Child slavery cases prompt move on intercountry adoption laws
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123RF
Fears over child slavery and abuse have prompted the government to make a move on intercountry adoption laws.
Briefings to ministers show they have been warned of a 'myriad of risks' to children, involving physical and sexual abuse and domestic servitude, as recently as three months ago.
Oranga Tamariki said in a January briefing that despite regular warnings about intercountry adoptions in the last seven years there 'remains no strategic response'.
The government says it is now prioritising work on intercountry adoption, including legislative change before the election. Oranga Tamariki (OT) said it was also working to share information with Samoa on New Zealand-resident parents who are applying to adopt.
RNZ has
reported
on
cases
where adopted children were beaten, sexually abused, lived as servants at home and had their wages removed once they started paid work.
Some had been adopted despite their new parents having
previous criminal convictions
.
Children become citizens by descent if they are under 14 when adopted, or can come to New Zealand on a dependent child resident visa if they are under 25.
In a briefing to children's minister Karen Chhour, Oranga Tamariki said it had concerns about the 'safety, rights and wellbeing' of children being adopted from overseas, and had been warned about one new urgent case by Internal Affairs (DIA).
"The Citizenship Act 1977 does not require the adoptive parent to provide evidence to DIA that the adoption was in the best interest of the children, or that the adoptive parents were assessed as being suitable to adopt," said the briefing.
"This case presents a challenging situation for the New Zealand government. Despite concerns raised with the government in briefing papers in 2018, 2019 and 2024 about the risks that section 17 poses, adoption law reform has been paused.
"There remains no strategic response to the risks that have been previously identified in the movement of overseas born children across international borders via an adoption recognised by the New Zealand Adoption Act. This is not an isolated case of Section 17 being used as a mechanism to move overseas-born children."
The details of the case were redacted. Elsewhere, OT officials said some adoptive families were claiming to be related to the birth mother but "DNA evidence is not required to prove any claims made by adoptive parents that they have a familial link to the children they have adopted."
While many children and adoptive families have to undergo assessments, reports and home visits involving Oranga Tamariki and the Family Court under the Hague Convention, a different adoption pathway - section 17 - is open in New Zealand to those being adopted from countries which are not signatories to that international convention. It allows them to be customarily adopted or adopted via a court process in their home country, but does not mandate checks on the New Zealand family by child welfare officials.
"Section 17 in its current form compromises the New Zealand government's ability to uphold its responsibilities to the conventions we have ratified, and presents a myriad of risks, as highlighted by the case at hand," the minister was told.
A February briefing reiterates the concerns. "There is a body of anecdotal evidence demonstrating that section 17 of the Act lacks adequate safeguards for children who were adopted in overseas courts with compatible legislation and are moved from their country of origin to live with New Zealand citizens or permanent residents.
"Section 17 is an unchecked adoption pathway, as there may be no requirement for the overseas court to seek independent information on whether the adoption will serve the best interests and rights of the children, or whether the adoptive applicants are suitable to adopt."
The law was "deficient at preventing serious and preventable harm to occur to children, young people and families using New Zealand adoption processes".
"Children who are being adopted into harmful environments in New Zealand continue to be reported to Orange Tamarack in the absence of New Zealand adoption law reform."
World Vision New Zealand's head of advocacy Rebekah Armstrong said adoptions should be halted from the Pacific countries where "repeated breaches are coming from first and foremost".
She welcomed news that adoption law reform was being prioritised, as a "long-overdue step". "However, it's incredibly important that such reforms are developed within a coherent policy framework and not in isolation. In particular, alignment with New Zealand's trafficking in persons and modern slavery legislation is essential.
"Currently, our legal definition of child trafficking is out of step with international standards as it requires proof of deception or coercion - even in cases involving children. This is a major flaw and we have been subject to major international criticism regarding this for years now.
"There are definitely some red flags in the cases we are hearing about in New Zealand. Adoption becomes trafficking when it involves exploitative purposes - such as forced labour, sexual abuse - or when illicit practices are used, including the falsification of documents, misleading biological parents, or offering or receiving improper payments.
"Even when adoptive intentions seem benevolent, the use of unlawful means or the circumvention of legal processes, especially in unregulated or cross-border contexts, can constitute trafficking. To prevent such abuse, adoptions must be transparent, legally compliant, and always prioritise the child's best interests, following safeguards like those outlined in the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption."
Reform of the Adoption Act, and trafficking provisions under the Crimes Act, had taken too long, she said.
"What is it going to take for the New Zealand government to take this seriously? What I'm scared of is that if we don't urgently act and strengthen these frameworks, which are incredibly weak, we could end up having a terrible catastrophe that results in the loss of life. Slavery is one of the worst offences in the history of mankind. The fact that there are potentially slavery cases now, that's catastrophe enough to me.
"We can't be allowing the potential trafficking of children because we've got loopholes in our law."
Adoption researcher Dr Barbara Sumner said intercountry adoptions should be halted. "We shouldn't be importing children," she said. "We have countries like Sweden beginning to put an end to the intercountry adoptions because of illicit practices. We know internationally that children in non-biological families suffer, are at greater risk of negative experiences. But we have no figures for that in New Zealand at all."
Oranga Tamariki's reporting to Hague Convention monitors had gaps and inconsistencies that did not accurately reflect the adoption situation in New Zealand, she said. There was no way to set the record straight with Hague authorities, who only referred them back to OT.
"They are absolutely hiding [information]. Or maybe it's not as extreme as that, that they're just rewriting what adoption is to meet what the general public believes it is, sanitising it. I think they're avoiding critical analysis of systemic exploitation in in the country of adoption for sure. They frame poverty as justification and ignore inequalities and coercion in the sending countries. These are pretty basic understandings.
"Just the fact that they can say that law reform is underway (in 2024) when it is indefinitely delayed, just simple things like that. They know where they're at with it, but they don't tell the truth in it. It presents stalled reform as active progress, for instance. And that there's support [available] when there isn't."
Immigration lawyer Richard Small said while social worker reports should be completed on families, closing the category in full would hurt genuine adoptions.
Oranga Tamariki refused an interview request but international child protection unit manager Sharyn Titchener said in a written statement it was committed to advocating for the right safeguards in a complex area.
"Government agencies in New Zealand and Samoa have recognised the urgent need to address the absence of safeguards for adopted children," she said.
"We currently have representatives on a government cross-agency group from New Zealand working in partnership with key agencies in Samoa to ensure adoptions are in the best interests of the children involved.
"The agencies are working towards an information sharing arrangement which would allow the courts in Samoa to request information New Zealand holds about prospective adoptive parents, such as criminal histories."
Chhour's office said she could not comment, as adoptions fall under the responsibility of associate justice minister Nicole McCoy, who also declined an interview.
"Several of your questions fall within the remit of other agencies, and I am currently awaiting their advice, which will be considered and discussed with Cabinet colleagues before any public comment can be made," she said in a written statement.
"Work on adoption law reform was slowed down in 2023 and paused later that year by the previous government. Given the pressing need for targeted reform relating to international adoption legislation, I have prioritised this work and intend to make legislative change this parliamentary term.
"I have asked officials to provide advice on short-term options while we progress more comprehensive legislative reform."
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