Principles of the Convention

On April 1, 2008, the United States ratified the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (the Convention), a multilateral treaty concluded on May 29, 1993 in The Hague, Netherlands.

The United States signed the Convention in 1994. In 2000, the U.S. Congress passed the Intercountry Adoption Act (the IAA), which provides for U.S. implementation of the Convention. At the same time, the Senate also gave its advice and consent authorizing U.S. ratification of the Convention once preparations for its implementation were in place. The Department of State was designated as the U.S. Central Authority with respect to the Convention and was responsible for undertaking those preparations.

To date, approximately 70 countries have joined the Convention, including many of the countries from which U.S. citizens adopt most frequently. The information within this site refers to countries that have joined the Convention and with which the United States has a treaty relationship under the Convention as Convention countries and to adoptions that take place between Convention countries as Convention adoptions.

The Hague information within this site is intended as a guide for prospective adoptive parents and focuses only on cases involving children who will be immigrating to the United States from a country of origin that is a Convention country (incoming cases). This site does not address cases involving U.S. citizen children who will be emigrating to another Convention country (outgoing cases) or children immigrating to the United States from non-Convention countries. Further, this information outlines the new accreditation and approval standards applicable to adoption service providers that may be of interest to prospective adoptive parents.

The Principles of the Convention

The United States strongly supports the principles of the Convention, which strengthen protections for children, birthparents, and prospective adoptive parents in the adoption process. The Convention provides a framework for Convention countries to work together to ensure that adoptions take place in the best interests of children and to prevent the abduction, sale, or trafficking of children in connection with intercountry adoption.