Thousands of foreign children were probably illegally adopted by Swiss people between 1970 and 1990, which still “shapes” their lives, the Swiss government admitted on Friday.
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Following the revelations of a new report it commissioned, the Federal Council announced its call for a review of international adoption law.
Already in 2020, after numerous poignant statements from people illegally adopted in Sri Lanka, an initial report showed that the authorities were failing to act “despite previous and clear indications of irregularities committed by intermediaries with regard to the adoption of children from Sri Lanka”. .
The second study by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) focuses on ten other countries of origin: Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, India, Colombia, South Korea, Lebanon, Peru and Romania.
“There is also evidence that illegal practices, child trafficking, forgery and false declarations of origin occur in these countries,” said a press release from the council.
During the period under review, the ZHAW researchers found 8,000 entry permits for children from these countries to Switzerland: 2,799 children came from India, 2,122 from Colombia, 1,222 from Brazil and 1,065 from South Korea.
The available documents do not allow us to determine the exact number of people affected. However, the number of entry permits into Switzerland “shows that several thousand children adopted during the investigation period could be affected by irregularities,” the government admits.
He “regrets that the authorities have not sufficiently fulfilled their responsibilities towards children and their families”.
“These failures continue to shape the lives of those adopted at the time to this day,” emphasizes the council and explains that it is the task of the cantons (Swiss federal states) “to support those affected in the search for their origins.”