After three years of confusion South Africa is set to scrap strict travel rules.
The country implemented rigid travel rules regarding children which required parents to hold their child’s birth certificate to gain entry to the country.
For parents travelling without the child’s other parent affidavits were also required.
Not everyone travelling to South Africa were familiar with the rules though which led to many families being turned away when trying gain entry.
The rules were put into place in an attempt to prevent child trafficking but now the government plan to overturn the stringent rules as it is not working out the way that they had planned.
According to The Telegraph the head of South Africa’s tourist board Sisa Ntshona said that there have been many issues with the rule including an incident where a group of 80 school children were refused entry.
“South Africa is always wanting to lead with its human rights initiatives, but what if it has an unintended consequence on tourism levels? It’s very difficult to measure what you lost, but there was lost opportunity.”
The country is set to discard the rule in an attempt to boost tourism but as a parent I would rather the rule be in place rather than risk a young child being trafficked.
My children have their father’s surname but my passport is still in my maiden name so several airlines require me to carry my child’s birth certificate if I’m travelling without their father. It’s just one extra thing to remember but still very little hassle, so from a safety point of view I think South Africa should rethink dumping their rules.
The International Labour Organization have estimated that there are approximately 20.9 million human trafficking victims across the world, the majority of which are women and girls. I personally think the safety of young children should always come before tourism and I would hope that rather than completely get rid of their travel rules that the South African government find a way to tweak them in a way that works for everyone.
