the judge or a notary and endorsed by the civil court. Simple adoption creates new family obligations
between the adopted child and the adoptive parents, but it does not break the bonds of filiation between
the child and his biological family. It is revocable.
Full adoption is only available for children under the age of fifteen and who were provided with the care of
adoptive parents for at least six months (art. 27). It is not revocable.
The procedure described by the Adoption Law, whether simple or full, is essentially legal. Adoption has
however become part of the jurisdiction of the Ministry in charge of the child because it is the custodian of
social institutions that host and protect vulnerable children, including abandoned children who are likely to
be adopted.
This decision resulted in Order No 188 / MFFAS / DPS of 10 April 2008, establishing a Family Placement
Committee of abandoned children for the purpose of adoption (CPF). According to the provisions of this
Order, the Committee, which meets four times a year, is chaired by the Minister in charge of the child. It
consists of the Inspector General, the Director in charge of Child Protection, representatives of Regional
Directorates of the Ministry in child of the child and managers of care centres. It is responsible for
centralising and reviewing the submissions of adoption applicants and the files of children to be adopted
based on the procedures recommended by the principles of the Hague Convention.
Ainsi, tout candidat à l’adoption doit répondre à certains critères de base établis dans un document
intitulé «Demande d’adoption d’enfants abandonnés placés en institution » notamment être âgé de 30
ans ou plus, célibataire ou marié depuis plus de cinq ans, et être au moins 15 ans plus âgé que l’enfant
en voie d’adoption. Le candidat sera ensuite soumis à une enquête sociale sur sa situation familiale à la
suite de laquelle la CPF fait une proposition d’apparentement qui est entériné par un arrêté de placement
provisoire en vue d’adoption.
Thus, any prospective adopter must meet certain basic criteria in a document entitled "Request for
adoption of abandoned children placed in institutions" including being aged 30 or older, single or married
for over five years and be at least 15 years older than the child to be adopted. The applicant will then be
subjected to a social investigation about his/her family status after which the CPF makes a matching
proposal which will be is validated by a decree of temporary placement for the purpose of adoption.
However this centralised procedure that better meets protection needs especially in cases of international
adoption, is not yet based on a single legal basis which in practice translates into adoption rulings made
by courts, upon applications and following a social investigation order.
To improve this situation, agreements have been made between the Ministry in charge of the child and
the different embassies and consulates in the Ivorian territory for the purpose of issuing exit permits
leading to the issuance of visa to the child who is subject to an international adoption.
While waiting that a new adoption law is enacted, it is appropriate that this procedure relies on legal
grounds.
Without reliable statistics on the number and characteristics of children who receive alternative care
measures and children in need of domestic and international adoption, an information collection system
should be studied and implemented in the medium term.
The only available data are related to the results of the CPF, in which a total of 99 children (45 girls and
54 boys) were proposed for adoption in 2009. From 2012 to 2013, 90 children have been proposed for
adoption (41 for international adoption and 49 for domestic adoption)
These figures do not include the adoption rulings directly issued by the courts.
Les seules données disponibles concernent le bilan du CPF, selon lequel au total 99 enfants (45 illes
et 54 garçons) ont été proposés en adoption en 2009. De 2012 à 2013, 90 enfants ont été proposés en
adoption (41 en adoption internationale et 49 en adoption nationale)
RAPPORT INITIAL SUR LA MISE EN OEUVRE DE LA CHARTE AFRICAINE DES DROITS ET DU BIEN ÊTRE DE L'ENFANT
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