From Viet Nam News:
Viet Nam has officially adopted the Hague convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention). This is the first convention of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HccH) to be adopted by Viet Nam.
Viet Nam’s Ambassador to the Netherlands Huynh Minh Chinh signed the convention on behalf of the Vietnamese Government earlier this month.
The Hague Adoption Convention, one of 38 HccH’s conventions, aims to protect children and their families against the risks of illegal, irregular, premature or ill-prepared adoptions abroad. To date, 81 countries have adopted the convention.
Minh said joining the convention was a milestone in the efforts of Viet Nam in integrating into the multi-dimension collaboration on international law. “The Vietnamese government would accelerate the process to complete the legal framework and have this convention put into effect,” he said at the signing ceremony.
On January 1, 2011, the Adoption Law of Viet Nam will also start to take effect. Together with the Hague convention, the country hopes these measures will help protect the rights of children.
10 Responses
Whoa, does this mean they’re opening for adoptions to the US next month? We were *just* about to put in our application for China, but this could change everything…
Allison-
I doubt adoptions will resume that quickly. While this is a step in that direction, VN still has to implement their own adoption laws next month. I think it will be a while before those laws are actually “in effect.” I believe the U.S. will want to make sure that those laws have actually been implemented and safeguards are in place before adoptions between the two countries begin again. I think the U.S. will be very careful about giving visas to children even though VN is now a Hague country. Adoption agencies, too, will need to make sure that proper safeguards are in place to ensure that adoptions are ethical. You could try contacting *reputable* agencies to see what their thoughts are on the matter right now, but I would guess that they will say the whole process will still take some time.
Tracy
That’s what I heard from the agency I spoke to you about earlier this week…but even if it’s mid to end of 2011, we could go with that…we’d rather the process be slow and ethical than fast and unethical. I think we’re going to hold off on putting our application in China now and see where this goes. If it looks like a 2011 opening is possible, we’ll go to Vietnam, and if not, we’ll continue on the China track. I’m shocked to even see this major step happen…I wasn’t sure it would happen for several more years!
It is so nice to see Vietnam moving forward. We may also wait to see what happens this coming year.
I am glad to see some progress in Vietnam. Thank you for sharing. We may wait and see what happens this year too.
That’s fantastic! Just as I’m planning my trip to go out to my daughter’s province.
That’s fantastic! Just as I’m planning my trip to go out to my daughter’s province.
[…] was recently reported that Vietnam adopted the Hague Convention and that the country plans to out new adoption laws in place in…. While this is a positive step, the editors at VVAI would like to caution prospective adoptive […]
[…] was recently reported that Vietnam adopted the Hague Convention and that the country plans to out new adoption laws in place in…. While this is a positive step, the editors at VVAI would like to caution prospective adoptive […]
Vietnam adopted Hague, does it mean US and Vietnam have an agreement? Is it possible to have independent adoption at this point?