Honduras signs and ratifies the Intercountry Adoption Convention and requests Membership in the HCCH

On 6 March 2019, Dr Lolis María Salas Montes, Executive Director of the Directorate for Children, Adolescents and Family (DINAF), signed and ratified on behalf of the Republic of Honduras the HCCH Convention of 29 May 1993 on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Intercountry Adoption Convention). With the signature and ratification of Honduras, the Convention now has 101 Contracting Parties. The Convention will enter into force for Honduras on 1 July 2019. 

On the same day, Honduras also applied to become a Member of the HCCH. After the 6-month mandatory voting period, and upon majority of favourable votes, Honduras will be admitted as a Member. It will then have to accept the Statute of the HCCH to become a full Member.

Honduras is also a Contracting Party to four other HCCH Conventions, namely:

  • the HCCH Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille Convention);
  • the HCCH Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (Child Abduction Convention);
  • the HCCH Convention of 19 October 1996 on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Co-operation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children (Child Protection Convention); and
  • the HCCH Convention of 23 November 2007 on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance (Child Support Convention).

With the ratification of the Intercountry Adoption Convention, Honduras becomes the second State of the Americas to be party to all HCCH Children’s Conventions (after Guyana). The Permanent Bureau looks forward to assisting the authorities of Honduras in the assessment of further relevant HCCH Conventions and to welcoming Honduras at future meetings of the Hague Conference.