BUDAPEST/SOFIA - When thinking about adoption, poor countries in the global South come to mind. Yet Flanders and the Netherlands adopt children from other European countries, such as Bulgaria and Hungary. This cross-border investigation shows that Roma children in these countries are discriminated against and end up in the adoption system due to stigma, poverty and a lack of support for families.
Both Flanders and the Netherlands had a screening carried of the sending countries to decide from which countries adoption would still be possible in the future. The issues with discrimination, poverty and a lack of support for families in Bulgaria and Hungary were raised several times in those screenings. However, both countries decided not to end the collaborations.
Several experts find this choice unconvincing and point to a violation of the central principle that adoption can only be used as a last solution for a child. Bulgaria and Hungary are not meeting their obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, namely supporting families so that their child can grow up with them. Surprisingly, these elements were not a red line for Flanders and the Netherlands in their decision.
Human rights organisation: stop adoptions immediately (Investico, 24/06/2024)
DOCUMENTARY
- Adoptiebedrog, het einde?, Zembla, 23/06/2024.
PRINT/ONLINE
- Onbegrijpelijk dat Vlaanderen doorgaat met adoptie uit Hongarije en Bulgarije, Knack, 22/06/2024.
- Ondanks stop blijft er voor vijfhonderd ouders hoop op adoptiekind, Trouw, 22/06/2024.
- Nederland adopteert kinderen uit Hongarije, hoewel er behoorlijk wat mis lijkt, Trouw, 22/06/2024
- Een kind van de puszta, De Groene Amsterdammer, 26/06/2024.
- Защо социалните служби отнеха двете деца на Сийка?, 24chasa, 24/06/2024.
- Az egészséges fehér babák itthon maradnak, a többi magyar gyerek egy része csak külföldön talál otthonra, Atlatszo, 24/06/2024.
- Healthy white babies stay in Hungary while some children only find homes abroad, Atlatszo, 01/07/2024.
PODCAST
- Je kind kwijt omdat je arm bent, misstanden bij adopties uit Hongarije, Investico, 22/06/2024.
IMPACT
- Mensenrechtenorganisaties: stop onmiddellijk met adopties, Investico, 24/06/2024
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