Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption and the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000
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The final text of the Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention), a multilateral treaty, was approved by 66 nations on May 29, 1993 at The Hague.
The Convention covers adoptions among countries that become parties to it and sets out for such adoptions certain internationally agreed-upon minimum norms and procedures. The goal of the Convention is to protect the children, birth parents and adoptive parents involved in intercountry adoptions and to prevent abuses.
On May 1, 1995, the Convention entered into force between the first three countries that ratified it: Mexico, Romania, and Sri Lanka. As of November 2005, 70 countries had become parties to the Convention.
The United States signed the Convention on March 31, 1994, signaling its intent to proceed with efforts to ratify the Convention. In Summer 1998, President Clinton transmitted the Convention, with an article-by-article legal analysis of its provisions, to the U.S. Senate for advice and consent to ratification. At the same time, the Administration transmitted to Congress draft implementing legislation that had been prepared by an interagency committee with significant input from the adoption community.
In Summer 2000, both Houses of Congress passed bills for implementation of the Convention. The final legislation that both Houses passed in late September 2000 –was PL106-279 "The Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000" (IAA). Also in Fall 2000, the Senate gave its advice and consent authorizing U.S. ratification of the Convention once U.S. preparations for its implementation were in place. President Clinton signed the IAA into law on October 6, 2000.
Since that time, efforts have been under way to issue Federal regulations to: (1) set out the requirements entities must meet to qualify for designation to accredit or approve adoption service providers as required by the Convention and the IAA; (2) specify the standards to be met by agencies and individuals seeking to become Hague Convention accredited or approved to be able to provide adoption services for adoptions covered by the Convention; and (3) set out the procedures to be followed for incoming and outgoing adoptions involving the United States that are safeguarded by the Hague Convention and the IAA.
The Department of State issued a proposed rule on the Accreditation and Approval of Agencies and Persons (22 CFR Part 96) to implement the Convention and the IAA on September 15, 2003. The Department received approximately 1,500 public comments on the proposed rule and posted on its web site the Public Comments Received on Proposed Hague Regulations. The Department has submitted the final rule for 22 CFR Part 96 to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). OMB is still reviewing the final rule on accreditation, which will be published in the Federal Register once it is completed. For further information, please see Public Notice 5006 published in the Federal Register at www.gpoaccess.gov.
The Department of State also has been meeting with potential accrediting entities since March 2004 to discuss what their designation as accrediting entities under the Convention would entail and to assess their ability to fulfill those obligations. The Department’s Agreements with the designated accrediting entities will be published in the Federal Register.
Sources for List of Countries Party to the Hague Intercountry Adoption Convention, the Texts of the Hague Convention and the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000:
List of countries party to the Hague Adoption Convention of the Hague Conference on Private International Law
Text of the 1993 Hague Convention can be found on the Internet or see Senate Treaty Doc. 105-51; 32 International Legal Materials 1139 (1993). For the text of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, see 42 U.S.C. 14901 et seq.; 114 Stat. 825; P.L. 106-279; 41 International Legal Materials 222 (2002).
The final text of the Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention), a multilateral treaty, was approved by 66 nations on May 29, 1993 at The Hague. The Convention covers adoptions among countries that become parties to it and sets out for such adoptions certain internationally agreed-upon minimum norms and procedures. The goal of the Convention is to protect the children, birth parents and adoptive parents involved in intercountry adoptions and to prevent abuses. On May 1, 1995, the Convention entered into force between the first three countries that ratified it: Mexico, Romania, and Sri Lanka. Currently, 68 countries have joined the Convention.
The United States signed the Convention on March 31, 1994, signaling its intent to proceed with efforts to ratify the Convention. In 1998, President Clinton transmitted the Convention, with an article-by-article legal analysis of its provisions, to the U.S. Senate for advice and consent to ratification. At the same time, the Department of State transmitted to Congress draft implementing legislation that had been prepared by an interagency committee with significant input from the adoption community.
In 2000, both Houses of Congress passed bills for implementation of the Convention. The final legislation that both Houses passed in late September 2000 was the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (the IAA), Public Law 106-279. At the same time, the Senate gave its advice and consent authorizing U.S. ratification of the Convention once U.S. preparations for its implementation were in place. President Clinton signed the IAA into law on October 6, 2000.
Since that time, efforts have been under way to issue Federal regulations to: (1) set out the requirements entities must meet to qualify for designation to accredit or approve adoption service providers as required by the Convention and the IAA; (2) specify the standards to be met by agencies and individuals seeking to become Hague Convention accredited or approved to be able to provide adoption services for adoptions covered by the Convention; and (3) set out the procedures to be followed for incoming and outgoing adoptions involving the United States that are safeguarded by the Hague Convention and the IAA.
On February 15, 2006, the Department of State issued the final rule on the Accreditation and Approval of Agencies and Persons (22 CFR Part 96) to implement the Convention and the IAA following analysis and
consideration of approximately 1,500 public comments received (published on September 15, 2003). The final rule was published in the Federal Register and can be found on the GPO website at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/search.html by using the search term "intercountry adoption." You may view Public Comments on the proposed rule on this website.
Also published in the Federal Register on February 15, 2006 is the final rule on the Preservation of Convention Records (22 CFR Part 98) which is available at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/search.html.
The Department of State has been meeting with potential accrediting entities (AE’s) to discuss what their designation as AE’s under the Convention would entail and to assess their ability to fulfill those obligations. With the publication of the final rule, the Department can complete the process of designating and signing agreements with qualified AE’s. The signed agreements with the designated AE’s will be published in the Federal Register when they are completed.
Sources for Lists of Countries Party to the Hague Intercountry Adoption Convention, the Texts of the Hague Convention and the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000:
List of countries party to the Hague Adoption Convention of the Hague Conference on Private International Law
Text of the 1993 Hague Convention can be found on the Internet or see Senate Treaty Doc. 105-51; 32 International Legal Materials 1139 (1993). For the text of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, see 42 U.S.C. 14901 et seq.; 114 Stat. 825; P.L. 106-279; 41 International Legal Materials 222 (2002).
March 2006
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