On 8 March 2016, in the framework of the 34th session of the UN Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography organized a side event, with the support of the European Union and the Permanent Mission of Uruguay, on tackling illegal adoptions and addressing the rights of victims. The side event was organized in the context of the presentation of the thematic report of the Special Rapporteur (A/HRC/34/55) to the Human Rights Council.
In his welcoming remarks, H.E. Mr Ricardo González Arenas, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Uruguay to the United Nations in Geneva, commended the report of the Special Rapporteur on illegal adoptions for bringing attention to the phenomenon and for providing specific recommendations to prevent and combat it. The Latin American region, like the rest of the world, has experienced the plight of illegal adoptions, in particular with commercialism and abuses in intercountry adoption processes. He stressed that progress has been made since the 1990s with the ratification of international instruments such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its optional protocols and the 1993 Hague Convention, to ensure that adoption processes comply with child rights principles such as the best interests of the child, the principle of subsidiarity, the prohibition of direct and independent adoptions, and the prohibition of improper financial gain. He underscored the need for ensuring coordinated responses from both receiving countries and countries of origin to prevent illegal adoptions, and to address the rights of victims of past and present large scale illegal adoptions in their search for truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-repetition.
H.E. Mr Peter Sørensen, Ambassador and Head of the European Union Delegation to the United Nations in Geneva, also welcomed the decision of the Special Rapporteur to address the issue of illegal adoptions, in particular the large scale systemic and systematic aspect of the phenomenon. In addition, he welcomed the work carried out by the Hague Conference on Private International Law, especially its expert group on the financial aspects of intercountry adoption, and the working group on preventing and addressing illicit practices in intercountry adoption. The European Commission supports the effective implementation of the safeguards set out in the 1993 Hague Convention - to which all EU Members States are party - by participating at the meetings of the Special Commission of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, which aim to improve the functioning of the Convention and serve to exchange best practices.
In her introductory remarks, the Special Rapporteur explained that her thematic report analysed the various forms and trends of illegal adoptions and proposed specific recommendations to tackle the phenomenon from a child rights perspective, with the ultimate goal of putting the best interests of the child at the centre of adoptions, prevent illegal adoptions, and address the rights of victims of illegal adoptions. The report contained two major contributions to the discussions and recommendations on the topic, namely an enhanced focus on the so-called "enabling environment" in which illegal adoptions flourish, and the answers that transitional justice measures can provide to the quest of victims for truth and origins, accountability, reparations and guarantees of non-repetition.
The event included distinguished presentations by the following speakers: