[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 41 (Monday, October 16, 2000)]
[Pages 2355-2356]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Signing the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000

October 6, 2000

    Today I have signed into law H.R. 2909, the ``Intercountry Adoption 
Act of 2000.'' This Act will implement the Hague Convention on 
Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry 
Adoption. I am pleased that the Senate gave its advice and consent to 
ratification of the Convention on September 20, 2000.
    The United States and 65 other countries came together to negotiate 
the Convention in response to abuses in the intercountry adoption 
process, including illegal child trafficking. By setting uniform 
standards, the Convention better protects the rights and interests of 
children, birth parents, and adoptive parents involved in intercountry 
adoption.
    In its preamble, the Convention recognizes that children should grow 
up in a family environment and that properly safeguarded intercountry 
adoption offers the advantage of a permanent family to children who 
cannot readily be placed with a suitable family in

[[Page 2356]]

their country of origin. The United States actively participated in the 
preparation and negotiation of this Convention, with the guidance and 
participation of representatives of U.S. adoption and family law 
interests. Since the United States signed the Convention in 1994, 
several ratifying countries have expressed the view that they would 
prefer that their children emigrate only to countries that have agreed 
to comply with the Hague Convention's safeguards and procedures. As a 
result, the U.S. adoption community has supported U.S. implementing 
legislation. This bill will ensure the full and uniform implementation 
of the Convention throughout the United States.
    Adoption is an emotional event. With the complexities of 
international law and procedures, these cases are often overwhelming for 
the families involved. The Hague Convention and the implementing 
legislation will provide protections for children and parents engaged in 
intercountry adoption and will help ensure a standard of service that 
all families deserve.
                                            William J. Clinton
 The White House,
 October 6, 2000.

Note: H.R. 2909, approved October 6, was assigned Public Law No. 106-
279. This item was not received in time for publication in the 
appropriate issue.