Illegal adoption as child trafficking: The potencial of the EU Anti-trafficking Directive in protectign children and their original family from abusive intrcountry adoption.

MA Thesis in European Studies – Graduate School for Humanities – University of Amsterdam 

 

Intercountry adoption (ICA) involves the transfer of a child from his or her country of origin to another country for adoption. It is perceived as a solution to provide a child, deprived from a family in the country of origin, with a family in another country. Conversely, ICA offers the opportunity for people who are unintentionally childless to fulfil their desire to found a family. From this perspective, it seems a good solution to both problems. However, at present some scholars note that ICA is driven by the desire of prospective adoptive parents instead of the best interest of the child, as the demand for children exceeds the availability. Then, it is argued that when the demand for children exceeds supply, the likelihood of illegal activity increases.