the child in question he or she may be placed in the care of somebody else, or in an educational establishment.
Children may be removed from their parents when they are "in grave moral danger because of the incapacity of the parents to comply with the duties to defend, assist and educate them", or when the parents abuse them, physically or sexually, or use them for criminal or pornographic purposes. Parents may also lose custody of their children when they are convicted of any crime of which minors were the victims.
This law and a framework law on child protection were passed with a minimum of debate since they are largely uncontroversial. The only issue that might raise eyebrows is a ban on "international adoption" - that is, a ban on foreigners who do not live in Mozambique adopting Mozambican children.
Justice Minister Benvinda Levy said the government wanted to ban international adoption "because we don't have the objective conditions for monitoring children adopted by foreigners".
The rule is slightly relaxed when it comes to resident foreigners. They can adopt Mozambican children - but on a case by case basis, and only with the approval of the Supreme Court. Resident foreigners will not necessarily go on living in Mozambique, Levy pointed, and when they leave they will take any adopted children with them.
The fear has been expressed that adoption might be a cover for trafficking in children. This has been allowed to outweigh the problem of a growing number of orphans in Mozambique (many of whom have lost their parents to the AIDS epidemic), and who cannot all be placed with relatives or Mozambican foster families.
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