Publication of the Toolkit for Preventing and Addressing Illicit Practices in Intercountry Adoption
The Permanent Bureau is pleased to announce the publication of the Toolkit for Preventing and Addressing Illicit Practices in Intercountry Adoption.
The Toolkit is intended to assist Contracting Parties to the 1993 Adoption Convention, as well as all actors and persons involved in adoption, to properly implement and operate the Convention. It does so by providing practical guidelines on what must be done to identify, prevent, and address illicit practices and their enabling factors.
The first part of the Toolkit consists of Fact Sheets aimed at assisting in better identifying and recognising illicit practices in intercountry adoption, as well as factors that may contribute to and/or facilitate their development, and measures and safeguards that may assist in preventing them. The second part of the Toolkit consists of a Checklist to assist decision-making by Central Authorities, listing issues to watch out for and actions which may be taken at each step of the intercountry adoption procedure to help prevent or reduce, to the extent possible, the risk of illicit practices. The third part of the Toolkit consists of a Model Procedure aimed at providing guidance on how to respond to specific cases or suspected cases of illicit practices, including when these cases are part of a pattern of illicit practices. Finally, the fourth part of the Toolkit consists of Guidelines aimed at providing guidance on how States can cooperate and coordinate their efforts in order to prevent and respond to illicit practices.
The Permanent Bureau wishes to express its gratitude to the members of the Working Group on Preventing and Addressing Illicit Practices in Intercountry Adoption, whose efforts and dedication over multiple years contributed to the development of this publication.
The Toolkit for Preventing and Addressing Illicit Practices in Intercountry Adoption is available for download in English, French and Spanish.