In Denmark, international adoptions have plummeted by more than 10 times in recent years.
Copenhagen Denmark:
Danes will no longer be able to adopt from abroad after the country’s only adoption agency announced on Tuesday that it would cease operations following reports of misconduct.
Denmark’s International Adoption (DIA) agency said in a statement that it is “beginning a controlled termination of its activities as a facilitator of international adoptions.”
The announcement comes after the Danish Ministry of Social Affairs suspended adoptions from six countries with which DIA currently works, citing irregularities related to employment regulations.
The six countries are the Czech Republic, India, the Philippines, South Africa, Taiwan, and Thailand.
The DIA, which suspended adoptions from Madagascar last year over concerns about possible fraud, said Tuesday it had no choice but to close.
“With the current situation in Denmark, it is no longer possible for NGOs like ours to manage international adoptions,” the DIA said.
He said there are currently 36 adoption procedures in progress, but did not provide details on what will happen to those cases.
In recent years, international adoptions in Denmark have plummeted more than tenfold since 2010, when 418 cases were registered.
Meanwhile, in Norway, the Directorate General for Children, Youth and Family Affairs (Buhdir) suspended all adoptions from the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand in December after several cases of illegal adoptions were reported.
As of January, no new adoption procedures are being accepted from South Korea.
Buhdir had recommended a two-year freeze on all international adoptions pending the outcome of the investigation, but the government rejected that recommendation and asked Buhdir to submit an assessment as soon as possible.
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