By The Smartencyclopedia Staff & Agencies

Alleged Illegal Adoption Cases Trigger Suspension

Norway has decided to halt adoptions from the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan, and South Korea pending an investigation into several allegedly illegal adoption cases, according to a report by the Norwegian newspaper VG.

The Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth, and Family Affairs revealed that families who have already been assigned a child from the Philippines, Thailand, or Taiwan will be allowed to complete the adoption process, but only after a thorough assessment by the agency. Similarly, couples approved for adoption from South Korea will be permitted to proceed, even if they haven’t been matched with a child yet.

The majority of adopted children in Norway come from South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines, and Colombia, according to national statistics.

The decision to suspend adoptions follows media reports of allegedly illegal adoption practices. The adoption system is under scrutiny, with concerns raised about document forgery and the legal security of adopted children. VG reported instances in the Philippines where children were allegedly sold and provided with false birth certificates.

Hege Nilssen, the head of the Norwegian Directorate, emphasized the need for an examination of the adoption system in light of these reports. The agency expressed concerns about the significant risk of document forgery, leading to uncertainty about the legal security of the adopted children.

This move comes after the Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth, and Family Affairs suspended adoptions from Madagascar in November, citing a lack of security to ensure that adoptions align with international principles. In a similar vein, Sweden’s only adoption agency halted adoptions from South Korea in November due to claims of falsified papers regarding the origins of adopted children.

Norway has three private adoption agencies involved in these processes: Verdens Barn, which handles adoptions from Thailand, South Korea, and South Africa; Inoradopt, arranging adoptions from Hungary, Taiwan, Bulgaria, and the Czech Republic; and Adoptionsforum, facilitating adoptions of children from the Philippines, Colombia, and Peru.