Belgium stops Moroccan adoption
For the time being, Flanders is completely refraining from adopting adopted children from Morocco.
The reason for this is the lack of clarity about the legal aspects of children from Morocco. According to De Standaard there is a lot of uncertainty about the recognition of adopted children once they are in Belgium. The first adoption request from Flemish parents went completely wrong in Ghent. Approximately eighty children from Morocco have been adopted in Brussels and Wallonia, but parents still have to do a lot of work to get recognition.
The Flemish parents did everything according to the adoption procedures, which meant that the ties with the biological parents should not be broken. However, the public prosecutor decided to appeal, after which the adoption was rejected. In Morocco there is only the 'kafala', a foster guardianship system and not the adoption schemes that we know in the Netherlands and Belgium.
However, there is something to be said for refusing the adoption. The name of the biological father is on the birth certificate of the child and it is precisely that the father did not give permission for the adoption. The 4-year-old boy has been living in Belgium with his foster parents for two years now. Adoption officer Ariana van Den Berghe has indicated that no Moroccan children may be adopted for the time being.
