There is now broad recognition of the systemic illicit nature of past practices in both national and intercountry adoptions. Today, many but not all of these illicit practices have been prevented thanks to the introduction of international safeguards such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Convention of 29 May 1993 on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (1993 Adoption Convention) and Convention on Enforced Disappearances (CED). Enabling environments for such practices have been comprehensively outlined by the UN SR on sale and sexual exploitation in her landmark 2016 report.
The impact of these illicit adoptions has wide ramifications for the adoptee, birth family and adoptive family, in terms of rights violations including preservation of identity, protection against sale, trafficking and enforced disappearances. International standards create obligations on States to provide Access to Justice and Effective Remedies (AJER) in response to such violations. Human rights, including transitional justice, require the establishment of truth; procedural justice and substantive outcomes such as restitution; compensation; recovery, reintegration and non-recurrence.
This first webinar of the Preventing and responding to Illicit Intercountry Adoptions Webinar Series by Child Identity Protection will explore State obligations and responses in past contexts, notably in terms of overcoming obstacles such as statutes of limitations and jurisdiction limitations.
Over the past few years, a number of States have started to tackle patterns of illicit ICAs with a growing number establishing “truth finding initiatives.” While there have been ad hoc efforts to respond to the violations uncovered, opportunities exist to improve alignment with international standards and implementation of the substantive outcomes they provide for.
Moderator: Nigel Cantwell, International child protection consultant
Speakers:
- Ann Skelton, immediate former Chairperson of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Olivier de Frouville, Vice-chairperson of the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances
- Lynelle Long, Executive Director ICAV
- Boonyoung Han and Peter Møller, Danish Korean Adoptees
- Joelle Schickel-Kung, Head of Private International Law Swiss Federal Ministry of Justice
View the second webinar in the series: