In an extensive report on the history of intercountry adoption to Switzerland, Swiss researchers describe illicit practices that for decades created and supported a “fait accompli” approach to transnational adoption.
The practices allowed for child trafficking and falsified birth records—and ultimately promoted adoptive parent desire for children over the best interest and welfare of those vulnerable children and their families.
The German-language report—entitled Hinweise auf illegale Adoptionen von Kindern aus zehn Herkunftsländern in der Schweiz, 1970erbis 1990er-Jahre—focuses on ten countries, including Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, India, Colombia, Korea, Lebanon, Peru, and Romania. It provides an overview of intercountry adoption to Switzerland, details historical evidence of scandals and child trafficking in each examined country, and provides an inventory of existing records that document that history. Importantly, it also provides recommendations for further action and research.
The original publication is authored by Nadja Ramauer, Rahel Bühler, and Katja Girschik, researchers at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), Institute of Childhood, Youth and Family (IKJF). It has been completed on behalf of the Swiss Federal Office of Justice.
Adoptees United has (unofficially) translated most of the report into English, largely using artificial intelligence. While the translation is not perfect and may have formatting and minor translation errors, it allows for greater readership of an important report.
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Report from the Netherlands on Intercountry Adoption
A government committee in the Netherlands past intercountry adoption practices and issued its report in 2021. More information and English langugage copies are here.
