Article 20
1. States shall prevent and suppress the abduction of children of
parents subjected to enforced disappearance and of children born during
their mother’s enforced disappearance, and shall devote their efforts to
the search for and identification of such children and to the restitution of
the children to their families of origin.
2. Considering the need to protect the best interests of children
referred to in the preceding paragraph, there shall be an opportunity, in
States which recognize a system of adoption, for a review of the adoption
of such children and, in particular, for annulment of any adoption which
originated in enforced disappearance. Such adoption should, however,
continue to be in force if consent is given, at the time of the review, by the
child’s closest relatives.
3. The abduction of children of parents subjected to enforced
disappearance or of children born during their mother’s enforced
disappearance, and the act of altering or suppressing documents attesting
to their true identity, shall constitute an extremely serious offence, which
shall be punished as such.
4. For these purpose, States shall, where appropriate, conclude
bilateral and multilateral agreements.
Article 21
The provisions of the present Declaration are without prejudice to
the provisions enunciated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
or in any other international instrument, and shall not be construed as
restricting or derogating from any of those provisions.
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