GLOBALISATION AND INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION FROM CHINA

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GLOBALISATION AND INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION FROM
CHINA

• Professor Monica Dowling
• The Open University

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Globalisation

• Globalisation is not only or even primarily
  about economic interdependence, but about the
  transformation of time and space in our lives.
  Distant events whether economic or not, affect us
  more directly and immediately than ever before.
  Conversely, decisions we take as individuals are
  often global in their implications.
  
  (Giddens, 1998 p.31)

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GLOBALISATION

• Closer links between different countries
  particularly in relation to culture
• Worldwide communication through media and
  electronic systems, travel, migration, and
  improved transportation

• Organisations that transcend national boundaries
  and support or replace national government
  organisations
• Economic growth frequently accompanied by
  widening economic equalities
• (George and Wilding 2002)

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Attitudes to International Adoption

• Abolitionists
• Pragmatists
• Promoters

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International Adoption from China

• 1991 less than 100 international adoptions
• 2001 7725, 2005 14493, 2006 10,743
  international adoptions
• Adoption ratio per 1000 live births China 0.85,
  Russia 4.9, Guatemala 8.8, India 0.03
• Total number of births in China per year
  17million (2008 UNICEF)

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Impact of Globalisation on International Adoption
from China

• Media focus on Chinas abandoned children and the
  state orphanages
• Poverty and unemployment among migrant workers,
  no welfare cover, fewer institutions that do not
  require payment (leading to abandonment)
• China and the UK more information and knowledge
  about international adoption - internet

• Some Chinese families now wealthy enough to
  ignore fines for additional children
• Women no longer employed in state owned
  enterprises or employed in new factories poor
  conditions
• Glamorisation of West adoption seen as
  opportunity for Chinese children

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Impact of Globalisation on International Adoption
from China

• Hague Convention on the Protection of Children
  and Co-operation in respect of Inter-country
  Adoption (1993) as contained in the Convention on
  the rights of the Child (1989) includes
• Ensuring that adoption is authorised only by
  recognised authorities
• No one shall derive improper financial gain from
  an activity related to inter-country adoption

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50 years ago

• NO UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
• NO Hague Convention
• NO International Adoption with worldwide
  regulation

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TODAY The principle of subsidiarity is central
to the controversy surrounding international
adoption

States should guarantee permanency planning in
the shortest possible time for each child
deprived of his/her parents. Policies should work
to promote family preservation and national
solutions, rather than to hinder inter-country
adoption.
The Hague Conference on Private International Law
2008
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Globalisation and the Future

• International and National Adoption -
  Organisations need to adapt their regulatory
  functions to fit a globalised world.

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Future Research Initiatives

• The strategic and political importance of welfare
  in developed and developing countries
• Global regulation for international welfare
  problems
• A Guide to Best Practice in relation to
  International Adoption for all Nation States
  accessible online

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How will research benefit the child not yet born?