International adoptions - A global scandal | DW Documentary

Key Concepts:

• Intercountry Adoption: The process of adopting a child from a country different from that of the adoptive parents.
• Human Trafficking: The action or practice of illegally transporting people, typically for the purposes of exploitation or forced labor.
• Falsification of Documents: The act of altering or creating false documents, such as birth certificates or adoption records.
• Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption: An international agreement established in 1993 to protect children and ensure ethical practices in intercountry adoptions.
• Reparations: The making of amends for a wrong one has done, by paying money to or otherwise helping those who have been wronged.
• Accountability: The obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions.
• Stolen Children: Children who were illegally separated from their biological parents and placed for adoption without proper consent.

1. Overview of Illegal Intercountry Adoptions

• Growing global awareness of illegal intercountry adoptions where children were separated from biological parents.
• Many adoptees in their 30s and 40s are discovering falsified adoption records and searching for their true identities.
• Investigations reveal a pattern of human trafficking involving falsified papers and government institutions.
• Calls for accountability and reparations are increasing worldwide.

2. Patrick Lunberg's Investigation in South Korea

• Swedish journalist Patrick Lunberg, himself an adoptee from South Korea, investigates illegal transnational adoptions.
• His investigation was sparked by the discovery that his adoption file contained fabricated information, and the people he met as his parents were actually his aunt and uncle.
• He found that his real birth parents did not consent to his adoption.
• He analyzed adoption files from multiple countries and found widespread falsification of documents.
• Adoption agencies like Korea Welfare Services (KWS) and Holt are implicated in the falsification of documents.
• Single mothers in South Korea faced pressure to give up their babies due to societal stigma.
• Agencies profited significantly more from transnational adoptions than domestic adoptions.

3. Mechanisms of Illegal Practices

• Lunberg's investigation revealed a pattern of poor mothers having their babies stolen through a network of middlemen.
• Eve Donoser, a historian, explains that the demand from Western societies creates a market for orphans, leading to inappropriate practices and shady intermediaries.
• Intercountry adoption can turn children into commodities and expose them to systemic fraud.

4. Case Study: Johanna Lambo from Chile

• Johanna Lambo, adopted from Chile to France, discovered she was stolen from her mother.
• The address on her passport was linked to a hotel used for over 374 children adopted abroad.
• During the Pinochet dictatorship, adoption was promoted as a means of eradicating poverty.
• An estimated 20,000 children were taken from their parents without consent.
• Johanna found her birth mother through the Chilean Civil Registry and Facebook.
• Her mother was deceived into placing her in a boarding school, after which Johanna was put on a plane and left the country.

5. Case Study: Maxim's Search for Identity

• Maxim, adopted from Chile to France, has no memory of his biological mother.
• His French parents were told he was taken in off the streets of Santiago.
• His parents adopted him without going through an official agency, which made him vulnerable to trafficking.
• Maxim's parents were given a new file with a different name and date of birth for him.
• DNA testing revealed a significant genetic match with a potential relative, Rolando Antonio Carrasco Gonzalez.

6. The Hague Convention and Its Limitations

• The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption aimed to regulate the process and ensure ethical practices.
• It establishes a structure for cooperation and requires countries to create central authorities.
• However, it relies on the goodwill of states and has not prevented a rise in intercountry adoptions or put a stop to trafficking.

7. Efforts for Accountability and Reparations

• The Children and Mothers of Silence Association in Chile brings together families who were victims of trafficking.
• Marisol Rodriguez and Anamaria Olvarez, along with their team of volunteers, have reunited more than 300 families through DNA testing and genealogy.
• Adoptee associations are calling for government support, reparations, and justice for those responsible for illegal adoptions.
• In 2018, the Chilean Supreme Court opened a judicial investigation into coerced or false adoptions.

8. Government Responses and Ongoing Challenges

• Some countries, like the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Denmark, have temporarily suspended intercountry adoptions.
• France, Sweden, and Belgium acknowledge irregularities but have taken little action.
• In September 2023, UN human rights bodies met to promote a joint declaration on illegal intercountry adoptions.
• Many adoptees still lack official support and face uncertainty.

9. Recent Developments (as of June 2025)

• In Sweden, a government inquiry recommended halting all intercountry adoptions after finding systemic abuse and child trafficking.
• South Korea ratified the Hague Convention in 2025.
• The Netherlands has temporarily suspended all intercountry adoptions.
• Adoptee organizations in France were disappointed by a report that failed to address state responsibility.

10. Conclusion

The documentary highlights the widespread issue of illegal intercountry adoptions, revealing the human trafficking, falsification of documents, and exploitation of vulnerable families involved. It emphasizes the need for accountability, reparations, and justice for the victims, as well as the importance of government support and policy changes to prevent future abuses. The fight for accountability is far from over, and thousands of victims of illegal adoption still live with uncertainty.