Newcastle University, England, UK Peter Selman Newcastle University, UK June 2015 Twenty years of the Hague Convention: a Statistical Review

A Demographic History of ICA Although intercountry adoption is often seen as starting with the adoptions from South Korea after the Korean war, there were also many adoptions during and following World War 2, while the movement of children to distant lands was a feature of British policy from the 19 th century to the 1960s – the story of the child migrants. So the period is just a small part of the demographic history. Since the end of WW2 I estimate at least one million children have moved to another country for international adoption.

Sources of Data for Estimates Few countries sending children for ICA have kept detailed records over the whole period in which such adoptions took place. An exception is Korea, which records 165,000 international adoptions since For receiving States longest sequences are for USA and Sweden. My estimates are based on data from states.

SOUTH KOREA

Intercountry Adoption USA 7,0937,3778,98712,74316,363102,264 France 2,9562,7903,0353,5373,59731,703 Italy n/a1,8962,1612,0192,17714,788 Canada 3201,7402,0201,7952,02015,694 Sweden 1, ,0199,670 TOTAL14,037 (11) 17,778 (15) 22,723 (19) 26,788 (20) 32,974 (22) 222,758 (11-22)

More than 380,000 children were adopted world-wide to 23/4 countries between 2000 and 2009, the most for any decade in history. From there were a further 88,000 – and 2014 total seems likely to be 12-13,000 so that we can say that since 2000 there have been at least 480,000, nearly half my total estimate of ICA since From 1995 – 2014 total would be over 600,000. ICA in the 21 st Century

Intercountry Adoption USA19,22422,88419,61312,1497, ,032 Spain 3,4285,6413,6482,8911, France 3,0944,0793,1623,5081,34343,676 Italy 1,7973,4023,4204,1302,82542,048 Canada 1,7741,9491,7151,6601,24323,579 TOTAL 36,286 (23) 45,383 (23) 37,256 (24) 28,843 (24) 16,147 (24) 469,133 (23/4)

ICA after the Hague Convention In summary the ten years after the convention came into force saw the largest rise in inter-country adoption in the 70 years since WW2. However, since 2004 there has been a dramatic decline and by 2013 the annual total was the lowest since In the tables below States of origin which have ratified the convention are in CAPITALS

The Impact of the Hague on Numbers Preliminary Document No. 3 looks at this possibility for both receiving States and States of origin (para 61-75) and notes that a decrease in numbers occurred in receiving States joining the convention after 2004 – e.g. Ireland and the USA - but that numbers also fell in most States joining in the preceding decade who had typically experienced an increase after ratification. The next two slides look at States of origin.

States with an increase after joining StateYear of EIF Previous 3 yrs Subseqent 3 years Last 3 years BURKINA FASO MOLDOVA SOUTH AFRICA HUNGARY GUATEMALA 20036,50011,53273 MALI KENYA

States with a decrease after joining StateYear of EIF Previous 3 yrs Subseqen t 3 years Last 3 yrs CHILE LATVIA CHINA200635,83023,62511,896 VIET NAM20122,4791,130 MADAGASCAR20041, CAMBODIA KAZAKHSTAN20101,869245

The Decline in ICA The total number of adoptions fell from 45,383 in 2004 to 29,482 in 2009 – a fall of 35%. In the next five years the annual total fell further to 16,147 in a decline of 45 per cent. The next slide shows how this varied between the major receiving States

Receiving States % Change 2009 to 2013 DENMARK % SPAIN3,0062,5731, % FRANCE3,0171,9951, % ALL STATES29,48223,55116, % USA12,7539,3207, % CANADA1,6951,5131, % ITALY3,9644,0222, %

Top 9 States of Origin : Korea India Colombia Brazil Sri Lanka Chile Philippines Guatemala Peru Russia China Viet Nam Korea COLOMBIA INDIA Guatemala ROMANIA Brazil China Russia Guatemala Korea Ukraine COLOMBIA Ethiopia Haiti INDIA CHINA Ethiopia Russia Haiti COLOMBIA Viet Nam Korea Ukraine INDIA CHINA Ethiopia Russia Ukraine Congo COLOMBIA Philippines Haiti BULGARIA

Intercountry Adoptions from four continents – as % of all ASIA 42%40%36%35% EUROPE 31%21%20%23% Latin America 17%23%19%12% AFRICA 7%13%22%28%

Adoptions from Asia Since 1998 China has been the most important source of children worldwide: 140,000 adopted between 1992 and Until 1990 Korea was the main source of children for ICA and by 2013 had sent more than 165,000. In the 1980s 3 of the top 5 states of origin were Asian: Korea, India & Sri Lanka. In per cent of adoptions were from Asia but by 2013 this had fallen to 35 per cent.

Adoptions from Asia CHINA 11,23114,483 8,7485,4293,40686,873 Korea 2,332 2,1211,2261, ,623 VIET NAM 9311,198 1,698 1, ,379 INDIA 1, , ,438 PHILIPPINES ,448 THAILAND ,236 All Asia 17,608 20,559 14,76710,2385, ,273

CHINA Country USA6,8577,9035,4533,0002,5892,3062,040 Spain1,0432,7531, Canada1, Netherlands Sweden France Italy TOTAL11,23114,48 3 8,7485,0124,3733,406

INDIA Country USA Italy Canada Denmark Spain Sweden TOTAL1,6181,

Eastern Europe Russia7,7379,3844,1321,793 Ukraine2,0522,0211, BULGARIA Belarus ROMANIA POLAND LITHUANIA LATVIA ALL EUROPE 13,18914,0117,1053,777

RUSSIA US (FY) 5,8654,6392, Spain 1,6181, Italy France Germany Israel Total 9,3847,4934,8813,4241,793

Intercountry Adoption from Africa For many years intercountry adoption from Africa was rare. However, the growing demand for young infants - and fall in numbers from many other States of origin – has changed all that, notably in Ethiopia, which sent 4,575 children in Numbers have fallen in most countries since then but rose between 2010 and 2013 in Uganda (82 to 292) and Congo RD (from 181 to 587). Congo has now suspended international adoptions.

% of Adoptions from Africa All countries: % of adoptions from Africa 6 %8 %13 %22 %28 % % of adoptions to USA from Africa 2 %4 %9 %23 %30 % % of adoptions to France from Africa 24 %26 %29 %33 %42% % of adoptions to Spain from Africa 4 %5 %15 %26 %23 %

TOP AFRICAN STATES Ethiopia 2,0052,8004,5753, Congo DR Uganda Nigeria Sth AFRICA Ghana Mali All Africa 4,4505,2926,5104,8202,344

Standardised Rates 2009 AFRICA Adoptions per 1,000 births Other Countries Adoptions per 1,000 births Peak rate (year) Ethiopia1.28HAITI (2010) Ghana0.5Ukraine (2003) Cote d’Ivoire 0.4Korea (1985) MALI0.35Russia (2004) S AFRICA0.27 Guatemala (2007) Congo RD0.05CHINA (2005) Nigeria0.03INDIA (2003)

Adoption from Latin America In the 1980s six of the top 10 sending countries were from Latin America. In 2008 there were three Guatemala, Colombia and Haiti; by 2013 only one: Colombia. By 2008, Haiti had became a major source for France, Canada, the Netherlands and the USA, peaking in 2010 after the earthquake. Brazil still sends children a year but most are older or have special needs. Chile and El Salvador send less than 100 a year, compared to 5,000+ and 2,000+ respectively between 1980 and 1989.

Latin America GUATEMALA2,6763,8734, ,164 COLOMBIA1,7501,4721,6351, ,152 HAITI1, , ,124 BRAZIL ,691 PERU ,577 BOLIVIA ,564 MEXICO ,354

The Changing Profile of ICA “Special Needs” adoption is becoming more common and there are a number of other characteristics of international adoptions which have changed alongside the global decline in numbers – older age of children placed and increased number of sibling groups.

Age of Children Adopted in Key receiving States % over 5 % under 1 % over 5 % under 1 % over 5 % under 1 Italy 47%6%58%7%53%5% France 24%32%34%21%43%8% USA 16%42%25% n/a Iceland 6%17%29%6% n/a Australia 8%47%9%37%19%22%

SPECIAL NEEDS ADOPTION For the 2010 Hague Special Commission, states were asked to indicate how many of the children adopted had “special needs”, defined as “those who may be suffering from a behaviour disorder or trauma, physically or mentally disabled, older children (usually above 7 years of age) or are part of a sibling group” There remains a lack of agreement about what exactly the term covers – Italy has ‘speciale’ and ‘particolare’ The issue of special needs adoption is seen as a key topic for this Special Commission

Children with special needs - selected sending countries (Hague ) CHILE100% 75% LATVIA53%80%97% ALBANIA59%66%n/a LITHUANIA30%71% CHINA9%49%n/a

% of Children Adopted from China with special needs (Hague) Sweden6%25% 69% Netherlands13%42% 66% USA14%42% 61% All States9%30% 49% France6%13% 34% Norway0.1%7% 28% Spain0.1%4% 9%