Late Adoption – Child’s right to family life

In the Mozambican legal system, one of the child’s fundamental rights is the right to grow up within a family. In turn, this right emanates from the CRM that provides that “All children have the right to protection of the family, society and the State, in view of their integral development – in 1 of Art. 121.^o . ”

However there are situations of children who have no natural family, who are in situations of abandonment or orphanhood and in these situations the law provides  the possibility of “prosthesis families” and one of the ways of its constitution is the adoption (see Art. 27 .The Law 7/2008, of 9 July).

Adoption can be defined as a legal and solemn bond established with a child who was in institutional arrangements; in turn, aims to create a true natural family ties although there are no ties of consanguinity (1 of 36 72 and 74 all of Law 7/2008 of 9 July).

In the light of Mozambican law, meet the conditions for adopting, a married couple (man and woman) for over three years, which are not separated in fact, older than 25 years but not more than 50 years, with moral and material conditions that allow the harmonious development of the minor pursuant to art. 393 of Law 10/2004 of 25 August.

The child who goes through the adoption becomes legitimate child before the law and have their rights as such effected pursuant to art. 390 of Law 10/2004 of 25 August.

Children placed for adoption seek this family ties and aims to be in a structured home where they will be loved, but this does not always happen because there is still a large number of children living in institutional care and because of age, are not chosen by families.

The adoption of children over 8 years old is designated Late Adoption, which is a process even more complex compared to the adoption of children under 8 years since it involves many situations and trauma.

Contextualize on Late Adoption means to emphasize the main causes of insertion of these children and adolescents under institutions which most often result from parental neglect, sexual abuse, delivery of children to state care for lack of conditions to create , etc.

Most children in this situation are in temporary homes (Ex .: shelters) for a long period, sometimes, waiting for a family, many reach adolescence and adulthood without having the opportunity to meet a healthy and structured home, because of prejudice against Late Adoption.

Such prejudices lead to feelings of abandonment, exclusion and emotional distress, on the one hand against the abandonment of the biological family that for various reasons is being prevented from raising their children, on the other hand resent the abandonment of society that still excludes secretes and stigmatizes these children hindering their right to adoption.

The Mother Law of our country (CRM) enshrines these children beyond the right to protection and care necessary for their well-being, establishes the obligation of the society and the State to protect them against any form of discrimination, abuse and others as the provisions of paragraph 1 of art. 47 and paragraph 2 of art. 121 of CRM;

From the above, it is important to develop actions that encourage and facilitate the Late Adoption, because even though the state has tried to solve these problems with the approval of the Law for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of the Child, such action is still insufficient, it is also up to society to be aware abstaining from prejudice opting for Late Adoption.

However, all children should be guaranteed the right to a structured home, stable and continuous relationship, in a home where the child is a child and not just an abandoned child, that is, the right to family if they enshrined not only in CRM as in paragraph 1 art. 26 of Law n.^o  7/2008 of 9 July).

Lawyer

Leonice Mutepua

Sources:

Constitution of the Republic of Mozambique;

Law 10/2004 of 25 August – Family Law;

Law No 7/2008 of 9 July – The Promotion and Protection of the Rights of the Child;