In an unprecedented move The Netherlands has suspended all adoptions from abroad including from India, with immediate effect, after an official inquiry revealed that some children had been stolen or purchased from their birth parents. Reportedly, the abuses included coercing or paying birth mothers to give up their children. Data shows that Dutch parents had adopted 1,517 children from India between 1981 and 1992.
The inquiry primarily focused on the adoption of children from Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka from 1967 to 1998. Approximately 40,000 children from 80 countries had been adopted by Dutch parents.
As per data released by the Mijn Roots foundation, which helps adopted children find their biological parents, the main countries of origin for children adopted by Dutch couples between 1981 and 1992 were: Sri Lanka (2,972 children), Colombia (2,132), India (1,517), South Korea (1,323), Indonesia (1,252). From 1971 to 1980 the top countries included South Korea (2,317), Indonesia (1,788) and India (865).
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