Following its mandate to report annually to Congress, the Office of Children’s Issues (OCI) in the U.S.
Adoptions from Vietnam Still on Hold
Although the Hague Intercountry Adoption Convention came into force in Vietnam on February 1, 2012, US Citizenship and Immigration Services and the US State Department have announced that they will not resume processing of intercountry adoptions there until Vietnam has a fully Hague-compliant adoption system in place.
Updates from the State Department
These come by way of the ABA FAmily Law Section’s International Law Committee:
* There are some position changes affecting the Hague Convention Attorney Network. Patricia Hoff continues as the legal assistance coordinator. Beth Cooper recently became Incoming Abductions Branch Chief in the Office of Children¹s Issues.
New Bilateral Adoption Agreement for Russia and the US
After more than a year of negotiations, the United States and Russia signed a bilateral agreement to strengthen procedural safeguards in adoptions on July 13, 2011. The new framework “will largely eliminate independent adoptions from Russia” and will improve post-adoption reporting and monitoring. There was this announcement from the State Department which links to a series of
ACPIL Meeting on Abduction Convention Protocol
In preparation for the Special Commission meeting in June 2011 to review operation of the Hague Abduction Convention, the Office of Private International Law of the U.S. State Department has scheduled public meeting of the Advisory Committee on International Law for Friday, March 4, 2011, from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm in Room 1107 of the Harry S.
State Department Releases 2010 Adoption Report
The State Department has released its annual adoption report for Fiscal Year 2010. The report shows a total of 11,059 incoming intercountry adoptions, based on the number of visas issued in both Hague and non-Hague cases. This compares with a total of 12,753 in fiscal year 2009, and 22,990 at the high point in fiscal year 2004. There were 43 outgoing Hague adoption cases during the fiscal year, primarily from Florida (27).
United States Signs the Child Protection Convention
On October 22, the U.S. Ambassador to The Hague signed the 1996 Hague Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Cooperation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children. Here’s an announcement of the signing from the U.S.
U.S. Suspends Some Adoptions from Nepal
After issuing warnings earlier this year, the U.S.
State Department Issues 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report
Last week, the State Department issued its tenth annual Trafficking in Persons Report under the Trafficking Victim Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA).
2010 Hague Compliance Report
The State Department’s Office of Children’s Issues has published and posted its 2010 Report on Compliance with the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction for the period from October 1, 2008 to septemnber 30, 2009. According to the Report: