Expert Meeting on “Sale of Children and Illegal Adoption”

Expert Meeting on “Sale of Children and Illegal Adoption”

22 September 2016

On 19-20 September, Leiden University Child Law Department and Terre de Hommes co-organized an expert meeting on ‘’Sale of Children and Illegal Adoption’’ at Leiden University.

The expert meeting was held in preparation for a future thematic report to be published on illegal adoption by Ms. Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, the UN Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. It aimed to discuss and provide further input to a draft research report by Mr. Nigel Cantwell.

The event was chaired by Ms. Maud de Boer-Buquicchio and Mr. Nigel Cantwell, and included experts from across the globe, among them representatives of central authorities, the Hague Conference on Private International Law, and prominent academic experts from Europe and the U.S. Prof. Ton Liefaard, Claire Achmad LLM and Daniella Zlotnik, LLM participated on behalf of Leiden Law School. The expert meeting was opened by Prof. Rick Lawson.

The meeting addressed illicit adoption practices and whether they amount to sale of children in relation to both domestic and intercountry adoption. The sessions touched upon issues such as the relevant international legal framework relating to adoption, the root causes and enabling factors of illegal adoption, strategies to combat and prevent illicit adoption practices, and the states’ responsibility to offer legal remedies and support for victims.

[Following the meeting there was a lecture and Q&A session for students and representatives of leading NGO’s committed to the cause of combatting illegal adoption practices, including Terre de Hommes.]