A new Council of Europe convention will allow homosexual couples and single to adopt children, Info-Prim Neo reports, citing the Convention on Child Adoption, recently adopted by the CoE Committee of Ministers on the occasion of its 118th session in Strasbourg. The new document updates the 1967 Convention, catching up with 40 years of social and economic developments. In light of the changes occurred on the European continent in the last four decades, the document contains a series of permissive provisions, like the right of same-sex couples and single persons to adopt. Using a cautious wording, the Convention “leaves States free to extend adoptions to homosexual couples and same sex-couples living together in a stable relationship”. According to a press release from CoE, the aim of the Convention is to take account of social and legal developments while bearing in mind that the child's best interests must always take precedence over any other considerations. In addition, the document places married and unmarried couples as well as single on the same starting line. "I know many single parents, including people who have adopted children, who bring up their children in a caring and exemplary manner,. The interest of the child should always be the top consideration. For me, the possibility offered by the Convention to extend the right to be considered for adoption of a child to a single person, represents an important step forward", said CoE Secretary General Terry Davis. Eligible adopters are also heterosexual unmarried couples who have entered into a registered partnership in States which recognize that institution. Another new provisions introduced by the convention are: the father's consent is required in all cases, even when the child was born out of wedlock; the child's consent is necessary if the child has sufficient understanding to give it; the new convention strikes a better balance between adopted children's right to know their identity and the right of the biological parents to remain anonymous; the minimum age of the adopter must be between 18 and 30, and the age difference between adopter and child should preferably be at least 16 years. The convention will be open for signature at a date to be fixed around mid-November.