Advice on the Adoption Bill 2009

The Adoption Bill 2009 was published on 23 January 2009 by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. The stated aim of the Bill is to consolidate and modify existing adoption legislation, as well as to give effect to the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Intercountry Adoption 1993.

The Adoption Bill has addressed many of the issues that have caused concern for international monitoring mechanisms, professionals working in the field of adoption and, most importantly, children and families that have been through the adoption process or will go through it in future. There are, however, a number of areas in which the Adoption Bill could be enhanced to better serve the interests of the children who will be affected by it and to ensure full compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international instruments relevant to the question of adoption.

• November 2009
• Type: Advice
• Topic: Adoption, Family law