Citing countries like Romania which continue to block American families from adopting children, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) today called for swift and proper implementation of the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption to promote international adoptions and pressure signatory nations to meet the agreement’s true intentions during a hearing in the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations.

    “The number of foreign children who are adopted each year by American citizens has doubled over the past decade. However, there are still many compassionate families who want to provide a better life for children, yet are unable to because foreign governments have taken that option off the table. If properly implemented, the Hague Convention can help these children have a better life with loving families here in the U.S.,” said Smith, Chairman of the House International Relations Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations.

    The hearing focused on the status and framework for implementation of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, which is a formal international agreement designed to ensure transparency in adoptions to prevent trafficking, kidnapping, smuggling and baby-selling. Currently, the Hague Convention has been entered into force in 69 countries, including the three largest countries that U.S. families adopt from the most – China, Russia and Guatemala. 

    The U.S. has entered into the Hague Convention and will be moving to full implementation next year. However, concerns remain about how other nations, including a number of current Convention signatories, apply the Convention and will respond to U.S. implementation. 

    “The Hague Convention requires signatory countries like Romania, which has outlawed all intercountry adoptions, and Guatemala, which has a privately-run adoption system that uses baby brokers to pay birthmothers for their newborns, to reconsider their adoption laws to truly meet the objective of ensuring that intercountry adoptions are made in the best interest of the child,” Smith said.

    In calling for reform in countries that are signatories to the Convention, Smith also said the U.S. has an obligation under the terms of the Hague Convention to respect the eligibility and suitability requirements of the country of origin. Each country has their own requirements for prospective parents that may include marital status, social environment, and financial status. Smith stressed that such requirements must be met and that evasive and fraudulent actions by prospective adoptive parents should not be tolerated. 

    “It cannot be emphasized enough that our first priority must be creating a better life for these children. Therefore, it is very important as the largest receiving country that we respect the rules of the sending countries in terms of who can adopt and with regards to follow-up on any post-adoption agreements. That means that as we lay a framework for implementation of the Hague Convention, we should consider strict enforcement measures to prevent actions by prospective parents that circumvent the will of the sending countries,” Smith said. 

    The U.S. is the largest receiving country for orphans from abroad, adopting more children from international countries than all other countries combined. The number of foreign children adopted annually by American citizens has doubled over the last decade from 11,340 to 22,739.