What is 2007 Zoé's Ark controversy?
{{update|date=December 2024}}{{Orphan|date=April 2008}} '''The Chadian orphan children scandal''' involved six French citizens from the aid group L'Arche de Zoé. On October 26, 2007, they attempted to fly 103 children from [[Chad]] to [[France]], claiming they were orphans from [[Darfur]], [[Sudan]]. However, Chadian authorities discovered that the children were actually Chadian and had living parents. As a result, the six aid workers were arrested at the airport on October 26, 2007. ==Overview== ===2007=== On December 21, 2007, the aid workers stood trial for the [[kidnapping]] of 103 children. Chad's interior minister, Ahmat Bachir, stated that the [[Suspect|suspects]] could face up to 20 years of [[Forced labor|hard labor]] if [[Conviction|convicted]]. During their [[Detention (imprisonment)|detention]], the six suspects engaged in a [[hunger strike]] in protest against the charges. On December 26, 2007, they were sentenced to eight years of hard labor by a Chadian court. ===2008=== In March 2008, an agreement was reached to transfer the aid workers to France to serve their sentences. Later that year, the President of Chad granted them a pardon, allowing them to be released from [[prison]] in France. ==Legacy== This incident strained [[Diplomacy|diplomatic relations]] between France and Chad and sparked international [[debate]] on the [[ethics]] of [[Humanitarianism|humanitarian]] [[wikt:intervention|interventions]] and child adoption practices in conflict zones. It led to increased [[wikt:scrutiny|scrutiny]] and stricter regulations on international adoption and the operations of [[Non-governmental organization|non-governmental organizations]] (NGOs) in [[List of ongoing armed conflicts|conflict areas]]. ==Other websites== * [http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/12/26/chad.children/index.html Zoe's Ark workers get hard labor] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071228190124/http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/12/26/chad.children/index.html |date=2007-12-28 }} * [http://www.iht.com/a