Hague Evaluation

What is the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption?

The Convention was signed in 1994 by the US. The US joined 70+ other nations to prevent the sales, theft, and trafficking of children under the guise of intercountry adoption. The Convention requires a number of provisions to insure that the first priority is for children to remain with their families of origin. When that is not possible, a permanent situation/adoption should be secured in the nation in a domestic placement. When those first two options have been exhausted, the child would be eligible for intercountry adoption.

Why is the Convention Necessary?

Unfortunately, there have been instances of child sales and theft in which adoption businesses, rather than professional and ethical agencies, have carried out adoption fraud. The most notorious case in recent history was in Cambodia in which an adoption facilitator and adoption agency director were prosecuted for a variety of offenses, including falsified documents, bribery, and visa fraud. Federal investigators found that birth families were led to believe that either (1) they would have long-term relationship with their child, including contact through pictures and an eventual return of the child to Cambodia, or (2) that the child would live in a home in Cambodia and receive an education. Additionally, families were paid between $50-200USD for signing relinquishment papers. Fake birth certificates and travel papers were developed and false statements were made to the US Department of State about the children's "orphan status" for visas. When the case was prosecuted, a number of adoptive families were informed that their child's relinquishment was illegal and that they were victims of adoption fraud. The US government did not require that these children be returned to their birth families, however many adoptive families were shocked, dismayed, and experienced an emotional loss that could have been prevented.

Other countries that have been noted to

have adoption fraud include:

India is a Convention nation. One example of fraud is a two young sisters who informed their adoptive family that they had an intact family in India and in fact had been secreted away from their family in an institution. The adoptive family verified this fact and learned that the girls were housed, against their birth family's will, and then sold in a child trafficking network under the guise of adoption. The sisters have since had the opportunity to reunite with their birth family and their adoptive parents are now active voices in the fight to end intercountry adoption fraud, including government and agency accountability. For more information, see http://fleasbiting.blogspot.com/ 

Guatemala where a birth mother fought to have her child returned to her on grounds of adoption fraud. After child rights group, Casa Alianza, assisted her eventually her child was returned from Spain. This story is the tip of the iceberg and for more information on the situation in Guatemala, please see our Guatemala section. 

Vietnam also has not signed the Convention and the nation has a colorful history of problems, including a scandal that led to the imprisionment of Vietnamese officials and the country imposed a brief moratorium just after the millenium while new standards were developed and a bilateral agreement was formulated between the nation and the US. Even under this regulation, more recent corruption includes a US facilitator was found to be engaged in child trafficking and she was deported from the nation. Problems have persisted and in 2007, many speculated that Vietnam would be the next intercountry adoption boom in a market shift away from Guatemala. While many agencies have geared up Vietnam programs, the programs were short lived. The bilateral agreement between the US and Vietnam expired in September, 2008. In the Spring of 2008, the US Department of State completed an assessment of Vietnam's adoption process which indicated a wide range of irregularities. As a result, it was announced that Vietnam will cease to be a sending nation to the US in July, 2008. Vietnam is not a Hague signatory nation and it has been speculated that Vietnam may sign the Convention in the future.

Somoa is a nation in with the US government has had significant involvement in the prosecution of "agency" officials that reportedly misrepresented themselves as an agents of the Mormon church. Allegedly, they also misled birth mothers, falsified records, and paid or rewarded birth families upon relinquishment with food and small sums of money. The problems in Somoa are very similar to the well-documented crimes that took place in Cambodia. Interestingly, the couple that was charged with wrong-doing has their own adoptive family and, recent press reports indicated that they have placed at least two of their children (adopted from Romania) into what they call a foster care situation in Somoa due to attachment disorder issues. Here we have an example of a family that is outsourcing foster care for their own adopted children--using an informal (unregulated) foster care situation in a foreign country--while using allegedly illegal child relinquishment tactics in that same nation!  This case, eventually resolved in a court of law, resulted in a "fund" being set-up to assist the US-based families with connecting with the Samoan families so that the adopted children can rebuild their relationships with their biological families. Also, at least one of the children involved in this case has been returned to Samoa.

Russia is has not implemented the Hague Convention it has a well-documented history of human trafficking in general. There have been complaints about bribery being required to complete an adoption in the nation, with estimates of an expectation of $10,000 cash bribe when the prospective parents are in-country (much of which is believed to go to corrupt officials along the paperwork trail). Many are concerned that Russia has an element of mafia involvement. Of course this is speculation because adoption fraud is difficult to prove given a code of silence or acceptance of graft and corruption. In 2007 Russia went through a slowdown and even cessation and by December 2007 the nation renewed or approved a number of US agencies for child placement. In 2008 Russia has became a renewed source of children again.

The convention prohibits the theft, sales and trafficking of children under the guise of intercountry adoption

There have been cases of child sales and trafficking in countries like India, Guatemala, Romania, and Vietnam.

The convention requires that (1) the first priority is to keep children in their families of origin, (2) when that is not possible, provide permanent families/adoption in the nation, and (3) when those options are  exhausted, allow the child to be adopted internationally. This is a three stage process that requires thoughtful social planning.

The US ratified the Convention in December, 2007. As a result US adoption agencies must be accredited to continue to engage with Hague-signatory countries. Accreditation requires a sucessful "Hague Evaluation".

Guatemala, a popular intercountry adoption nation, is currently attempting to implement the Hague Convention. Just how the nation will regulate adoption activities is still unknown.