Ethiopia bans Int’l adoptions over abuse

Addis Ababa [Ethiopia]: Ethiopia has banned the adoption of Ethiopian children by foreign families over concern that they face abuse.

Ethiopia is one of the biggest source countries for international adoptions by the United States (US) citizens. Since 1999 more than 15,000 adoptions to the United States have been completed, reported CNN.

Many children are also taken to European countries like Spain, France and Italy.

Celebrity Angelina Jolie adopted her daughter, Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt, from Ethiopia in 2005.

Children adopted by foreign families in the past have been exposed to “various crimes and social crisis in the country they grew up in,” the report quoted country’s state-run News Agency ENA, as saying.

A US couple was convicted in 2013, in the death of their 13-year-old daughter, whom they adopted from Ethiopia.

According to CNN, which cited court documents, Hana Williams died in 2011 from “hypothermia brought on by malnutrition and being forced to remain outside on a cold rainy night.”

Both the parents are currently serving the prison time.

Ethiopia says the new proclamation “encourages local adoption, family reunification and reintegration that will enable children to grow up in the midst of their fellow citizens.”(ANI)