By John Voyle HodgeJohn Hodge graduated from Albany Law School cum laude in 2012 with a concentration in Intellectual Property and completed his undergraduate studies at Nebraska Wesleyan University majoring in Chemistry and minoring in Biology and Physics. While at Albany Law he interned as a Law Clerk for the New York State Bar Association, and held the positions of Lead Articles Editor for the Albany Law Journal of Science and Technology, Treasurer of the Intellectual Property Society, and Vice President of the Softball Club.
This paper was prepared for Prof. Alexandra Harrington's course in International Child Rights, Spring 2012.
A common thread connecting much of international human rights law is the protection of those who cannot protect themselves. Among those most in need of protection are children.
International agreements, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-Operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, address the fact that children cannot protect themselves and that a child’s best chance for productive development is to be part of strong family unit. In other words, children who are orphaned or otherwise uncared for are at a significant disadvantage.
The need to increase placement of these children into stable family homes is self-evident.This paper addresses the international problem of helpless children left homeless.
The paper argues that the international community should encourage increased adoption as a positive solution for the many children who are otherwise without a family environment. This paper also addresses the need to openly allow same-sex couples the right to participate in the international adoption process as part of the effort to increase the number of children being placed in family environments.
_____________________________
To read the paper, open HERE.
