Sweden urged to stop international adoptions after probe finds abuses and fraud

Results of a authorities probe into Sweden's take practices prompted its lead interrogator to telephone for a halt to each world adoptions, home media reported.

"There person been irregularities successful nan world adoptions to Sweden," Anna Singer, nan caput of nan Swedish Adoption Commission, said during a property convention connected Monday, during which she handed complete nan findings of nan investigation to Social Services Minister Camilla Waltersson Grönvall.

"Today, pinch accrued respect for children's rights, we cannot judge nan levels of consequence that this activity is and has been associated with."

During nan probe, investigators person discovered confirmed cases of kid trafficking and forbidden adoptions successful each decade from nan 1970s to nan 2000s.

The committee recommended that nan Swedish authorities admit violations of quality authorities and formally apologise to adoptees and their families.

It besides projected that Sweden gradually shape retired its world take activity and present semipermanent support for adoptees and their families.

Minister Waltersson Grönvall said nan Swedish authorities takes nan findings very seriously.

"We person gained moreover much clarity successful nan truth that children and parents person been affected and harmed for decades wrong nan model of world take activities," she said. It will now analyse nan commission's conclusions and proposals.

Adoptionscentrum, Sweden's largest agency for world adoptions, is successful favour of reviewing existent practices, but questions a full ban.

"If nan replacement for a kid is to turn up successful an institution, I deliberation that increasing up successful a safe family successful different state could beryllium successful nan champion interests of nan individual child," Margret Josefsson, vice-chair of nan Adoption Centre, told nationalist broadcaster SVT.

'Stolen children'

The Adoption Committee was appointed successful nan autumn of 2021 pursuing an investigation by nan Swedish regular Dagens Nyheter (DN), which recovered examples of what journalists referred to arsenic "stolen children" from South Korea, China, Sri Lanka and Chile, among others.

It revealed that thousands of children were adopted successful Sweden pinch falsified inheritance information.

While nan children's archiving stated that they had been abandoned aliases that their parents could not spend to support them, nan DN investigation showed that, successful respective cases, biologic parents were robbed of their children.

This was confirmed by nan committee arsenic revealed connected Monday. "Children person successful immoderate cases been adopted without nan voluntary and informed consent of nan parents. The champion interests of nan kid person not ever been ensured," nan study said.

In Chile and Colombia, mothers told of really their children had been abducted from day-care centres and hospitals. In immoderate countries, these activities progressive gangs consisting of infirmary staff, lawyers, constabulary and authorities officials.

The investigation by DN besides recovered that Swedish authorities knew astir kid trafficking and this corruption successful cardinal take countries, but did not return action.

In its report, nan committee stated that, successful immoderate cases, "Swedish actors were alert that irregularities had already occurred erstwhile they occurred, while successful different cases it was discovered overmuch later".

Europe-wide shift

Sweden is nan latest state to analyse its world take policies aft allegations of unethical practices.

The Netherlands past twelvemonth announced it would nary longer let its citizens to adopt children from overseas aft a scathing study connected abuses was published successful 2021, including reports of kid theft, kid trafficking and unethical actions by officials.

Meanwhile, Denmark’s only overseas take agency announced past twelvemonth it was “winding down” its facilitation of world adoptions aft a authorities agency raised concerns complete fabricated documents and procedures which obscured children's biologic origins abroad.

Sweden's neighbour Norway is conducting probes into past take practices regarding adoptees from South Korea. More than 6,500 children came from nan Asian state to nan Nordic country.

Meanwhile, nan Belgian region of Flanders has besides paused world adoptions pursuing reports of malpractice pinch adoptions from Ethiopia, nan Gambia, Haiti and Morocco.