Summary
In the present report, submitted pursuant to UN General Assembly resolution 73/155, the Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material, describes the activities undertaken in relation to the discharge of her mandate since her previous report to the Assembly (A/73/174 and A/73/174/Corr.1).
She also presents a thematic study on safeguards for the protection of the rights of children born from surrogacy arrangements. The report is supplementary to her previous report to the Human Rights Council on surrogacy and sale of children (A/HRC/37/60).
The thematic study contains an analysis of the international legal framework and specific violations to the rights to identity, access to origins and to a family environment. It then provides a review of existing safeguards and subsequently proposes a set of safeguards for the protection of the rights of children born from surrogacy arrangements.
The report states that "child’s best interests must always form the basis of decision-making" in regards to surrogacy arrangements and notes that "the primary consideration of the best interests of the child born from a surrogacy arrangement should be the starting point of any analysis of the international legal framework." Furthermore, the report contends that "the rights of the child to identity, access to origins and to a family environment should not be adversely affected by surrogacy." The Report makes further reference to "lessons to be learned from the practice of adoption, where access to information on origins is also of particular importance," referencing the Committee on the Rights of the Child's general comment No. 14 and the Declaration on Social and Legal Principles relating to the Protection and Welfare of Children, with Special Reference to Foster Placement and Adoption Nationally and Internationally which highlight the importance of a child's access to information regarding her or his identity, culture, and origins.
Additionally, the Report includes several paragraphs related to the right of a child to a family environment and prevention of family separation. The Report recognizes that "surrogacy arrangements may end in family separation, either temporary or permanent, following the non-recognition of parentage" and emphasizes the need to "maintain a very high threshold for the justification of a separation in accordance with international norms and standards."
