STOCKHOLM (AP) – A commission appointed by the Swedish government has recommended the cessation of international adoptions following a thorough investigation that unveiled a history of abuses and fraudulent practices spanning decades. This move positions Sweden amongst other nations reevaluating their international adoption frameworks amid widespread allegations of unethical conduct.
The investigation, which initiated after a report from the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter in 2021, culled through years of problematic international adoptions conducted by Sweden. The commission submitted its findings to Minister of Social Services Camilla Waltersson Grönvall, who confirmed that her department would undertake a review of the report’s recommendations. Anna Singer, a legal expert and the commission chair, indicated that the objective was to determine whether any irregularities occurred within the adoption processes that Swedish authorities were aware of yet did not address.
In her address at a news conference, Singer emphasized the comprehensive nature of the commission's examination, which included involvement from government entities, supervisory authorities, organizations, municipalities, and courts. The findings revealed alarming irregularities associated with Sweden's international adoption system, formalizing calls for the government to issue a public apology to the adoptees and their families.
The investigation brought to light confirmed instances of child trafficking occurring in all decades from the 1970s to the 2000s, implicating countries such as Sri Lanka, Colombia, Poland, and China. According to Singer, a public apology would not only hold significance for those affected personally but could also enhance awareness regarding the violations, which have often been minimized in discourse.
An extensive inquiry conducted by the Associated Press in collaboration with Frontline (PBS) previously documented various dubious practices within South Korea’s foreign adoption program, which experienced a surge in the 1970s and 1980s due to high demand from Western countries. This investigation uncovered evidence of kidnapped or missing children being adopted abroad, falsified documents regarding children's origins, and instances of babies being swapped with one another. Additional disturbing findings involved parents being misled about the health or even the death of their newborns, only to discover years later that their children had been adopted by families overseas.
The revelations have placed a severe strain on the international adoption sector, which notably drew from models established in South Korea. In a related inquiry, South Korea’s truth commission acknowledged that the government played a role in perpetuating a foreign adoption program filled with fraud and abuse, propelled by cost-cutting motives and the actions of private agencies that frequently manipulated children’s identities and backgrounds.
Other European nations have begun to take a similar stance regarding international adoptions. Last year, the Netherlands declared that it would discontinue allowing international adoptions by its citizens, while Denmark’s only international adoption agency announced its closure. Switzerland issued a formal apology for its inability to prevent illegal adoptions, and France has openly criticized its own contributions to these unethical practices.
Since the 1960s, South Korea has facilitated the adoption of around 200,000 children to Western countries, with the U.S. receiving more than half of these. Sweden, alongside France and Denmark, has been a significant European destination for South Korean children, with nearly 10,000 adopted by Swedish families throughout the decades.
