Ethiopian parliament approves bans on child adoptions by foreigners

ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian parliament on Tuesday approved legislation banning international child adoptions.

The legislation is said to encourage orphans to be adopted in their own country to shield them from abuse.

However, during the session some members of parliament have raised concerns over enough availability of local adoption facilities for adoptees.

Questions over whether "adoptees" are genuine orphaned children and reports of physical abuse and even death of Ethiopian children in the hands of foreign foster parents have caused concerns over flaws in the adoption screening system in Ethiopia.

Several Western countries have also suspended adoptions from Ethiopia, fearing corruption within the inter-country adoption system. Enditem