Minister Andrews Reports Progress on Bilateral Adoption Agreement Talks in Hanoi

Posted on 06/07/09 by Barry Andrews Minister Andrews has reported progress during recent discussions on a bilateral agreement on intercountry adoption on his return from Vietnam.

Minister of State for Children and Youth Affairs, Mr Barry Andrews TD, met with the Minister for Justice of Vietnam, Mr Ha Hung Cuong, on 30 June 2009 to discuss international adoption issues. There were subsequent follow up discussions on these issues with Standing Vice-Minister at the Ministry of Justice, Mr. Hoang The Lien, and, on 3 July with the newly appointed Director of the Department of Adoptions of the Ministry of Justice, Mr Nguyen Van Binh and his deputy. There were also a number of informal meetings.

During the discussions, careful consideration was given to possible interim arrangements for intercountry adoptions between the two countries. The Vietnamese side clarified that their legal requirements were such that this was not considered an appropriate option. Therefore, it was proposed to continue the focus on a new bilateral agreement.

Work on the draft text of the new bilateral agreement, previously circulated in March and discussed in April, continued during the week. Good progress was made and during the course of the discussions a clear path towards resolution on outstanding issues was identified. It was also agreed that further face-to-face discussions to finalise these issues would take place in August.

Adoptive parents will want to know if and when adoptions between Ireland and Vietnam will resume. However, it is not possible to be definitive on this as a number of processes on both sides are required before a new agreement can be brought into force. Both parties are clearly committed to prioritising the work and agreeing a new bilateral adoption agreement as quickly as possible.

The talks also provided the opportunity for each side to reiterate their mutual commitment to the rights and welfare of children and to update one another on the significant legal developments in each jurisdiction.

It was agreed that the recently expired bilateral adoption agreement between Ireland and Vietnam had worked well and the Governments of both countries remained committed to building on this exceptionally positive collaboration. Minister Cuong and Minister Andrews noted that the expiry of the bilateral agreement was due to the changing legal framework on adoption in both countries. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam intends to accede to the Hague Convention on Inter-Country Adoption in early 2010, and to adopt a new law on children and adoption later in 2010. Ireland will enact new legislation on adoption, including inter-country adoption, in 2009 and will accede to the Hague Convention in early 2010.