MHCF STRATEGIC INTENT
Morgan Hill Children Foundation’s strategic focus is to develop programs and campaigns that address the challenges faced by vulnerable children such as abandonment, prolonged institutionalization, social stigma, lack of access to education and economic opportunities; physical impairment and a general failure of systems and authorities to guarantee the fundamental rights of a child (United Nations Convention on The Rights of A Child.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
It is in this vein that MHCF is implementing a country-wide effort to promote the domestication of the Child Right’s Act in Nigeria, or at the very minimum, advocate for the unification and review of relevant Child’s Rights Laws (CRL) & Adoption Laws across a spectrum of States in Nigeria, using the CRL of Lagos State 2015 (as amended) as the benchmark.
SITUATION ANALYSIS
Some of the observed incongruities and inhibitions in all the relevant legislation that impact the conduct of intercountry adoption include;
- Clauses that mandate extended stay of pre-adoptive parents in Nigeria and ultimately elongate the entire adoption duration. Some of the clauses border on notice/waiting period,
- Ambiguous definition of the nationality of eligible pre-adoptive parents.
- Non-existence, Discrepancies, Duplicity of Legislation that govern Child Rights and Adoption in Nigeria:
- Seniority: While Section 274 of the Child Rights Act subordinates all other enactments relating to‐ (a) children; (b) adoption, fostering, guardianship and wardship; (c) approved institutions, remand centers and borstal institutions; and (d) any other matter pertaining to children already provided for in this Act., Adoption Laws enacted by the States are still extant. The reason is that adoption, in particular, and the rights and welfare of children, in general, are matters within the legislative competence of the States under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999. Hence, the National Assembly has no constitutional power to foist the Act on the States which is why the Act is to be domesticated by the States. The Act is enforceable as such only in the Federal Capital Territory
- Discrepancies: The Child Rights Act restricts Intercountry Adoption, while respective State Child Rights Law either have clear provision that allow for intercountry adoption or leave decisions to permit same to the discretion of the courts.
- Duplicity: Some states have extant laws that are competing, thus making adjudication on adoption matters cumbersome and open for misinterpretation.
- Non-Existent Adoption Legislation: Not all States have Adoption Legislation: As at 2011, the Child Rights Act 2003 has been promulgated into Law (passed by the State Houses of Assembly and assented to by the State Governors) in 24 states: This means that some 12 States in Nigeria are yet to adopt generally accepted rules to protect rights of the child.
- Lack of Uniformity in the adoption standards and procedures from State-State due to the proliferation of Laws: Even though one of the prominent adoption provisions of the Act mandates State and Federal Governments to harmonize the procedure and criteria of eligibility for adoption as well as setting up a uniform institutional framework for adoption throughout the country; the reality is that adoption arrangements differ from State to State. There is no record that any of the States or even the Federal Government has set up this service. In some States that already have adoption legislation, it is the ministry responsible for social welfare and youth development that is in charge of adoption. There is no parallel provision in any of the pre-existing State legislation requiring the Ministry or Government agency to provide such facilities and services as are prescribed in section 125 of the Act. Moreover, no Nigerian statute (whether Federal or State) has ever provided for the setting up of approved adoption services and, as far as official records can support, none is in place anywhere in this country. The absence of such approved adoption services in Nigeria has created a yawning gap which private maternities and orphanages exploit by indulging in the illicit acts of child trafficking and facilitating unauthorized adoption.
- Section 162 of the Act gives exclusive jurisdiction on matters relating to children under the Act to the Family Court. Section 149 establishes the Family Court while Section 150 states that the Court shall be at 2 levels; The High Court and the Magistrate Court. The wordings of the Act seem to suggest that the Court ought to be separate by itself, designated as the Family Court with its Judges appointed by the Chief Judge of the State or by the Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory.
Only a few states, particularly, Lagos State, has set up the Family Court. This is a big lacuna in the face of the exclusive jurisdiction given to this Court in handling child related matters. It is suggested that efforts must be made to enlighten the States which have adopted the Child’s Right Act including the Federal Government to set up these Courts as a matter of utmost urgency without which the rights contained therein, including, application for adoption will be non-justiciable
PAST EFFORTS MADE
In Lagos State, we organized the first of its kind Adoption Conference to bring various stakeholders to discuss on ways to strengthen Intercountry Adoption Programs in Lagos State (and by extension Nigeria). One of the significant outcomes of the session was the general consensus of the need to harmonize the legal framework in the State to remove bottlenecks that impugn the workability/feasibility of intercountry adoption in Lagos State.
Ultimately, the CRL in Lagos State was amended incorporating some of the recommendations emanating from this conference. As a result of this law in review, adoptions by Non-Nigerian Americans now satisfied the USCIS immigration requirements. It further removed that mandatory bonding period (leaving this to the discretion of the courts)
It is our belief that extending these efforts to other States will provide wider opportunities for non-Nigerian Americans to adopt from other states and increase the chances of vulnerable/orphaned children to be reintegrated in a family setting as opposed to prolonged institutionalization.
CURRENT ACTIVITIES
We have commenced preliminary advocacy interventions in Cross-River, Akwa-Ibom, Ogun and Ondo States. The basis for selecting these States include; proximity to Lagos State, progressive social welfare policies & disposition to International adoption in these States, Morgan Hill pre-existing affiliation (Cross-River & Akwa Ibom) etc.
We have identified and engaged Stakeholders in the selected States to firstly obtain related information on adoption process, and in addition, the underlying laws are currently being reviewed by our team of Child Rights and adoption law experts whose objective is to identify areas within the subject State Law(s) that are (a) of non-compliance to International conventions as domesticated in the Child Rights Act of 2003 (b) pose restrictions to inter country adoption (involving Nigerians & non-Nigerians) and (c) lengthen the period to finalize an adoption.
NEXT STEPS
The conclusion of these reviews will lead to the generation of a legal report and summary recommendations of the noted provisions clauses requiring amendment. Working with our partners, MHCF will employ a wide range of approaches to push the agenda. Some of the efforts include the organization of engagement sessions/hearings, lobbying of legislators, public awareness/enlightenment campaigns through all forms news media, conducting of surveys and research studies, presentation of or Memorandum to Legislators to sponsor the bills or writing/ privately sponsoring amendment bills.