4th Casablanca Conference Advocates for Global Surrogacy Abolition in Mexico

• The 4th International Casablanca Conference for the Universal Abolition of Surrogacy took place in Mexico City on September 3–4, 2026.
• Mexico's Labour Party introduced a legislative proposal in the Chamber of Deputies to classify surrogacy as a form of human trafficking and reproductive exploitation.
• Experts and activists convened to push for a national ban and a shift in global legal frameworks regarding surrogacy.

Key Conference Contributions

• UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem, opened the event by highlighting the systemic violence inherent in surrogacy practices.
• Olivia Maurel, spokesperson for the Casablanca Declaration and an individual born via surrogacy, provided testimony focusing on the rights and experiences of children born through the process.
• UN Committee on the Rights of the Child member Jorge Cardona Llorens analyzed the impacts of surrogacy on the rights and identity of affected children.

Political Action in Mexico

• Following years of legislative stagnation, advocates are pressing the Mexican Federal Congress to criminalize surrogacy.
• The Labour Party's legislative bill aims to integrate surrogacy into human trafficking laws, citing concerns that Mexico has become an inexpensive hub for the industry.

Casablanca Declaration Recommendations

• Prohibition of surrogacy within national territories.
• Refusal to grant legal validity to surrogacy contracts.
• Penalization of intermediaries and individuals who utilize surrogacy services, including citizens who travel abroad for such purposes.
• Advocacy for an international legal instrument to enforce a universal ban on surrogacy.