Welcome to the Intercountry Adoption Section
Introduction
The Hague Convention of 29 May 1993 on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention) protects children and their families against the risks of illegal, irregular, premature or ill-prepared adoptions abroad. This Convention, which also operates through a system of national Central Authorities, reinforces the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (Art. 21) and seeks to ensure that intercountry adoptions are made in the best interests of the child and with respect for his or her fundamental rights, and to prevent the abduction, the sale of, or traffic in children.
| Please note that the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference has no mandate to assist in individual adoption cases. If you have a question relating to intercountry adoption and your country is a Party to the 1993 Adoption Convention, please contact the Central Authority designated by your country. |
- Full text adopted by the Seventeenth Diplomatic Session in 1993 [español]
- Translations of the treaty text
- Recommended Model Forms:
- Statement of consent to the adoption [español]
- Certificate of conformity of intercountry adoption [español]
- Medical Report on the Child [español]
- Supplementary Medical Report Form - very young children, as proposed in Work. Doc. No 6 of 17 September 2005
- Explanatory Report on the Adoption Convention, drawn up by G. Parra-Aranguren [español]
- Checklist of notifications and declarations to be made by States Parties
- Checklist of questions for new Contracting States (Annex D to 1994 Special Commission Report) [español]
- Preparatory work, published in Proceedings of the Seventeenth Session (1993), tome II, Adoption - co-operation
Guides to Good Practice
The Intercountry Adoption Technical Assistance Programme
Country profiles [ in preparation ]
Special Commissions
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Documents related to 2010 Special Commission
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Info Doc. No 4 - Executive summary: Haiti: ‘expediting' intercountry adoptions in the aftermath of a natural disaster... (International Social Service)
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Documents related to 2005 Special Commission
- Report of the 2005 Special Commission to review to practical operation of the 1993 Hague Convention
- Conclusions and Recommendations of the 2005 Special Commission [español]
- Prel. Doc. No 1 - Questionnaire on the practical operation of the Adoption Convention [español]
- Prel. Doc. No 2 - Draft Guide to Good Practice [español]
- Prel. Doc. No 3 - A discussion paper on accreditation issues [español]
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Documents related to 1994 Special Commission
- Report of the Special Commission of October 1994 on the implementation of the Adoption Convention
- Annex A - Recommendation concerning the application to refugee children and other internationally displaced children of the Adoption Convention [español]
- Annex B - Recommended Model Form - Statement of consent to the adoption [español]
- Annex C - Recommended Model Form - Certificate of conformity of intercountry adoption [español]
- Annex D - Checklist of questions with a view to implementing the Adoption Convention [español]
- Report of the Working Group of April 1994 (in preparation of the Special Commission) to study the application to refugee children of the Adoption Convention
- Report of the Special Commission of October 1994 on the implementation of the Adoption Convention
- Questionnaires and responses
- Seminar on Cross-Frontier Child Protection in the Southern and Eastern African Region (Pretoria, 22-25 February 2010)
- Haiti earthquake and intercountry adoption of children - Press Release and Information Note
- Francophone Seminar on the Hague Intercountry Adoption Convention (The Hague, 22-26 June 2009)
- UNICEF position
- Bibliography
- Latest updates with regard to the Adoption Convention
- Press releases (2005 | 2000 | 2010)
- Guidelines on Post-adoption Services (published by ChildONEurope)