Argentina: African brothers affirm that the adoption process was not carried out

---

The Bahía Blanca prosecutor, who is carrying out the case investigating the abandonment of two six year old African brothers in a police station in this southern Buenos Aires city, on November 17 received a report from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where it was determined that no, tey did the adoption procedures through consular channels informed by the judicial sources.

This is the Prosecutor of the Investigation and Trial Unit (UFIJ) 8, Marcelo Romero Jardín, who in the last hours received a report from the Foreign Ministry that had been requested to determine whether the Argentine marriage with whom the brothers lived had led to carry out the respective adoption procedures.

The Prosecutor's Office said, they entered only with the adoption judgment of the country of origin, but they did not do the procedure that they should do, which is to go through a Consulate to give it legitimacy in Argentina and continue the procedure in a Family Court.

In this context, they indicated that adoption is not valid in Argentina, that judgment of that country (Guinea Bissau) is not valid here, it is not legitimate when commenting that they are allowed to enter for a humanitarian issue so that they are not left in the airport. Here, what should be seen is if there is any lack of immigration and if there is a substitution of identity because they make them appear in the country with another name to the original without being legitimized in Argentina.

As indicated, in Guinea Bissau the two siblings had other names and upon entering the country they appeared with a new name without having legitimized that adoption in Argentina. It was also reported that in the next few hours psychological tests will be carried out on the two little brothers, who are in a shelter. The psychological expertise was ordered by the prosecutor himself within the framework of the Convention on the Rights of Children, considering that they have to be listened to in any process informed by the judicial sources.

The prosecutor must also analyze the jurisdiction, since it could be derived from the provincial jurisdiction to the Federal jurisdiction. Migration and consular issues appear, an analysis of the criminal type should be made where everything would indicate that it would be the competence of the Federal Justice instead of the Provincial.

They said, in Bahía Blanca Family Court 3 is also intervening, who ordered the couple to pay a food fee. As indicated, the two minors are in good health and contained, while a new process of adoption of the two siblings must be analyzed.