International or international adoption (ICA), involves the transfer of children for parental purposes from one country, “the sending country” (usually a developing country in the South ) towards another, “the country of origin”. "receiving country" (usually a developed northern nation), where adoptive parents and children meet across different lines involving not only biological class, but also socioeconomic class, race, ethnic culture, and Nationality. It has become a complex phenomenon, closely linked to the social, economic and political factors that influence families in the societies in which it is practiced. The nature of ICA has become unclear and difficult to define when two points of view become contradictory: some see ICA as a “beautiful act of compassion” while others see it as a “form of child trafficking” . The ICA has become a global market where the demand for healthy children from developed countries has created many opportunities for profit makers in poor and developing countries. Paying high adoption fees and "donations" to orphanages, adoption agencies and government officials is seen as an incitement to widespread abuse and a motivation to ensure a constant supply of children, through vicious practices such as kidnapping, theft, trafficking and buying children, particularly in disadvantaged countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa. The introduction of the Hague Convention in 1993, to ensure that ICAs take place in the best interests of the child and protect children's human rights, led to a decline in the number of adoptions and saw many countries impose severe new restrictions. However, stories of child abuse and trafficking continue to come to light, particularly in countries that are not signatories...... middle of newspaper...... parents who left their Children in these so-called "day care institutions", hoping to bring the child home some time later, would discover to their astonishment that the child had been adopted abroad. Once corrupt officials and individuals discovered that the ICA could make a profit, they began to “find” the healthy infants and young children that Westerners most wanted to adopt (Schuster Institute, 2008). The Convention on the Rights of the Child, states that every child has the right to know and be raised by their own parents, which is ratified by UNICEF and other partners. Alternative means of caring for a child should only be considered when the child's family cannot be located or the family is unable or unwilling to care for the child. Under international law, adoption in the child's country of birth is clearly preferred to ICA..