Today’s news / Norway

Norway

On Tuesday, Norway halted all adoptions to Norway from the Philippines, Thailand and Taiwan. Couples who have been in the process of adoption from one of those countries will be able to complete the process. “Families who have come so far in the adoption process that they have been assigned a child can complete the adoption process, but only after a separate assessment by the Children, Youth and Family Directorate (Bufdir),” says Kristin Ugstad Steinrem, department director at Bufdir to NRK.
     It also recommends a temporary halt to all adoptions from abroad until the Foreign Adoptions Review Committee has completed its investigation. The committee is due to submit its report in two years time. The recommendation has been sent to the Ministry of Children and Families, where Minister for Children and Families Kjersti Toppe of the Centre Party has asked for an investigation before she takes a position on the recommendation, according to NRK and VG.
      Bufdir justifies, among other reasons, the recommendation on the grounds that “the risk of illegal adoptions is real” and that a check of Norwegian adoptions shows inadequate documentation in several cases. At the same time, Bufdir questions whether international adoptions have relied too much on trust between partner countries and adoption authorities and organisations. Going forward, it will also not be possible to adopt from South Korea. /ritzau/