The Shoura Council will discuss Sunday the social impact of family relations, especially the issue of children sired by Saudi fathers to non-Saudi mothers outside the country. Chairman of the Council's Social, Family and Youth Affairs Committee Dr. Talal Bakri said the discussion was prompted by concern for some 1,000 children with paternity cases facing delinquency problems and miserable economic conditions. Bakri said the issue is now being addressed, thanks to the concerted efforts of the Committee, the Saudi Foreign Ministry and numerous other concerned parties. A movement was launched last year to address the paternity cases, which included the conduct of DNA tests to prove fatherhood. Countries where most of the children with paternity claims live include Egypt, Syria, Morocco, Yemen and Jordan. Bakri said the Committee has put in place several guidelines to tackle the issue, including payment of social security allocations to the children and their repatriation to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Committee will cooperate with four government ministries, namely the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Justice and Social Affairs. __
