Sweden Urged to End International Adoptions Amid Decades of Child Trafficking and Fraud
- Human Rights Research Center
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
Author: Aamnah Fatima Khan
June 8, 2025
HRRC commends Sweden’s bold step in confronting decades of systemic abuse in international adoptions. Acknowledging and addressing these past violations is vital to fostering accountability and laying the groundwork for stronger safeguards, transparent systems, and more ethical adoption frameworks worldwide.
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Sweden's government appointed a commission that proposed an unconditional ban on overseas adoptions, citing extensive abuses such as child trafficking and providing falsified documentation from the 1970s to the 2000s. The investigation, which began in 2021 following an exposé by Dagens Nyheter, discovered that many children adopted to Sweden were abducted. Some were kidnapped from hospitals and day-care facilities, proclaimed deceased, or provided false histories alleging abandonment or poverty.
Under the direction of family law specialist Anna Singer, the panel discovered persistent inconsistencies involving state actors, courts, and adoption agencies. Investigators verified that despite decades of warnings regarding unethical behavior, Swedish authorities did nothing. South Korea, China, Chile, Colombia, Sri Lanka, and Ethiopia are among the major source nations implicated.
Orphanages earn between $3,000 and $5,000 per child in U.S. dollars and offer no transparency or proof. China, in particular, was highlighted for institutionalized child trafficking. More than 4,300 Chinese children were adopted, the majority of them between 2000 and 2010.
The commission emphasized that adoption agencies prioritized quantity over the child’s best interest and failed to verify the legitimacy of adoptions. Because of this, adoptees frequently lack important knowledge about the children’s origins. The report recommends that Sweden issue a formal apology, provide long-term support to adoptees and their families, and assist those seeking to reconnect with their roots.
Similar controversies have already led to the suspension or phase-out of foreign adoptions in other European nations, such as the Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland, and France. As the government reviews the results, Sweden is now anticipated to do the same. According to Camilla Waltersson Grönvall, Sweden’s Minister of Social Services, "Children and parents have been affected and harmed for decades", indicating the seriousness of the findings.
Glossary
Abandonment – leaving someone or something behind permanently
Abducted – taken away by force or without permission
Accountability – being responsible for actions and accepting the consequences
Adoptees – people who were adopted
Alleging – claiming something is true without yet having proof
Commend – to praise or say something is good
Consent – giving permission or agreement
Deceased – dead; no longer alive
Exposé – a report that reveals hidden problems or wrongdoings
Falsified – made false or untrue on purpose
Fostering – caring for a child temporarily, not through adoption
Groundwork – basic preparation or foundation for something
Implicated – shown to be involved in something bad or illegal
Legitimacy – being lawful, fair, or acceptable
Persistent – continuing over a long time without stopping
Phase-out – slowly ending or stopping something
Suspension – a temporary stop or delay
Systematic abuse – organized and repeated harm or mistreatment
Transparency – being open, honest, and clear
Transparent systems – systems that are open and easy to understand
Unconditional – without any limits or conditions
Unethical – not morally right; dishonest or wrong
Vital – extremely important or necessary
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