HCCH collaborated with Paraguayan authorities to improve their adoption system
Paraguayan authorities continue their political will to align their child protection system to international standards, including with support from the HCCH. To this end, experts from Child Identity Protection were working as independent consultants for the HCCH to provide technical assistance to the Paraguayan Central Adoption Authorities, to discuss opportunities with them on how to improve their understanding, capacity and practices, in particular in relation to the Convention of 29 May 1993 on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. It is already promising and innovative that the 2020 law on alternative care and adoption in Paraguay has a specific provision on promoting cultural continuity in both national and intercounty adoption, important for compliance with article 20(3) CRC and upholding the child’s right to identity which states “such care could include, inter alia, foster placement, kafalah of Islamic law, adoption or if necessary placement in suitable institutions for the care of children. When considering solutions, due regard shall be paid to the desirability of continuity in a child’s upbringing and to the child’s ethnic, religious, cultural and linguistic background.” (See Ley n°6486 de promoción y protección del derecho del niños, niñas y adolescentes de vivir en familia que regula las medidas de cuidados alternativos y adopción, Art.55).
