Norway does not want to suspend international adoptions despite investigations – JURIST

The Norwegian Ministry for Children and Families announced on Wednesday that it will not stop international adoptions amid an investigation into adoption practices outside the country, but will instead take risk-reducing measures to ensure that adoptions to Norway are safe and secure.

In 2023, the Norwegian government set up a committee to investigate illegal or unethical practices in international adoptions. The committee began its work in December 2023 and is expected to submit its report in two years.

In January 2024, the Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs (Bufdir) recommended a temporary suspension of international adoptions to Norway while awaiting the report of the Committee of Inquiry. In response, the Ministry for Children and Families requested additional information to ensure a full understanding of the situation. It also noted that the priority is to ensure that adoptions are safe and secure and in line with the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of International Adoptions. In April 2024, Bufdir provided an update maintaining its recommendation to suspend adoptions, but with certain exceptions for families already well into the process.

The Ministry of Children and Families has decided to introduce risk-reducing measures to ensure safe adoptions, but sees no reason for a general provisional suspension. In 2023, the Ministry asked Bufdir to conduct a review of the placement licenses for all countries with which Norway works to ensure legal certainty in adoptions. Bufdir has withdrawn the placement licenses for Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines and Madagascar in 2023 and for the Czech Republic, Hungary, South Africa and Peru in 2024.