Suddenly it seems everyone is talking about the Hague and how it might affect the renegotiation of the US-VN Agreement. Frankly at this point I’m having a hard time keeping all the various statements and references straight. So I thought the best place to start is a simple list of recent statements… no in-depth commentary or analysis, just Who Said What. Please feel free to discuss in the comments or let me know if I missed something.
Maura Harty’s Interview in Adoption Today Magazine
The article’s focus is the implementation of the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children. There are two Q/A’s that seem applicable to the current situation with Vietnam.
Well, the U.S. is now a member of the Hague intercountry adoption convention. I think it sets the highest standard for intercountry adoptions. Now that we are part of that convention, we don’t intend to sign any new bilateral agreements. We want to urge all adoption partner countries to join the convention. But having said that, intercountry adoptions from and to countries that are not part of the convention will continue to be processed under existing U.S. immigration law and regulations. We hope that in the not-too-distant future all countries will be convention partners. All countries will see that this is a better way to go, that this is a responsible thing to do, that this again is a process with great integrity and transparency and is desirable.”
We have a MOA (memo of agreement) with the government of Vietnam. Frankly, I was just there toward the end of the year. And I told them that we don’t feel that they have met all of their obligations under the MOA and principally, that the schedule of fees we had sought out and they had promised has yet to be published. John, we have to review the MOA with them, it’s part of the process. When we signed it, we knew that come March of 2008, we needed to review it with an eye toward renewing it or amending it. And we are in that process now, sort of on the inter-agency front here in Washington and then we will go back to the Vietnamese. I was frank, I discussed the Convention with my counterpart in a variety of ministries in Vietnam as I have in the past, and they tell me that they are interested in becoming members. We really would like Vietnam and all major countries and partners in intercountry adoption to join the Hague. So we’re going to keep pushing for that. I will take the government of Vietnam at its word that it intends to become a Hague partner and this MOA that we signed now a couple of years ago, represents an interim measure. And we hope as short an interim as possible so that we can see Vietnam become a full Hague convention partner as well.”
The JCICS Report and Clarification 3/7
During numerous meetings with MOLISA and MOJ, their desire to implement the Hague Convention was reconfirmed. Joint Council understands that the MOJ, as part of aligning practices with Hague standards, will permit the continuation of adoption licenses for agencies receiving Hague accreditation by the U.S. Central Authority. While the timing and other specifics remain uncertain, Joint Council and the U.S. Department of State have requested clarification. In addition, Joint Council has strongly advocated for the following.
1. All adoptions in which a referral has been issued are permitted to continue through to the finalization of the adoption.
2. Recognizing that a list of Hague accredited agencies has been announced by the U.S. Department of State via the Uniform Notification Date (February 29, 2008), agencies accredited as of April 1, 2008 (the date the Convention goes into full effect in the United States) be used to determine the continuation of licensure by the Vietnam MOJ.Joint Council supports the MOJ and its continuation of licensure for Hague accredited agencies. Our support of this initiative is based on both principles and practicality. Given Joint Council’s long standing support of a functional implementation of the Convention in the U.S. and other countries, we encourage Vietnam’s movement toward that end. Given the expiration of the current MOA between the U.S. and Vietnam in less than six months (on September 1, 2008), this decision by the MOJ is a strong indicator of Vietnam’s serious intent to continue permanency and humanitarian services via a new or amended MOA.
While some may see the continuation of licensure for only Hague accredited agencies as overly restrictive, Joint Council fully recognizes this utilization of Convention principles as a means of ensuring both best practices and a key element for the continuation of finding permanent, safe and loving families for the children of Vietnam.
Joint Council continues to advocate for all JCICS member and affiliate organizations with programs in Vietnam and those hoping to establish them. It is, however, important to bear in mind that Joint Council is not alone in this conversation. As we all know, there are multiple entities, governmental and non-governmental, involved in the on-going negotiations around re-establishing the MOA between the US and Vietnam. As a contribution to these negotiations, Joint Council offered the recently created Standards of Practice for Vietnam ”“ a document all involved parties recognized as “a key element of elevating child welfare services….”Joint Council encourages Vietnam’s movement toward functional implementation of the Hague Convention and, pending that eventuality, strongly supports continuation of programs and agency licensure based on best practice as outlined in the Joint Council Standards of Practice for Vietnam.
Embassy Communication with MOJ
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Putting all of this together, I’m struck by a couple of things.
1. There’s a lot of posturing going on by people involved in the renegotiation of the Agreement.
2. Vietnam’s commitment to signing/implementing the Hague seems to be key in these renegotiations.Please feel free to discuss this issue in the comments, remembering as always to stay on topic.
7 Responses
Christina, Thank you for the clarification. I have been losing my mind trying to sort out the details on this issue as I am with a non-Hague agency. This is helpful. My agency was one of those reporting about the letter; I’ll ask if they have any hard proof.
Also, does anyone know how long it would take for Vietnam to implement Hague? Is it a long process and are they close to what would be required?
Chris- Thank you for helping to make these complicated issues a little clearer for us.
According to Maura Harty, the US does not intend to sign any NEW bilateral agreements.. According to Vietnam adoption law, there has to be a memorandum of understanding between Vietnam (the placing country) and the receiving country, i.e. U.S., for adoptions to be processed. If the U.S. doesn’t intend to sign any new bilateral agreements, that tells me that they are going to let this one expire September 1st. “We would really like Vietnam and all major countries and partners in intercountry adoption to join the Hague. So, we’re going to keep pushing for that.†Sounds like they are not going to renew the agreement and push for Hague implementation or at least signature.
According to the JCICS report, the MOLISA and MOJ desire to implement the Hague Convention was reconfirmed. Then, even though the letter from the consular official was not confirmed, it fits the information. It seems there is distinct pressure on Vietnam to become Hague compliant, especially based on Maura Harty’s comments. Also, sounds like they have not discussed what to do about parents who are still waiting to be united with their children and who already have dossiers in Vietnam.
My dossier is in Vietnam since December & wasn’t matched with a child yet. I am wondering at this point if they are going to continue business like usual or are they going to hold back or slow down referrels. In other words I am wondering if my adoption is going to happen with all this red tape in the way.
I am wondering the same thing. We were DTV 9/7/07.
Christina, thanks for commenting this morning – coincidentally, you had been on my mind as I was catching up on reading. I stopped by and was utterly amazed at the volume of information you and your colleagues here have made available to the adoption community. You are doing good and very important work – kudos!!!
We too are awaiting a referral and check out all the blogs and posts daily as we are anxious to see what will happen to those of us “in process” but not likely to travel prior to Sept. 1. Thank you so much for putting this information together in one place!