1. Intercountry adoption: Worldwide developments & perspectives Mia Dambach (Director) International Social Service/International Reference Centre Web: www.iss-ssi.org Contact: irc-cir@iss-ssi.orgwww.iss-ssi.orgirc-cir@iss-ssi.org

2. International Social Service - Founded in 1924 to help families confronted with problems linked to migration - Network in approximately 120 countries worldwide - Main activities: legal and psychosocial assistance to families, international parental disputes, separated and unaccompanied children, search of origins by adoptees, etc International Reference Centre for the Rights of Children Deprived of their Family - Created in 1997 following the entry into force of the 1993 Hague Convention - Financed by 20 countries - Main activities: Publications (Monthly Review, Country Situations and Factsheets, comparative studies, etc) and replies to requests - Specific projects: assessment missions (Rwanda 2002; Moldova 2006; Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan 2007; Vietnam 2009; Ivory Coast, Guatemala 2010; Laos 2011; Colombia, Haiti, DRC, Ghana 2013; Tunisia, Armenia, Moldova 2014); legal reforms (Cyprus, Mauritania, Moldova 2008; Ghana 2013); training (Romania 2007; Burkina Faso 2010), etc

3. Intercountry adoption today 1. Global numbers steadily decreasing 2. Some stronger countries of origin 3. Some countries of origin that remain weak 4. Sources of breaches and illegal adoptions 5. The strategies of receiving countries 6. Adoptees, who have become adults 7. Conclusions

4. 1. Global numbers steadily decreasing 1a. Numbers: - 2015 - 50% less ICAs since 2004 - fewer “large” countries of origin - more “small” countries of origin 1b. Factors: - social (e.g.: single women, birth planning and legalisation of abortion etc.) - economic (e.g.: social welfare schemes and national adoptions etc.) - political (e.g.: improvements in child protection, one child policy etc.) - legal (e.g.: new laws in line with international standards etc.)

5. Global numbers, 2005-2014 Tableau pays d’accueil Receiving countries20112012 20132014 U.S.A.9,3198,668 7,0946,441 Italy4,0223,106 2,825n/a France1,9951,569 1,3431,069 Canada1,7851,367 1,242905 Spain2,5601,669 1,188824 The Netherlands528 488 401354 Sweden 538466 341345 Switzerland367314 280226 Germany 934 (579) 801 (420) 661 (272) 209 Belgium360265 219144 Norway297231 154 142 Denmark338219 176124 Australia215149 129114 Total23 25819 312 16 053 -

6. 2. Some stronger countries of origin … 2.1 Improved child protection systems and development of domestic adoption 2.2. 1993 Hague Convention and implementation 2.3 Stronger political will and strengthened South-South cooperation 2.4 More meticulous assessment of children’s profiles

7. 2.1 Improved child protection and domestic adoption - Viet Nam (new law on adoption 2010, foster care and CWD) - Philippines (new law on foster care 2014) - Cambodia (new adoption regulations 2010 and de-inst ongoing) - Benin (new Family Code 2015) - Bolivia (reform of the Child and Adolescent Code 2014) - Bulgaria ( new adoption regulations 2014) - Macedonia (amendments to the Family Act 2014) - India (54% ICAs in 1990, 10% in 2015) - Korea (64% ICAs in 1990 and 48% in 2007) Ongoing: Fiji, Ghana, Albania, Romania, South Africa, Ivory Coast, etc.

8. 2.2 1993 Hague Convention and implementation - 96 contracting States - best interests, principle of subsidiarity and non financial gain - well functioning Central Adoption Authority (CAA) - Ghana (parliament agreed to accession Dec 2015) - Zambia (accession July 2015 and work to set up Central Authority) - Benin (discussions internally for CAA etc.) - Malawi (discussions internally concerning ratification/new laws etc.) - Cambodia (development of national adoption regulations etc.) - Korea (discussion ongoing re ratification and principle of subsidiarity)

9. 2.3 Stronger political will and south-south cooperation - moratoriums permitted GGP1 under certain conditions - Kenya (suspension since 2014 and new Expert Committee 2015) - Ghana (suspension since 2013) - DRC (suspension since 2013 and renewed in 2014) - Nepal (suspension in 2015 following the earthquake) - Guatemala (suspension since 2008, still in force) - Mali (suspension of ICAs by foreign nationals since 2012) - Senegal (suspension since December 2011) - South South co-operation (e.g.: Cambodia and Philippines, Ghana and South Africa, Chile and Guatemala etc.)

10. 2.4 More meticulous assessment of child’s profile - Hungary, Latvia, Bulgaria, Poland (ICAs limited to children with special needs such as older children, with health problems, siblings) - Colombia (in June 2015 extension of the suspension of applications for children under the age of seven years) - Thailand (establishment of quotas for receiving countries, except children with specific needs) - Viet Nam (training of institutional staff re CWD)

11. 3. Some countries of origin that remain ‘weak’ - Lack of solid State structures (Haiti, DRC, Guatemala, Ethiopia, etc) - Central Authority’s lack of resources and/or inadequate legislation (Benin, Haiti, Cambodia, Laos, Ethiopia, etc.) - ‘Sociocultural’ limitations (South Korea, Bolivia etc.) - Insufficient support for families of origin (prevention and reintegration) - Scarce family based solutions in countries of origin What about the principle of subsidiarity?

12. HC adoptions and non-HC adoptions Countries of origin* (except for statistics relating to Italy) 20112012 20132014 1. China4,0983,998 3,3162,734 2. Ethiopia3,1442,648 1,933975 3. Haiti142262 460551 4. Ukraine1,054713 674560 5. Russia3,0172,442 1,703381 6. South Korea920797 206494 7. Philippines472374 525405 8. Colombia1,522901 562355 9. Bulgaria259350 421323 10. Vietnam620216 293285 11. India688362 298242 12. DRC339499 580240 13. Thailand258251 272207 14. Uganda219246 289203 15. South Africa12081147 176 16. Nigeria218238 225175 17. U.S.A.97178 167155 18. Taiwan311291 188147 19. Ghana107172 188128 20. Poland304236 332106 21. Latvia11659131 96 22. Hungary154145104 77 23. Central African Republic194373 44 24. Mali154127 436 25. Brazil359337 24631

13. 3a. 2015 proportion of HC and non-HC procedures (missing benefits of 1993 Hague Convention) - 9 out of 25 countries are not Contracting States - 5,743 out of 10,897, i.e. 53%, are HC adoptions - High number of adoptions are still undertaken in non-HC countries of origin (Korea, Uganda, Nigeria, Ukraine)

14. 4. Sources of breaches and illegal adoptions - ICA as a response to the demand to PAPs (Guatemala, Vietnam, Ethiopia, etc) - Money (sources of income, e.g. donations to institutions in Vietnam and CRC Committee observation) - ‘laundering’ through forged documents/corruption - Abduction (Nepal, Guatemala, etc) - Insufficient control (number, means, will) - Expedited and irregular adoptions (Haiti – 2,000 ‘expedited’ files)

15. 4a. ‘Informed consent’ - Biological families Ethiopia: Fly away children (ABC) http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content/2009/s2686908.htm Nepal ‘Paper orphans’ (Terre des hommes) http://poundpuplegacy.org/node/48505 - PAPS - Increased preparation and follow-up - Genuine capacity to care for children with special needs? http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content/2009/s2686908.htm http://poundpuplegacy.org/node/48505

16. 5. Strategies of receiving countries - Obligation to undertake adoptions in 1993 Hague Convention countries (Ireland) - Obligation to use an AAB imposed by receiving country (e.g. Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden) and/or by the country of origin (e.g. Brazil, Chile, Philippines, Bolivia, Russia) - Restrictions on numbers AABs (Iceland, Denmark) - Cooperation/specialisation AABs (Belgium, France, Italy, etc) - Partial subsidies to AABs (Belgium, France, Iceland, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark) or total sponsorship (Luxembourg, France-AFA)

17. Strategies of receiving countries (contd.) - Central Authorities evaluation missions (France, Belgium) - Notification to international bodies and NGOs: Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference, UNICEF, ISS - Management of the files of prospective adopters (Netherlands, Spain) - policy of granting suitability certificates/needs of CO Suspensions by receiving countries ( moratoriums imposed on countries of origin such as Guatemala, Cambodia, Viet Nam, etc.) - Absence of coordination amongst receiving countries: post- earthquake in Haiti (Suspension: Italy, Spain, Australia, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, etc VS Pursuance: Canada, France, Germany, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Switzerland, U.S.A.)

18. 6. Adoptees, who have become adults - Clear increase in number of adoptees with requests relating to the conditions in which their adoption was declared - Made easier through new technologies (professional assistance required) - Discovery of fraudulent elements - psychological, legal, political, social consequences etc. - ISS new professional handbook on illegal adoptions

19. 7. Conclusions: Questions we need to address - Need to understand and meet needs of countries of origin (policy on suitability certificates, preparation and follow-up) - A common approach amongst receiving countries - Strengthening of subsidiarity principle: prevention and support for families, promotion of domestic adoption

20. 7. Conclusion: ISS working with partners Intercountry adoption is a child protection measure that may offer a family environment to a child deprived of a family provided that it is supervised appropriately and that each family responds to the specific needs of each child. The ISS/IRC would like to express its gratitude to the governments (including certain Federal States) of the following countries for their financial support: Andorra, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.