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The Minister of Social Development, Ms Bathabile Dlamini, has received confirmation from the Zimbabwean Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare of its willingness to receive the eight minor children who were smuggled into South Africa in November last year.

The confirmation letter states that the Ministry “is prepared to receive the eight unaccompanied minors at the Robert Mugabe International airport in Harare and will be placed in places of safety in Harare whilst documentation, tracing and reunification efforts are underway.”

The Department of Social Development has a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with its counterpart in Zimbabwe on matters related to unaccompanied and undocumented minors. The Department of Social Development has been working with the Department of Home Affairs for the safe return to Zimbabwe of the children.

South African is a signatory to the African Charter on the Rights and the Welfare of the Child and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. In this case, the South African Government enacted the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act.

Issued by Department of Social Development