Declaration on Social and Legal Principles concerning the Protection and Well-being of Children, especially in foster care and adoption at the national and international levels
UN General Assembly Resolution No. 41/85 of December 3, 1986
The General Assembly, recalling its resolutions 36/167 of 16 December 1981, 37/115 of 16 December 1982, 38/142 of 19 December 1983 and 39/89 of 13 December 1984 and its decision 40/422 of 11 December 1985, taking note of the draft declaration on social and legal principles relating to the protection and well-being of children, especially with regard to foster care and adoption at the national and international levels, as represented by the Economic and Social Council in its resolution 1979/28 of 9 May 1979, noting with appreciation the work of, The work done on this issue in the Third and Sixth Committees, as well as the efforts made by Member States representing various legal systems during the consultations held at Headquarters on 16-27 September 1985 and at the beginning of the forty-first session, with a view to joining the common effort to finalize the draft declaration, adopts the Declaration on Social and legal principles related to the protection and well-being of children, especially in the case of foster care and adoption at the national and international levels, The text of which is set out in the annex to the present resolution.
95th plenary meeting, December 3, 1986
Application
Declaration on Social and Legal Principles concerning the Protection and Well-being of Children, especially in foster care and adoption at the national and international levels
The General Assembly, recalling the Universal Declaration of Human Rights*(52), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights*(53), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights*(53), the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination*(54) and The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women* (55), recalling also the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, which it proclaimed in its resolution 1386 (XIV) of 20 November 1959, reaffirming principle 6 of that Declaration, which provides that the child should, whenever possible, grow up in the care and responsibility of their parents and, in any case, in an atmosphere of love and moral and material security, being concerned about the large number of children abandoned by their parents or orphaned as a result of violence, internal unrest, armed conflicts, natural disasters, economic crises or social problems, given that in all procedures for the transfer of children to foster care or their adoption, the best interests of the child are of paramount importance, recognizing, that there are various socially useful alternative institutions in the main legal systems of the world, such as kafala in Muslim law, which provide for the replacement of family care for those children who cannot be cared for by their own parents, further recognizing that only in cases where a particular institution is recognized and regulated in the internal law of the State the provisions of this Declaration concerning this institution will apply, and that these provisions will in no way affect existing alternative institutions in other legal systems, aware of the need to proclaim universal principles that should be taken into account when procedures are established for the transfer of a child to foster care or adoption at the national or international levels, bearing in mind, however, that the principles set out below do not impose States have obligations to establish legal institutions such as foster care or adoption, proclaims the following principles: General welfare of the family and the child (Articles 1-9) C. Transfer of children to foster care (Articles 10-12) C. Adoption (articles 13-24)
A. The general well-being of the family and the childstatistics 1
Every State should give priority attention to the well-being of the family and the child.
Article 2
The well-being of a child depends on the well-being of the family.
Article 3
The child's care lies primarily with his own parents.
Article 4
If parents do not take care of their child or it is inappropriate, then consideration should be given to taking care of him by relatives of the child's parents, transferring the child to another family for upbringing or adoption, or, if necessary, placing the child in a special institution.
Article 5
When considering all issues related to the transfer of a child to care other than his own parents, the main consideration should be the best interests of the child, and in particular his need for love and the right to security and constant care.
Article 6
Persons responsible for the procedures for the transfer of children to foster care or adoption must have professional or other appropriate training.
Article 7
Governments should assess the effectiveness of national child-care services and consider appropriate measures.
Article 8
The child must always have a name, nationality and legal representative. A child should not be deprived of his name, citizenship, or legal representative as a result of foster care, adoption, or any other alternative treatment, unless he receives a new name, citizenship, or legal representative.
Article 9
Those responsible for the care of a child should recognize the desire of the foster or adopted child to know about his or her parentage, unless this is contrary to the best interests of the child.
B. Transfer of children to foster care 10
The transfer of children to foster care should be regulated by law.
Article 11
The upbringing of a child in another family, although temporary in nature, may continue, if necessary, until the child reaches the age of majority, but it should not exclude the possibility of the child's return to his own parents or his adoption before the age of majority.
Article 12
Future foster parents and, if possible, the child and his own parents should take appropriate part in resolving all issues regarding the transfer of a child to another family. The competent authorities or institutions should be responsible for monitoring the child's well-being.
C. Adoption status 13
The main purpose of adoption is to provide a permanent family for a child who cannot be cared for by his parents.
Article 14
When considering a possible choice for adoption, those responsible for the adoption of a child should choose the most suitable conditions for the child.
Article 15
The child's parents, future foster parents and, depending on the circumstances, the child himself should be given sufficient time and appropriate consultations to resolve the issue of the child's future as soon as possible.
Article 16
Institutions or guardianship services must ensure the relationship between the adopted child and the future adoptive parents before their adoption. Legislation should ensure that the child is recognized as a legitimate member of the foster family and enjoys all the rights that follow from this.
Article 17
If it is not possible to transfer a child to another family for upbringing or adoption, or to provide proper care for him in the country of origin, adoption abroad may be considered as an alternative solution to the issue of providing a child with a family.
Article 18
Governments should establish policies, legislation, and effective controls to protect the interests of children adopted abroad. Adoption abroad should, if possible, be carried out only if such measures have been developed in the relevant States.
Article 19
Policies should be established and laws should be passed, where necessary, to prohibit the abduction of children and any other activities aimed at their illegal transfer.
Article 20
Adoption abroad should, as a rule, be carried out through competent authorities or institutions with the application of guarantees and standards similar to those applicable to adoption in the country of origin. In no case should the adoption lead to unjustified financial benefits for the parties involved in the adoption.
Article 21
When adopting abroad through persons acting as representatives of future adoptive parents, special attention should be paid to the issue of protecting the legal and social interests of the child.
Article 22
The issue of adoption abroad can be considered only after it has been established that there are no legal obstacles to the adoption of a child and that the relevant documents necessary to complete the adoption procedure, such as the consent of the competent authorities, have been submitted. It is also necessary to establish that the child will be able to move to the country of the future adoptive parents and will be able to obtain their citizenship.
Article 23
When adopting abroad, each of the participating countries must, as a rule, ensure the legal force of this adoption.
Article 24
In cases where the nationality of the child is different from that of the future adoptive parents, it is necessary to fully take into account both the legislation of the State of which the child is a citizen and the legislation of the State of which the future adoptive parents are citizens. In this regard, due consideration should be given to the cultural and religious upbringing and interests of the child. ______________________________ *(52) Resolution 217A (III). *(53) See resolution 2200A (XXI), annex. *(54) Resolution 2106A (XX), annex. *(55) Resolution 34/180, annex.
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