Prof. Dr. Toussaint Kwambamba (University of Bandundu, Catholic University of Congo): L'adoption internationale et les droits de l'enfant en droit international privé congolais

About the speaker:

Toussaint Kwambamba holds a doctorate in comparative law from the University of Urbino "Carlo Bo" in Italy. He is also professor of private international law at the University of Bandundu and of family law at the Catholic University of Congo.

About the topic:

Intercountry adoption from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been suspended since September 25, 2013, when the Congolese Ministry of Interior and Security, General Direction of Migration (DGM) stopped issuing the exit permits that would allow children to leave the country with their adoptive parents. The Congolese authorities have stated that the suspension was due to concerns over reports that children adopted from the DRC may be either abused by adoptive families or adopted by a second set of parents once in their receiving countries. After the 2016 revision of the Congolese Family Code (Code de la famille), intercountry adoptions from the DRC continue to be suspended (Article 923 bis of the Congolese Family Code). The DRC is not party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption.

During his presentation, Prof. Kwambamba will address these concerns and suggest avenues for long-term intercountry adoption reforms in the DRC.

About the virtual workshop series:

There is a growing interest in the study of private international law in Africa. In an environment of growing international transactions in both civil and commercial matters, private international law can play a significant role in Africa in addressing issues such as globalization, regional economic integration, immigration, etc. The series intends to discuss new scholarly work on private international law in Africa and advance solutions on how the current framework of that field can be improved on the continent.