Agenda Item 3: Interactive Dialogue

- Special Rapporteur on Privacy and on Sale of Children

Mr. President,

We welcome the timely and important report by the Special Rapporteur on surrogacy and the sale of children.

Commercial international surrogacy arrangements is a concern for EAFORD and Geneva International Centre for Justice as such activities and practices strips vulnerable children of their rights and puts them at risks by way of taking advantage of unequal capitalistic economic and social systems and further perpetuates them. Moreover, it encourages the exploitation of children as well as surrogate mothers living in poverty.

We are also deeply concerned that commercial international surrogacy arrangements mainly involves deals from persons of high-income countries who buy surrogate mothers from low-income countries. Furthermore, most high-income countries have banned several forms of surrogacy while most low-income countries allow such arrangements. It is clear that this practice of surrogacy goes against the SDGs and other international norms as it impedes human rights of women and children and their development, and worse still attempts to commodify children. Moreover, as noted in several reports, commercial surrogacy systems, and specifically unregulated surrogacy, involves various forms of abusive acts and illegal activities.

Mr. President,

Commercial international surrogacy must be viewed as an interrelated issue as root causes stem from the lack of proper and equal economic opportunities. Thus economic development, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women must be addressed in order to find adequate solutions to prevent exploitation and the illegal adoption and sale of children via international commercial surrogacy.

In conclusion, we urge the Council to seriously address root causes and inequalities and approach the sale of children from the perspective of the child.

Thank you,