§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the suspension of adoption arrangements with Cambodia. [188387]
§ Margaret HodgeI made a statement to the House on 22 June 2004 announcing my decision to temporarily suspend the adoption of Cambodian children by UK residents. A copy of my statement has been placed in the House of Commons Library for information.
The temporary suspension was introduced in response to concerns raised by and investigated by officials from the Department for Education and Skills who visited Cambodia, by the British Embassy in Cambodia and, separately, by other relevant stakeholders about the intercountry adoption process in Cambodia.
As explained in my statement, I believe that the safeguards in the Cambodian adoption system are insufficient to prevent children being adopted without proper consents being given by their birth parents and improper financial gain being made by individuals involved in the adoption process.
As stated, I intend to review the temporary suspension when the Cambodian Government passes new adoption legislation or if there is another development I consider to be significant, for example if Cambodia were to implement the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in respect of Intercountry Adoption.
Only in exceptional circumstances will I consider that the temporary suspension should not apply in a particular case. Any decision relating to a particular case will of course take account of what is in the best interests of the child and all the facts of the particular case.