Two members of the Child Identity Protection (CHIP) team conclude a project of technical assistance to Paraguay on behalf of the Hague Conference on Private International Law

Two members of the Child Identity Protection (CHIP) team, Christina Baglietto and Cécile Jeannin, together with one of CHIP’s Special Advisers, Eda Aguilar Samanamud, recently concluded a technical assistance project for Paraguay, which was carried out in two stages over a period of seven months. The objective of this consultancy, carried out on behalf of the HCCH and funded by the Norwegian Government, was to support and strengthen the capacity of the Central Authority in charge of adoptions in Paraguay, both at the level of its governing board and its technical team, in order to strengthen its national adoption system, a key condition to be able to honour the principles promoted by the 1993 Convention on Intercountry Adoption.

Throughout this consultancy, the issue of the child’s right to identity was addressed at various stages of the adoption process: verification of the integrity of the information on the child’s identity during the examination of his or her adoptability, reinforcement of measures preventing unjustified severance of the child’s family relations, registration of changes in the child’s identity once the adoption has been granted (new parentage) and finally, preservation of and access to the child’s origins. Professional members of the technical team have already mentioned changes in the treatment of cases since the beginning of the consultancy. CHIP welcomes the commitment and groundwork undertaken by the Adoption Central Authority of Paraguay which, despite the remaining challenges, are a major step forward towards a better respect for the identity rights of Paraguayan children in adoption.