While few countries in the world have legalised surrogacy, all are concerned because women are asked to be surrogate mothers or because their nationals travel abroad to have a child through surrogacy.
Faced with this global challenge, the Casablanca Declaration of 3 March 2023, signed by 100 experts of 75 nationalities, calls on governments to move beyond resignation and condemn surrogacy and take concrete measures to put an end to this trade.
The Declaration proposes that States commit to an international Convention to promote a global context of refusal of surrogacy, likely to draw many countries into this virtuous wake.
Italy, with the current adoption of a law criminalising the use of surrogacy, including outside Italian territory, is showing other countries the way and could play a role on the international stage with a view to an international convention for the global prohibition of surrogacy.
This is why the International Conference for the Universal Abolition of surrogacy will be held in Rome on 5 and 6 April, at which specialists from 5 continents will contribute their expertise with a dual objective:
– to inform public decision-makers about the harmful effects of surrogacy
– to provide a legal toolbox for States wishing to defend their populations against this market in human beings.
The Rome International Conference aims to be a decisive step in supporting and encouraging national and international initiatives, leading to the adoption of an international treaty.