Intercountry Adoption

Abstract

In recent years, the practice of intercountry adoption is increasingly being debated within the context of human rights. Intercountry adoption raises many ethical and legal issues which are addressed in two international treaties: the Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1989, and the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, adopted by the Hague Conference on Private International Law in 1993. This paper compares the international standards provided by these instruments and the way they are being interpreted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the official monitoring body of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It also discusses some of the measures undertaken by a number of countries in different regions of the world.