Guinea

Guinea is a small West African country, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone. Guinea has a rich culture and history. The country was colonized by France thus Guinea’s official language is French, although many tribal languages are spoken in daily life. Traditionally orphans in Guinea were “absorbed in” to the family’s fabric. Extended family members would take the child in and provide them with a permanent family. But, as the population has increased, and with the urbanization of the culture, more and more children are in need of alternative permanent placements. Therefore, the need for inter-country adoption as an option for permanency for the orphan children of Guinea has increased.

Guinea is a party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption (also known as Hague Convention). Inter-country adoption processing in Hague countries is done in accordance with the requirements of the Convention; the U.S. implementing legislation, the Inter-country Adoption Act of 2000 (IAA); and the IAA’s implementing regulations, as well as the implementing legislation and regulations of Guinea.

The Ministry of Social Affairs, Women and Children may consider an application for inter-country adoption as an alternative means of childcare, if a child cannot be placed in a foster or adoptive family in Guinea or cannot, in any suitable matter, be cared for in Guinea.

Inter-country adoption may take place only if the competent authorities in Guinea have determined that the placement of the child within Guinea has been given due consideration and that an inter-country adoption is in the child’s best interests. The Ministry of Social Affairs, Women and Children is the only agency to provide adoption services.

Families interested in adopting a child should be aware that inter-country adoption is a rare event in Guinea and only recently becomes a practical option. Because inter-country adoption is not very common, families should anticipate occasional bumps in the road that could delay the adoption process. Our staff are working hard to make sure that any possible bumps are addressed in advance so that the adoption process can smoothly proceed. It is important to note that the adoption process in Guinea may vary slightly from one region to another, and sometimes from one court to another. Guinea adoptions are conducted according to the Code L’Enfant (2008). The adoptions are processed by the court system in Conakry, called the Tribunal of First Instance, rather than by a central governmental agency. The Court issues a Simple Adoption Decree which gives the adoptive parent(s) all parental authority over the child.

1. A couple at least five years of stable marital relationship. Couples in live-in relationship are not eligible to adopt a child.
2. Prospective adoptive parents (PAPs) must be at least 15 years older than the child they propose to adopt.
3. The PAPs should have adequate financial resources to provide a good upbringing to the child.
4. The PAPs should have good health and should not be suffering from any contagious or terminal disease or any such mental or physical condition, which may prevent them from taking care of the child.
5. Adoption of a second child is permissible only when the legal adoption of the first child has been finalized, but this is ot applicable in case of siblings.
6. There is no statutory bar to adoption by a single parent or same-sex parents apart from the age requirement listed above.