Master of Advanced Studies in Children’s Rights (2011 – 2012) INSTITUT UNIVERSITAIRE KURT BOSCH – UNIVERSITY OF FRIBOURG Advancing the rights of children deprived of parental care: Domestic adoption of children in Kenya Denise STUCKENBRUCK Thesis submitted in the framework of the Master of Advanced Studies in Children’s Rights 02 April 2013 Tutor: Prof. Nigel Cantwell Advancing the rights of children deprived of parental care: Domestic adoption of children in Kenya Denise STUCKENBRUCK April 2013 Affiliated to the Institute of Development Studies of the University of Nairobi Approved by the National Council for Science and Technology of the Republic of Kenya Research Permit number: NCST/RCD/14/012/1552 The author can be contacted at [email protected] Table of Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................ x List of tables and figures ....................................................................................... xii List of acronyms ................................................................................................... xiii Glossary ............................................................................................................... xiv Executive summary .............................................................................................. xix 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Background ........................................................................................................ 1 1.2. Problem statement and objective ....................................................................... 4 1.3. Brief history of formal adoption .......................................................................... 5 1.4. Child care and adoption in Africa: some perspectives .......................................... 7 1.5. Children without parental care: do we know where and how many they are? ..... 9 1.6. Trends in adoption ............................................................................................ 11 1.7. Domestic adoption on the African agenda ......................................................... 13 2. Research framework ...................................................................................... 15 2.1. Scope ................................................................................................................ 15 2.2. Hypothesis and research questions ................................................................... 16 2.3. Theoretical and interdisciplinary approach ........................................................ 16 2.4. Methodology .................................................................................................... 17 2.4.1. Literature review ................................................................................................. 17 2.4.2. Quantitative data analysis ................................................................................... 18 2.4.3. Qualitative data analysis...................................................................................... 19 2.5. Ethics ................................................................................................................ 21 2.6. Limitations ........................................................................................................ 22 v 3. The rights of the child deprived of a family environment ................................ 23 3.1. The family environment .................................................................................... 23 3.2. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child ................................................... 25 3.2.1. The Committee on the Rights of the Child ............................................................. 30 3.2.1.1. Day of General Discussion.................................................................................................. 30 3.2.1.2. Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children ................................................................. 31 3.2.1.3. General Comments ............................................................................................................ 34 3.2.1.4. Concluding Observations ................................................................................................... 35 3.3. The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child ............................... 40 3.3.1. African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child .................... 43 3.4. Convention on protection of children and co-operation in respect of intercountry adoption ..................................................................................................................... 44 4. Situation of children without parental care and the care system in Kenya ...... 48 4.1. Kenya: facts and figures .................................................................................... 48 4.2. The situation of children without parental care ................................................. 49 4.3. Monitoring of Kenya’s international child rights commitments .......................... 53 4.3.1. Convention on the Rights of the Child ................................................................... 53 4.3.2. African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child .......................................... 58 4.3.3. The Hague Convention ......................................................................................... 59 4.4. Kenya’s legal and policy framework for alternative care and adoption .............. 60 4.4.1. The Children Act ................................................................................................... 60 4.4.2. CCI and Adoption Regulations .............................................................................. 62 4.4.3. National Plans of Action ....................................................................................... 64 4.4.4. Draft Kenyan Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children ................................. 65 4.5. Adoption practice in Kenya ............................................................................... 66 4.5.1. The process .......................................................................................................... 66 4.5.2. The actors ............................................................................................................ 67 4.5.2.1. The High Court ................................................................................................................... 67 4.5.2.2. The Adoption Committee ................................................................................................... 67 4.5.2.3. The Department of Children’s Services .............................................................................. 68 4.5.2.4. Adoption Societies ............................................................................................................. 69 4.5.2.5. Charitable Children Institutions ......................................................................................... 70 4.5.2.6. Lawyers .............................................................................................................................. 71 vi 5. Perceptions, beliefs and experiences concerning domestic adoption of children in Kenya................................................................................................................ 73 5.1. Profile of informants ......................................................................................... 73 5.2. Perceptions and beliefs about residential and kinship care ................................ 77 5.2.1. Residential care ................................................................................................... 78 5.2.2. Kinship care ......................................................................................................... 81 5.3. Perceptions and beliefs about adoption of children ........................................... 85 5.4. Main elements motivating Kenyans to adopt .................................................... 88 5.5. Barriers preventing Kenyans from adopting children ......................................... 93 5.5.1. The transition from informal to formal care .......................................................... 93 5.5.2. Complexity, weaknesses and costs of the process .................................................. 96 5.5.3. Cultural beliefs and social practices leading to discrimination ............................. 101 5.6. The adoption experience ................................................................................ 102 5.6.1. Expressing preferences ....................................................................................... 102 5.6.2. What worked well and the challenges faced in the process ................................. 105 5.7. Suggestions on how to popularize adoption .................................................... 107 5.7.1. Promote public education and awareness raising................................................ 107 5.7.2. Reduce costs and simplify procedures ................................................................. 109 5.8. Final reflections .............................................................................................. 110 6. Conclusions and recommendations .............................................................. 112 6.1. Conclusions ...................................................................................................