The Swedish Adoption Commission has recommended a complete cessation of all international adoptions to Sweden. The commission, established in the fall of 2021, submitted its report on Monday, outlining its conclusions and recommendations for the future of adoption practices within the country.

The commission’s primary recommendation is to gradually phase out international adoptions and to strengthen control over national borders. This proposal comes amidst growing debate and scrutiny surrounding adoption practices, mirroring similar discussions in Denmark.

The Swedish government is now set to review the commission’s findings in collaboration with relevant interest organizations and authorities. This review will determine the next steps in addressing the complex issues surrounding international adoptions and ensuring the protection of all parties involved.

In Denmark, recent scrutiny of international adoptions led to significant changes:

• From 1969 to 2014, AC Børnehjælp and DanAdopt facilitated 20,621 adoptions to Denmark from abroad.
• Danish International Adoption (DIA), founded in 2015, conducted 465 adoptions between 2015 and 2022, with 20-40 adoptions annually in the three years leading up to 2024.
• In the fall of 2023, concerns arose regarding DIA’s collaboration with South African organization Impilo, suggesting non-compliance with Danish regulations.
• Parliament allocated DKK 12.6 million for an independent investigation into international adoptions to Denmark.
• DIA closed down in early 2024 amid accusations of circumventing Danish and international adoption rules.

Following these events, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing suspended mediation work with all countries. Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil, the then Minister of Social Affairs and Housing, described the situation as “the most serious crisis in the adoption area in the last ten years.”

The National Board of Appeal recommended halting adoption mediation from South Africa, citing insufficient certainty that adoptions could occur legally, ethically, and professionally. DIA initiated the transfer of its responsibilities to the state by the end of October 2024.

An opposition request for the independent investigation to assess responsibility among Danish authorities or agencies in cases where children were adopted against their biological parents’ will was initially refused but later gained majority support, leading to a potential expansion of the investigation.