The Best Interests of the Child in Intercountry Adoption

From the perspective of intercountry adoption, this study responds, in particular, to the question: what is it that enables a policy, process, decision, or practice to be qualified as either respectful of or in violation of the best interests of the child?

Despite universal agreement that the best interests of the child should be a primary consideration in any decision made about a child’s future, there is no universal agreement on who is ultimately responsible for determining what is in a child’s best interests, nor according to what criteria the decision should be made.

Pointing out the danger to children’s rights in such an unclear situation, the study calls for consensus as well as trying to clarify issues and propose ways forward that would enable intercountry adoption to better fulfil its role as another child care and protection provision, to be used only when no suitable alternatives exist or can be created in that child’s own country.