Phillip Lühl and his newborn twin daughters, born in South Africa via a surrogate, are unable to return home to Namibia as the Namibian Ministry of Home Affairs has said it wants genetic proof they are his daughters.
The twin girls’ birth certificates shows him and his husband Guillermo Delgado as the parents. Namibia does not recognize same-sex marriages.
South Africa’s foreign policy is centred around the protection and promotion of human rights on the African continent. Whether a child is adopted or born via a surrogate does not have bearing on whether or not the child “belongs” to the parent.
DA Shadow Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Darren Bergman, made the following statement
“The DA calls on the South African government to intervene in the Namibian government’s refusal to issue travel documents to Phillip Lühl’s twin daughters, who were born in South Africa via a surrogate.
The Namibian Ministry of Home Affairs is reportedly refusing to issue Lühl’s infant daughters travel documents as it wants “genetic proof” that Lühl is the biological father of his and husband, Guillermo Delgado’s, children. The twins currently have South African birth certificates which recognise both Lühl and Delgado as the parents.
Lühl and his daughters are now unable to enter Namibia due to the homophobic laws of the country which do not recognize same-sex marriages.
The DA calls on the South African government to act on its foreign policy which is centred around the protection and promotion of human rights on the African continent. Ministers Naledi Pandor and Aaron Motsoaledi must use the government’s diplomatic channels to stop this discrimination and infringement on the human rights of this couple and other same-sex couples across the continent.
The DA remains committed to ensuring that the rights and dignity of the LGBTQIA+ community of South Africa and the continent is respected and protected. We urge the Namibian government to do what is right.”
