Relations remain very degraded between Paris and Ouagadougou. France has therefore decided to suspend international adoption procedures concerning children residing in Burkina Faso.
“All international adoption procedures concerning children habitually resident in Burkina Faso by any person habitually residing in France are suspended,” indicates a decree from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs published on Saturday in the Official Journal.
The military attaché of the French embassy expelled
This suspension measure does not, however, apply to files which have already been the subject of a “matching”, that is to say the identification by the Burkinabe authorities of a specific future adoptive family for a given child. . “Currently related families can continue their adoption procedure by ensuring they follow the recommendations of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs,” the French Adoption Agency (AFA) said in a press release on Monday. Last year, seven Burkinabé children were adopted by French people, and 268 in total since 2008, according to this organization.
This French decision therefore comes in a context of very poor relations between France and Burkina Faso since Captain Ibrahim Traoré came to power in September 2022, via a military coup – the second in eight months. The country also decided at the end of last week to expel the military attaché of the French embassy in Ouagadougou, accusing him of “subversive activities”.
Visas for students suspended
In March, Burkina Faso denounced a 1961 military agreement with France, a few weeks after demanding and obtaining the withdrawal of the French “Sabre” force from this country plagued by jihadist violence. The government had also requested the permanent departure of all French military personnel serving in the Burkinabé military administrations. The French ambassador to Ouagadougou was recalled after the September 2022 coup and has not been replaced since.
This decision concerning adoptions also comes at a time when visas are suspended for Burkinabé students, but also Malians or Nigeriens, who were to continue their studies in France, due to the closure of French consular services in these countries.