Hague Convention

Article about Hague Convention on Adoptive Families Magazine website

List of Accredited, Temporarily Accredited, and Approved Hague Adoption Service Providers (adoption agencies), as listed by the US Secretary of State.

• Intercountry Adoption Section of Hague Convention
• Transition Cases and the Hague Adoption Convention
• Hague Full Text
• Hague FAQs
• ETHICA: Voice for ethical adoption

On Wednesday, 12 December 2007, the United States of America deposited its instrument of ratification of the Hague Convention of 29 May 1993 on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, which it had already signed on 31 March 1994. In accordance with its Article 46(2)(a), the 1993 Convention will enter into force for the US on 1 April 2008. What is the Hague Convention? Officially known as The Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Intercountry Adoption , it is an international adoption law created to:

• Ensure that adoption takes place in the best interest of the child
• Ensure that adoption processes respect the fundamental rights of the child
• Prevent the abduction, sale or trafficking of children
• Once a country has signed and ratified the Convention, it means that it has agreed follow certain intercountry adoption rules.

Some countries have signed and ratified the convention; some have not. Others are at various stages in the process. This means that intercountry adoption practice varies according to whether the two countries involved are "Hague" countries or not. Several countries that are common points of origin for children adopted by Americans have not agreed to the treaty, including Vietnam, Russia, Ukraine and Ethiopia. Here is a list of the 68 States / Regional Economic Integration Organisations are Members of the Hague Conference on Private International Law. Kazakhstan is not one of them.

Articles on the Hague Convention:

• U.S. joins international treaty on adoptions (CNN)
• U.S. Joins Overseas Adoption Overhaul Plan (NYT)

Interesting fact: Each year, the Department of State publishes a report listing the top 20 countries of origin for U.S. adoptions in the preceding year. Over the last 15 years, 40 different countries were in the Top 20 Countries of Origin for U.S. families. Of these, 13 are currently closed or effectively closed (meaning that the number of children being adopted has fallen to 26 or less each year including orphan petitions filed by immediate relatives or those living in the foreign country. Former numbers ranged from 79-1122 per country, with an average of 306). An additional 4 countries are closed, reportedly temporarily, to investigate concerns or establish new procedures.

Here is a current (Jan 2008) list of "Hague" countries, effective October 2006. Note that Kazakhstan, a country that does not allow referrals, is not included in this list. US implementation of Hague will not affect adoptions from non-Hague countries. I would expect that PAPs would continue to travel overseas blind and to select a child once in-country (if their agency is abiding by Kazakh law). If a current non-Hague country decided to sign and implement the Hague, I imagine (just guessing here) that there would be a period of time during implementation when adoptions may be somewhat impacted, but that adoptions would then resume under the rules for Hague.

Albania, Andorra, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Canada, Chile, People's Republic of China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Guatemala, Guinea, Hungary,Iceland, India, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Republic of Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand,Turkey, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Uruguay, Venezuela