Yesterday the United States became a full member of the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. Starting April 1, 2008, the US will follow the guidelines laid out in the Hague concerning intercountry adoptions with other member countries. You can read the full Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 here. According to the Hague’s main website, Viet Nam is not a member country.

Although the US had signed the Hague in 1994, the ratification only went through yesterday. It took fourteen years, but now the US is officially a Hague member. The convention is lauded as a means of protection for the world’s children, and also biological and adoptive parents. The convention not only deals with intercountry adoption, but also with child trafficking.

Some of the main differences and changes that we will see have the children’s best interests in mind. There will be a national database of complaints regarding adoption provicers. Adoption agencies working in member countries will need to be federally certified. Other than those two changes, the others mentioned were vague. The US will be encouraging other countries to join the convention and we will be trying to establish rules and training to ensure ethical and transparent adoption practices.

Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs at the Department of State Maura Harty wrote an article celebrating the news titled “A Milestone for Intercountry Adoption.” In it she states that the ratification of this Hague convention will protect and benefit orphaned children and the families who wish to adopt them. Ms. Harty writes:

The convention establishes internationally accepted safeguards to ensure that Intercountry adoptions occur in the best interests of children. It affirms the principle that such adoptions are an essential way to provide permanent, loving homes to orphans who have not been adopted within their extended families or local communities. It promotes transparency and ethical practice.

She also wrote:

The United States will continue to work with our many convention partners to build a better future for the world's children.

So….what about working with countries (like Viet Nam) that are not convention partners? I just sent out an email asking just that and will post with any reply I might receive. You can also sign up for a listserv that will email you updates on the US preparation for ratification of the Hague Adoption Convention. To be included, send a request including your email address to AdoptionUSCA@state.gov

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More Reading:
Ambassador Harty Speaks on Adoption
JCICS Viet Nam Adoption Summit
The State of Vietnamese Adoptions
More on the State of Viet Nam Adoptions