Sweden has been investigating foreign adoptions since the 1950s for possible abuses
Sweden will launch an official investigation into the adoption of thousands of foreign children since the 1950s.
The inquiry will investigate any “irregular” procedures that led to children being taken from their families abroad.
The investigators will focus on adoptions of children born in China and Chile, said Minister of Social Affairs Lena Hallengren.
“The starting point for international adoption is the best interests and rights of the child,” she told reporters.
“Sweden shall, as far as possible, guarantee that every adoption is carried out legally and ethically and that the best interests and legal security of the child are ensured in every part of the adoption process.”
About 60,000 children have been given to adoptive parents in Sweden since the Second World War. Most of the children originally came from South Korea, India, Colombia and Sri Lanka.
Swedish media have raised concerns that children have been stolen and forcibly placed for adoption without the consent or knowledge of their birth parents.
In Chile, Special Judge Mario Carroza – who has been investigating the abduction of children since 2018 – has said that at least 2,021 children were adopted in Sweden between 1971 and 1992.
During the country’s dictatorship, poor mothers were often tricked into believing that their children were sick or stillborn, Carroza said.
At the same time, China has emerged as one of the world’s largest countries for adoptees, as family planning limits the number of children per couple.
Families’ desire to have a boy has led to large-scale trafficking in young girls, which was abandoned at birth.
The Swedish government has appointed lawyer Anna Singer – professor of civil and family law at Uppsala University – to lead the investigation.
“The lessons will provide guidance for the future development of Sweden’s international adoption activities,” says the ministry in a statement.
Singer’s final results will be submitted in November 2023.
In February, the Dutch government suspended adoptions from abroad after a report said the government had not addressed allegations of systemic abuse.
Last year, Swiss authorities also apologized for failing to prevent the illegal adoption of children from Sri Lanka in the 1990s.