42 U.S.C. § 14901 — Findings and purposes

(a) Findings Congress recognizes— (1) the international character of the Convention^* on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (done at The Hague on May 29, 1993 ); and (2) the need for uniform interpretation and implementation of the Convention in the United States and abroad, and therefore finds that enactment of a Federal law governing adoptions and prospective adoptions subject to the Convention involving United States residents is essential. (b) Purposes The purposes of this chapter are— (1) to provide for implementation by the United States of the Convention; (2) to protect the rights of, and prevent abuses against, children, birth families, and adoptive parents involved in adoptions (or prospective adoptions) subject to the Convention, and to ensure that that adoptions are in the children’s best interests; and (3) to improve the ability of the United States Government to assist United States citizens seeking to adopt children from abroad and residents of other countries party to the Convention seeking to adopt children from the United States.