Netherlands to End International Adoption: A New Era for Child Welfare

The Netherlands will phase out international adoption over the next six years. A 2021 report highlighted potential abuse, leading to halted adoptions. The phase-out allows countries and agencies to adjust while adoptees and parents receive continued support. Children's best interests lie in their own cultural environments.

The Netherlands is moving towards a complete phase-out of international adoption within the next six years. This decision follows alarming findings from a 2021 report that mentioned potential abuses in the adoption process.

Over the past 50 years, Dutch parents have adopted approximately 40,000 children from 80 different countries. However, the practice has declined, with only 50 international adoptions recorded in 2023. Many adult adoptees have discovered that their adoption records were forged or non-existent.

The Netherlands had previously suspended international adoptions from February 2021 to November 2022, following a commission's findings of child trafficking incidents dating back to the 1960s. The phase-out aims to allow countries and agencies to adjust before international adoption concludes in 2030, while ensuring adoptees and their parents remain supported.

(With inputs from agencies.)