Swiss authorities address failures in international adoptions
Between 1970 and 1999, several thousand children probably came to Switzerland for adoption from abroad through child trafficking, forged documents, missing information on origin or other illegal practices.
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Federal Councillor Beat Jans met with representatives of Swiss cantons on Friday to discuss the organisation on failures by the authorities in international adoptions between the 1970s and 1990s. Initial decisions are to be made at a strategy day in autumn 2024.
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The federal government wants to support the cantons in finding a solution, the Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP) announced. The responsibility to support those affected in their search for their ancestry lies with the cantons. The illegal international adoption has affected the lives of the people adopted to this day.
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The Swiss illegally adopted thousands of children from abroad
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Children from 10 countries were fraudulently adopted between the 1970s and 1990s. The Swiss authorities were aware of this.
In December 2023, a report by the Conference of Cantonal Justice and Police Directors (KKJPD) formulated concrete recommendations for pooling responsibilities and supporting those affected, as the FDJP wrote.
Today, international adoptions are processed according to clearly defined, internationally recognised standards. The Federal Council nevertheless sees a need for action and initiated a corresponding revision of adoption law in December last year, it added.
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Illegal adoptions from Sri Lanka: ‘These wounds do not heal’
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Strangers in their own country: a study shows for the first time the consequences for Sri Lankan children adopted in Switzerland.
Between 1970 and 1999, several thousand children probably came to Switzerland for adoption from abroad through child trafficking, forged documents, missing information on origin or other illegal practices. This was revealed in a report published by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) last December.
Translated from German by DeepL/amva
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