A/HRC/43/40/Add.1 A. Sale of children 1. Sale of babies 12. The sale of babies abroad has become commonplace among some Roma communities. The phenomenon is highly underreported, however, owing to the difficulty in gathering evidence and victim testimony for subsequent prosecution and ensuing lenient or suspended sentences. According to the data from the National Commission for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, the number of trafficked pregnant women, often young adults aged between 18 and 19 years, who are lured into giving birth and selling their babies abroad has decreased from 97 cases in 2017 to 64 in 2018. Over the past five years, 16 people have been sentenced for trafficking in babies in Burgas Province. Varna, Aytos, Karnobat, Sliven and Kazanlak have also reported cases of sale of newborns. Cases of trafficking to Greece, which frequently end up as illegal adoption, are reportedly difficult to investigate because of a lack of systematic cooperation between the two countries. 13. During her subsequent visit, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, was also alarmed to hear about this phenomenon. Desperation, lack of economic opportunities and marginalization are reported to be the main reasons for this new form of trafficking.6 2. Sale in the context of adoption 14. Although Bulgaria ratified the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption (1993) in 2002 and has made significant efforts to counter illegal adoption, illegal practices persist, especially in intercountry adoption. Anecdotal evidence suggests that babies born mainly to young single mothers are sometimes offered to families willing to adopt. The husband of the future adoptive mother recognizes the child as his own within seven days of the birth so that his name appears along with that of the birth mother on the child’s birth certificate. Later, the birth mother gives consent for the adoption of the child, and the adoptive mother adopts the child. This practice circumvents the adoption procedure and is manifestly against the best interests of children. The child is commodified: the birth mother receives payment (medical doctors reportedly act as intermediaries) and families choose their child. The child’s right to know his or her origin is compromised and other rights might be infringed. The existence of such a practice is also indicated in judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. 7 According to the Social Assistance Agency, each suspicious case is examined to determine whether the recognition of the child was carried out with the aim of circumventing adoption legislation or dragging the child into trafficking or exploitation, or whether it has involved a financial consideration. The Special Rapporteur was told, however, that such examination is neither consistent nor monitored. 3. Child marriage 15. The practice of bride sales and child marriage of girls as young as 12 or 13 years old is widespread among some Roma communities despite being illegal. In most instances, parents marry their children early to protect their honour and prevent early pregnancy and bride kidnapping. In some instances, child marriages are reportedly a cover-up to acquire the child for various forms of exploitation, including sexual exploitation by the inner circle of trust, forced labour, pickpocketing and begging. According to the National Statistical Institute, there were 618 marriages of girls under the age of 18 years in 2017 and 481 in 2015, with the highest numbers registered in Plovdiv and Burgas. 16. The Special Rapporteur was told that complaints of child marriages or forced marriages, when lodged, rarely led to criminal proceedings. As of July 2016, 68 sentences 6 7 4 Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), “Bulgaria: UN expert concerned about pushbacks on women’s rights and misinterpretation of the term ‘gender’ that stopped the ratification of the Istanbul Convention”, 21 October 2019. European Court of Human Rights, Case of L.D. and P.K. v. Bulgaria, Applications No. 7949/11 and No. 45522/13, Judgment, 8 December 2016.