Reuters, 28/10 15:48 CET
By Tom Esslemont and Kenny Katombe
LONDON/LUBUMBASHI, Democratic
Republic of Congo (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A crackdown on
international adoptions by the Democratic Republic of Congo has spurred a
black market in child smuggling, with Americans paying to get dozens of
infants out across its jungle borders, the Thomson Reuters Foundation
has found.
More than 80 Congolese children have been taken illegally
out of the country in the past two years, testimony shows, with
adoptive parents paying networks of local brokers.
Concerns over child smuggling emerged after President
Joseph Kabila suspended exit permits for adopted children from the
central African nation in September 2013, causing uncertainty for
hundreds of children assigned to foreign families.
The Congolese authorities said the decision was taken due
to concerns and investigations over child abuse in U.S. households, but
campaigners say the move has created a lucrative trade in which
children are smuggled across borders for a price.
Earlier this month, the U.S. State Department issued its
most strongly worded public comment on the subject, warning U.S.
adoptive families that “attempting to circumvent the exit permit
suspension could have severe implications”.
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Source: Euronews
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