This policy brief by Save the Children sets out the organization’s position on intercountry adoption, highlighting research findings and referring to international legal standards and good practices. Research has shown that growing up in a supportive family environment is crucial to the successful development of a child, and where other family-based options are not possible, intercountry adoption has allowed for abandoned, orphaned or children with disabilities to be raised within a loving family from another country. However, effective regulation of intercountry adoption is essential to ensure the best possible solution for each child and that it does not involve commercial or criminal gain, fraud, child trafficking, or the deception of the birth parents. While the number of international adoptions in the last several years has declined, there were still approximately 24,000 children were internationally adopted in 2011, the vast majority from developing to developed countries.
The CRC states that every child has the right to know and be cared for by his or her parents, and poverty and lack of resources should never be a reason for the separation of child from his or her family.Save the Children believes that intercountry adoption should be an option only when it follows the standards and regulations contained within the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption and is in the best interest of the child. In particular, it should only be considered after all other local family care options have been exhausted, and national adoption should be always prioritized over intercountry adoption where both options are available. In line with this, the organization prioritizes programming that supports birth families wherever possible and enables them to effectively protect, care and remain with their children.The brief also emphasizes that intercountry should never be considered in the first phase of an emergency. In a chaotic environment, children may mistakenly be considered orphans even if they have families. Separated and unaccompanied children in an emergency are extremely vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation. Efforts to trace a separated child’s family should be the first priority in any emergency to make certain that children who have families can be reunified and not considered for adoption.
In order to prevent unnecessary intercountry adoption, the organization recommends investing in local family-based support services. Governments, donors, NGOs, and faith-based organizations should give greater support to family services that enable children to be cared for in their families and communities. Countries that have not already signed, ratified, and implemented the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption should do so, and adoption should only be undertaken between signatory countries. Legal policies, appropriate safeguards, monitoring instruments, mechanisms, domestic programming, and social services should be in place to ensure that all intercountry adoptions are in the best interest of the child.
Save the Children also calls on urgent efforts to improve the quality of care within residential childcare facilities until family based care is available. Prospective parents should only go through accredited option service providers, non-profit, or governmental agencies in their own country, and children should only be adopted from countries that have signed and ratified the Hague Convention. Prospective families should also receive professional adoption counseling and screening before as well as follow up on the child’s adjustment and development with post-adoption support and services.
