- 97 - The travaux préparatoires of the Protocol of Palermo reveal that, according to those drafting the text, illegal adoption could be included within the scope of application of this protocol and constituted a form of trafficking in people “[w]here illegal adoption amounts to a practice similar to slavery” defined as “[a]ny institution or practice whereby a child or young person under the age of 18 years, is delivered by either or both of his natural parents or by his guardian to another person, whether for reward or not, with a view to the exploitation of the child or young person or of his labour.” Cf. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Travaux préparatoires of the negotiations for the elaboration of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols thereto, 2008. p. 366; Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, entered into force on April 30, 1957, art. 1(d). Expert witness Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, explained that, in addition, illegal adoption meets the requirement of “for the purpose of exploitation” of the crime of trafficking, even when it does not equate a practice such as slavery, because obtaining children unlawfully for the purpose of adoption constitutes exploitation “of a child’s inherent nature, vulnerability and developmental needs,” since the child’s capacity and need for love and connection are exploited as part of an unlawful process that obliges the child to develop emotional ties with strangers instead of with the child’s original parents and family. Cf. Expert opinion of Maud de Boer-Buquicchio provided by affidavit on April 28, 2017 (evidence file, folio 6998), and also Expert opinion of Nigel Cantwell provided by affidavit on May 5, 2017 (evidence file, folio 6954). Furthermore, on the subject of the sale of children, various international reports and instruments have made specific reference to its relationship to illegal adoptions. The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography establishes the obligation of States to establish criminal sanctions for “Improperly inducing consent, as an intermediary, for the adoption of a child in violation of applicable international legal instruments on adoption.” Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, entered into force on January 18, 2002, UN Doc. A/RES/54/263, art. 3.1.a(ii). Also, the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography has indicated that “[t]he sale of children for adoption also continues to be a serious problem, as it is reported that foreign adoptive parents are willing to pay from US$20,000 to $40,000 in adoption fees and costs to adopt a healthy baby.” Report on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography prepared by of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights in accordance with General Assembly Resolution 51/77, October 16, 1997, UN Doc. A/52/482, para. 30. 511 512 Expert opinion of Nigel Cantwell provided by affidavit on May 5, 2017 (evidence file, folio 6953). Cf. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, Ms. Ofelia Calcetas Santos, January 29, 1999, UN Doc. E/CN.4/1999/71, para. 54. It has also been noted that “[t]he Internet has led to the expansion of the sale and trafficking of children for the purposes of illegal adoption, partly because it allows the creation of websites which offer children as commodities across borders.” Report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, December 22, 2014, UN Doc. A/HRC/28/56, para. 35. 513 Cf. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, Najat Maalla M’jid, August 2, 2011, UN Doc. A/66/228, para. 24.b (evidence file, folio 5395). Similarly, the Handbook for Parliamentarians No. 9, published by UNICEF and the Inter-Parliamentary Union, underlines that “[c]hildren are trafficked into a range of exploitative practices that include: illicit adoption.” UNICEF and Inter-Parliamentary Union, Handbook for Parliamentarians No. 9: Combating Child Trafficking, 2005, pp. 13 and 14. 514 Report of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, December 22, 2004, UN Doc. E/CN.4/2005/71, p. 1 (evidence file, folio 2709). 515 Cf. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Manual sobre la investigación del delito de trata de personas – Guía de Autoaprendizaje, 2009, p. 36 (evidence file, folio 2431). 516