The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption
by Maureen Evans, Director, JCICS
The most significant change (that we can predict!) currently in international adoption will be the implementation of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, a multilateral treaty now being considered for ratification by countries around the world, including the United States. The treaty seeks to ensure that the rights and responsibilities of all adoption triad members (adoptees, birth parents, and adoptive parents) are respected in intercountry adoption.
The Hague Convention is designed to standardize adoption requirements, allay fears that internationally adopted children are being treated as servants or otherwise mis-used, and improve the process by which a child can gain a permanent family. The Convention will impose new responsibilities on the U.S. government, such as creation of a Central Authority with general oversight and trouble-shooting responsibilities for international adoptions covered by the Convention. Many members of the international adoption community have been actively involved in establishing accreditation criteria for adoption agencies and working with federal officials to ensure smooth implementation of the Convention.
The United States signed the Hague Convention in 1994, a symbolic act showing that the U.S. intended to eventually ratify the Convention. The U.S. Senate needs to give its ³advice and consent² to U.S. ratification, and the Congress needs to enact legislation to ensure uniform implementation of the Convention through the United States. Ratification of the Hague Convention is expected to occur within the next 2-3 years.