habitual residence, reinforcing provisions of the 1980 Hague Convention (see below). There are also provisions on cooperation procedures to better protect unaccompanied minors who cross borders and are in vulnerable situations and children placed in alternative care across frontiers. The latter includes arrangements such as foster care and the Islamic law institution of Kafala, a functional equivalent of adoption falling outside the scope of the 1993 Intercountry Adoption Convention (see below).
Hague Convention on Jurisdiction, etc., Relating to Adoptions 1965
The Hague Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law and Recognition of Decrees Relating to Adoptions (1965 Convention), the first Hague Convention on the issue, apparently has no contracting parties at present. The Convention is applicable “to all international adoptions, not only where a child originated from another country but also to adoptions where the only international aspect is the foreign nationality of the child.” It has been characterized as incorporating four important provisions. The authorities are not to grant an adoption “unless it will be in the interest of the child.” Before granting an adoption, the authorities should conduct “a thorough inquiry” relating to the adopter(s), the child, and the child’s family. The inquiry should be carried out “as far as possible … in cooperation with public or private organizations qualified in the field of inter-country adoptions” and with the help of specially trained or qualified social workers (article 6). Furthermore, the national law of the child is to be applied in decisions pertaining to consent and consultation issues, rather than that of the adopter, family, or spouse (article 5, paragraph 1). The 1965 Convention also allows States Parties to make a declaration at the time of signature, ratification, or accession but revocable at any time, specifying provisions of domestic law prohibiting adoptions founded upon certain specified grounds, e.g., the existence of a previous adoption of the child or the age of the adopter and that of the child (article 13).
European Convention on the Adoption of Children 1967
The European Convention on the Adoption of Children (ECAC) applies to the legal adoption of children under the age of eighteen, not currently or previously married, and not deemed in law to have come of age earlier (article 3). Its provisions are only minimum standards; States Parties may adopt provisions more favorable to the adopted child (article 16). The ECAC ensures that national child protection laws apply not only to adoptions of children from the States Parties, but also to those of children from other States. The essential provisions are on adoption practices that each Party should undertake to incorporate in national legislation. Under them, adoption must be granted by a judicial or administrative authority in order to be valid (article 7) and the competent authority should not grant an adoption unless it “will be in the interest of the child” (article 8(1)). The authority is to make appropriate inquiries into such matters as the child’s views with respect to the adoption and the mutual suitability of the child and the adopter (article 9). After the adoption, the child should generally be able to acquire the adopter’s surname and be treated as having rights of succession (article 10 (3) and (5)). States Parties should prohibit any improper financial advantage arising from a child being given up for adoption (article 15). Four supplementary provisions, requiring only the States’ Parties’ consideration, stipulate, inter alia, that provision be made to enable adoption to be completed without the adopter’s identity being disclosed to the child’s family (article 20(1)) and to require or permit adoption proceedings to take place in camera (article 20(2)). Children are not accorded the right to know the identity of their former parents.
Inter-American Convention on Conflict of Laws Concerning the Adoption of Minors 1984 
The Inter-American Convention on Conflict of Laws Concerning the Adoption of M