What is The Hague Convention? The Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-Operation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption, known as “the Hague Convention” is an international agreement between countries that is designed to protect children adopted across national boundaries.
The Hague Convention has two fundamental goals:
- The best interests of children are considered with each intercountry adoption.
- The prevention of abduction, exploitation, sale, or trafficking of children.
An Overview of The Hague The Hague is an International Treaty to protect children who are adopted across national boundaries. The Convention’s Provisions are as follows:
- The Convention will apply to adoptions in which children move from one Convention party country to another.
- Such an adoption may take place only if: the country of origin has established that the child is adoptable, that due consideration has been given to the child’s adoption in its country of origin and an intercountry adoption is in the child’s best interests, and that after counseling, the necessary consents to the adoption have been given freely, AND, the receiving country has determined that the prospective adoptive parents are eligible and suited to adopt, and that the child they wish to adopt will be authorized to enter and reside permanently in that country.
- Adoption agencies and individual providers of international adoption services may be authorized to perform designated functions with regard to individual adoption cases provided they have become Hague Convention accredited or approved.
- Persons wishing to adopt a child resident in another party country must initially apply to a designated authority in their own country to obtain approval for intercountry adoption.
- The Convention provides that, with limited exceptions, there can be no contact between the prospective adoptive parents and any parent or other person/institution that cares for the child until certain requirements have been met.
- The Convention requires the recognition of Convention adoptions certified as such, unless recognition would be manifestly contrary to the country’s public policy, taking into account the best interests of the child.
To view The Hague Convention in its entirety, visit the Hague Convention website.
The Intercountry Adoption Act On October 6, 2000 President Bill Clinton signed into law the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, the US implementation of the Hague Convention on International Adoption. To view the IAA in its entirety, please click here.
Summary of the Provisions of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (IAA) The State Department oversees the process of accreditation and approval of US adoption service providers, and has designated a non-federal qualified accrediting entity, the Council on Accreditation, to perform the actual Convention accreditation/approval functions pursuant to Hague standards and procedures.
US State Department/Hague Convention
US State Department Intercountry Adoption A to Z