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Study on illegal adoptions 2017, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- The above-mentioned motivations for carrying out illegal adoptions often overlapped, as was notably the case in Spain throughout the Franco regime and during the first decades of democracy. Indeed, the practice of illegally adopting children for ideological and religious reasons soon morphed into a profit-driven criminal activity. Thousands of newborn babies were reportedly abducted from their parents by criminal networks involved in large-scale illegal adoptions. Medical personnel and clergy members actively participated in the abduction of children. Newborn babies were abducted from hospitals and subsequently told that their parents had died. The children were then given to other parents following the falsification of documents and, in certain cases, payments.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Infants
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Study on illegal adoptions 2017, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- Guatemala presents one of the few examples of investigation and prosecution efforts having been made with the aim of dismantling criminal structures. In 2011, with the support of the United Nations-backed International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala, the Public Prosecutor's Office proved the existence of a criminal structure involved in trafficking in children for the purpose of illegal intercountry adoptions operated by owners of residential facilities with the complicity of lawyers, registrars and judges. Despite the convictions, the case illustrated the difficulties in balancing the conflicting needs and desires of those involved in adoptions (adoptees, adoptive parents and biological parents) and the interests of justice.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Study on illegal adoptions 2017, para. 86
- Paragraph text
- Various countries emerging from conflict or an authoritarian regime have been confronted with allegations of systematic illegal adoptions as part of past large-scale abuses. Few countries have responded to victims' calls for truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, however, and none have done so in a comprehensive manner. Argentina has pioneered such responses, in particular in relation to enforced disappearances, through truth-seeking and accountability. Genetic tracing and the establishment of a national genetic database have played a key role in identifying disappeared children who were subjected to illegal adoption and in efforts to seek judicial accountability. Moreover, the "disappeared" children, now adults, are stepping forward to uncover their biological origins and some are playing a role in the prosecution of their adoptive parents.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Study on illegal adoptions 2017, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- International commercial surrogacy is a growing phenomenon quickly overtaking the number of intercountry adoptions. The international regulatory vacuum that persists in relation to international commercial surrogacy arrangements leaves children born through this method vulnerable to breaches of their rights, and the practice often amounts to the sale of children and may lead to illegal adoption. Indeed, several countries do not recognize such arrangements and, in order to establish a parent-child relationship, national laws often require parents to legally adopt the child born through international commercial surrogacy. However, if the international commercial surrogacy arrangement is found to amount to the sale of a child, the adoption too will consequently be illegal under international standards. Such a situation underscores the need for States to ensure that they are not inadvertently legitimizing the sale of children born through international commercial surrogacy by granting adoption orders.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Effective Implementation of the OPSC 2010, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- In the face of poverty, inaccessibility to basic social services and lack of opportunity, families find themselves unable to ensure the development and safety of their children. They adopt survival strategies that may endanger their children. Some parents emigrate in search of a better future, leaving their children behind, while some children emigrate on their own initiative or at their family's urging, and are handed over, for a fee, to exploiting individuals who push them into work. These children are more vulnerable to all forms of exploitation and abuse.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Movement
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Effective Implementation of the OPSC 2010, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- Conflicts affect the safety and well-being of the most vulnerable populations, particularly children as they negatively impact on living conditions by exacerbating economic crises, destroy infrastructure and cause massive displacements of people both internally and beyond national borders outside the country. The lack of a family environment, the destruction of social safety-nets, instability and a culture of impunity mean that children are more likely to be subjected to forced labour, sale and trafficking, recruitment into armed forces and armed groups, early marriage or sexual exploitation.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Protection of children from sale and sexual exploitation following humanitarian crisis due to natural disasters 2012, para. 114
- Paragraph text
- When possible, children should be evacuated from their place of residence with adult family members. Separation should be undertaken as a last resort, on a temporary basis, and only where it has been determined that protection and assistance cannot be provided in that location and when evacuation of the entire family is not possible or feasible. Evacuations should be kept to a location as close as possible to the child's home and family and undertaken with the informed and written consent of the parents and in the best interests of the child.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Protection of children from sale and sexual exploitation following humanitarian crisis due to natural disasters 2012, para. 109
- Paragraph text
- Efforts should be undertaken to accurately record the basic details of a child's identity, including the name of the child and her/his parents, details of their residence and community, the date of evacuation, and to whom the child was entrusted for care. Each child should receive a copy of his/her file which should stay on their person and should include travel documents. Each child should have a name tag pinned to his/her clothing which also indicates the name of the child's community of origin. When possible, a photograph of the child should be taken and included in the files. Copies of files should be given to parents, national authorities, the organization responsible for evacuation (if necessary) and a neutral monitoring agency, such as the ICRC's Central Tracing Agency.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Sale of children for the purpose of forced labour 2016, para. 97
- Paragraph text
- The sale of children for the purpose of forced labour is a multifaceted phenomenon with diverse root causes, risk factors, manifestations and effects. Families may use the sale of children for the purpose of forced labour as a coping strategy for survival. Children, whether sold or entrusted to a third party, may fall into the hands of traffickers, who will in turn sell them for forced labour. They may also end up under the control of criminal organized groups. Demand for products with competitive prices is also a pull factor for the sale of children for forced labour and labour exploitation. In conflict situations, lawlessness and social, economic and institutional breakdown, as well as deliberate conflict strategies, may lead children to be abducted and sold for the purpose of forced labour.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Study on illegal adoptions 2017, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- The fact that intercountry adoptions are mediated by private agencies means that they too can enable illegal practices. This is particularly true in respect of private agencies that are not authorized to work as adoption accredited bodies. Such agencies usually finance their operations by charging fees to prospective adoptive parents. As those fees will not be forthcoming unless the agency secures children for adoption, some agencies employ methods or accept conditions that encourage the commission of illegal acts and illicit practices. In some instances, the demand for adoptable children creates an unhealthy competition among agencies. Adoption agencies often claim that they lack knowledge of illicit practices or that they lack control over intermediaries in countries of origin. However, the financial gain behind the illicit practices, which is often linked to money-laundering, often puts such claims into question.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Study on illegal adoptions 2017, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- The various parties involved in illegal adoptions are reluctant to report or denounce suspected illegalities because of the possible implications. The birth parents are the notable exception, at least those whose children have been abducted or placed for adoption without their informed consent; unfortunately, they are the least likely to file a complaint, as many of them fear the consequences or lack the appropriate knowledge and access to remedies. Most adoptive parents do not know with certainty whether the adoption process involved illicit or criminal practices, although they may come to suspect as much during or after the adoption process. The responses of prospective or adoptive parents to such suspicions will depend on a number of factors, including the extent to which they feel they were directly implicated and their assessment of the likely consequences of notifying the competent authorities. Complaints filed and collaboration extended by adoptive parents increase the chances of success of criminal investigations and prosecutions.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism 2013, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- The process will depend on the length of the stay, the type of accommodation that the abuser is using, the local context and the situation in which the child is at that time. When the abuser is a foreign resident or long-term visitor, he can engage directly in a long grooming process to befriend a child, thereby obtaining his or her trust before exploiting the child sexually. The grooming process can include the family, whereby the abuser either gains their trust or negotiates a mutually agreeable arrangement, whereby the parents may either sell or rent their child.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Comprehensive, rights-based and child-centred care, recovery and reintegration programmes 2015, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- There are also barriers that prevent children from accessing care and support upon their resettlement or return to their family and communities, such as the unwillingness of children to return home and reintegrate; stress factors that compromise the psychological health of children (e.g. legal proceedings, immigration and asylum procedures, stigma and discrimination associated with their exploitation); and prolonged residential care. In response to the latter, Canada has set up child advocacy centres that concentrate on collaborative and coordinated services to prevent system-induced trauma.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Protection of children from sale and sexual exploitation following humanitarian crisis due to natural disasters 2012, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- To coordinate care and support for children and their families, the International Rescue Committee, Save the Children and UNICEF have developed and promoted the use of a standard inter-agency child protection information management system (CPIMS). Although originally designed to facilitate family tracing and reunification, the system was re-designed in 2009 to support all thematic areas of child protection. To date, it has been used in 17 countries.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Comprehensive child protection systems 2011, para. 31b
- Paragraph text
- [With regard to prevention, comprehensive legal frameworks should:] Develop and implement strict international and national adoption laws foreseeing: (i) adoption as a last resort; (ii) the identification of suitable measures, which include the placement of children with their biological or extended family; (iii) preference for national adoption over international adoption; and (iv) the obligation to conduct compatibility studies between the adoptive family and a child given up for adoption, keeping in mind the best interests of the child, with a view to avoiding the sale of children for illegal adoption;
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Protection of children from sale and sexual exploitation following humanitarian crisis due to natural disasters 2012, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- Natural disasters destroy or disrupt the normal conditions of life and the care of children and can, in turn, disrupt, deny and delay the realization of their rights. In such situations, children are more likely to be unidentified, hastily fostered, adopted or placed in long-term care institutions, without the possibility of tracing their families, reunification or safe return. Their vulnerability increases their risk to sale, sexual and other forms of exploitation as they may be inappropriately and/or illegally removed from their communities - sometimes by well-meaning individuals who wish to ensure their safety, or by those seeking to profit from the chaos.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Comprehensive prevention strategies against sale and sexual exploitation of children 2013, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- The demand for adoption has augmented concomitantly with a decrease in adoptable children, creating conditions for abuse, corruption, excessive fees amounting to sale, and the illegal adoption of children. Data from European countries shows that there has been a decrease since 2004 in intercountry adoptions, in particular owing to better child health, effective family policies, the strengthening of legal and institutional frameworks and the concerns of countries for their international image. Conversely, demand for adoption has not dropped, creating an environment conducive to abuse and leading to pressure on countries of origin, including through excessive costs by adoption agencies, briberies and corruption.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Sale of children for the purpose of forced labour 2016, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- Inadequate monitoring and regulation of the activities of intermediaries can easily result in abusive practices. Intermediaries may use deceptive methods to lure families into releasing a child, or attract children into situations amounting to forced labour. The high fees required for the service is likely to put children and families in situations of debt bondage. Intermediaries may manage the full placement process, taking care of all necessary documents, which are then confiscated, preventing victims from leaving. Intermediaries may be directly linked with criminal networks aiming to exploit workers. Lack of work contracts and dependency on the recruiter for documentation and debt repayment paves the way for forced labour. In most cases, recruiters are aware of the forced labour conditions in which children end up and use deception to recruit them.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Study on illegal adoptions 2017, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- The subsidiarity principle must be applied in accordance with the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, which involves supporting efforts to keep children in, or return them to, the care of their family or, failing that, to find another appropriate and permanent solution, including adoption. While looking for permanent solutions, or in cases where they are not possible or are not in the best interests of the child, the most suitable forms of alternative care have to be found. States also have the duty, as set out in article 18 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to assist parents and legal guardians in the performance of their child-rearing responsibilities, and to ensure the development of institutions, facilities and services for the care of children.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Study on illegal adoptions 2017, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- In all cases of systemic illegal adoptions, States must ensure redress for victims through remedies that include reparation for victims and support to adoptees in their search for their origins. The experiences of adoptees trying to establish the truth behind their "abandonment" and illegal adoption are telling, as are the obstacles they encounter and the good practices of competent authorities. Gradually, efforts are being made to facilitate the search process. For example, an adoption manual has been developed by the adoption service and the Ministry of Health and Welfare of the Republic of Korea, containing information on the steps to be taken searching one's birth family. The search for truth and origins is one of the main issues addressed by associations of intercountry adoptees. Such initiatives are still rare, however.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Comprehensive, rights-based and child-centred care, recovery and reintegration programmes 2015, para. 78
- Paragraph text
- Reintegration work should also aim to change negative behaviours and attitudes of families and communities towards returning children who have been victimized. Building up positive qualities and feelings in children can also assist in developing respect and acceptance, for instance, demonstrating that a child has been successful, has helped others, or has been involved in community services. Programmes to address stigma in communities and prevailing gender and cultural norms are also vital.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Study on illegal adoptions 2017, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- The abduction of babies (e.g. through kidnappings or by falsely informing parents that their baby was stillborn or died shortly after birth), the improper inducement of consent (e.g. through misrepresentation, bribery or coercion) and improper financial gain (e.g. through payment for the child or the payment of bribes to intermediaries involved in the adoption process) are among the most common methods used in the sale of children and illegal adoptions. Inherent to the methods is the falsification of documents (e.g. birth and medical certificates, the identification documents of the biological mother, DNA test results and relinquishment or abandonment declarations) and the bypassing of regulations.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Infants
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Protection of children from sale and sexual exploitation following humanitarian crisis due to natural disasters 2012, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- In their responses to the questionnaire, several responding States indicated that legislation was in place with regard to the issue of national and international adoption. In Portugal, any entity examining and evaluating a child's social and legal situation or responsible for implementing a child's adoption project is prohibited from acting as an intermediary in the adoption so that there is no direct contact with the biological family. The final decision on an adoption is made by judicial order.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Comprehensive, rights-based and child-centred care, recovery and reintegration programmes 2015, para. 83
- Paragraph text
- Follow-up of individual cases and evaluations of care, recovery and reintegration programmes are essential to avoid revictimization, adapting programmes to the needs of children and identifying good and bad practices. For instance, children who are returned to a family without a proper assessment and support are likely to leave home again and are at a very high risk of being sexually exploited again. When children are returned to the same situation that they left, the probability of once again being trafficked and sexually exploited is great.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Study on illegal adoptions 2017, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- The above-mentioned methods, illegal acts and illicit practices are generally linked to deficiencies in the child protection system (such as inadequate procedures for providing counselling to biological parents and flawed relinquishment procedures), which are exploited by criminal networks driven by the lucrative business of selling children and facilitating illegal adoptions, often with the involvement of State officials. When illegal acts and illicit practices are of a systemic nature, States bear responsibility for them by either omission or complicity.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Protection of children from sale and sexual exploitation following humanitarian crisis due to natural disasters 2012, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- Family tracing and reunification is one of the principal strategies emphasized by international organizations and aid agencies to ensure that child protection is incorporated into emergency response programmes. One such tool is the Inter-agency family tracing and reunification (FTR) programme which seeks to facilitate family tracing and reunification in an emergency and strengthen the capacity of governments to register children. The Working Group on Rapid Registration and Interim Care for Unaccompanied Children, in consultation with the Haitian Government's social welfare department, developed standard operating procedures for family tracing and reunification following the 2010 earthquake. As a result of their efforts, 1,303 children were reunited with their families or caregivers in Haiti. In Eritrea, UNICEF supported 5,407 orphans and vulnerable children through family reunification, foster care group homes and domestic adoption.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Sale of children for the purpose of forced labour 2016, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Criminal activities are among the services children may be forced to undertake and are considered a form of forced labour. ECPAT UK has highlighted the situation of children engaged in forced labour in cannabis production in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, who have been trafficked from other countries. The children are forced by organized criminal groups to work in cannabis factories under hazardous conditions and with no possibility of leaving. Criminal groups use debt bondage and threats of reprisals against the children and their families to prevent them from escaping.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Study on illegal adoptions 2017, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- The placement of children in alternative care settings, in particular in residential facilities, is often a first step leading to a determination of their adoptability. The false assumption that all children in such institutions are adoptable has widely contributed to illegal adoptions, as children can be taken without the appropriate consent even though they still have a parent, family member or other kin willing and able to care for them. In Nepal, for example, intercountry adoptions have been interrupted by receiving countries owing to the insufficiency of the procedures in place to determine the adoptability of a child.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Study on illegal adoptions 2017, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- Illegal domestic adoptions continue to occur in countries with weak child protection systems, in much the same way as they used to, in other words with the involvement of criminal networks and the participation of State officials and targeting vulnerable populations such as families in economic hardship. In China, there have been several cases of criminal networks abducting, trafficking and selling babies for the purpose of illegal adoption. Moreover, there have been reports of family planning officials being involved in improperly inducing consent from parents in order to sell the children or transfer them for domestic or international adoption or forced labour.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Study on illegal adoptions 2017, para. 77
- Paragraph text
- Issuing "fitness-to-adopt certificates" to an unlimited number of prospective adoptive parents is dangerous when the number of adoptable children is relatively small. That discrepancy is not only a cause of frustration among prospective adoptive parents but may also contribute to a level of unsatisfied demand that can lead some prospective adoptive parents to consider options involving illicit practices. It can also fuel calls for greater efforts on the part of the authorities of receiving countries to identify more sources of adoptable children, generally in countries of origin that are not compliant with the 1993 Hague Convention.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph