THE DANISH PARLIAMENT’S SOCIAL AND HOME AFFAIRS COMMITTEE HAS STATED THE FOLLOWING
On 7 September 2020, the Parliament’s Social and Home Affairs Committee has stated the following question no. 711 (general part) to the Minister of Social Affairs and the Interior, which is hereby answered. The question was asked at the request of Pernille Skipper (EL).
Question 711:
“Will the Minister state what the Minister knows about the adoptions from Chile to Denmark that took place between 1976 – 1991, including on what basis the adoptions took place and knowledge of any errors in the cases?”
Reply:
I can state that, on the basis of my inquiries to the National Board of Appeal, I have been continuously informed about the problem and its handling, since I became aware at the beginning of the year of the suspicion that has arisen in relation to adoptions from Chile in the 1970s and -80s. The Agency is the supervisory authority in the area of ??adoption and also processes specific inquiries from adoptees with suspected illegal conditions in connection with the adoption.
Since May this year, Ankestyrelsen (the National Board of Appeal) has received six specific inquiries from adoptees from Chile. The Agency has discussed the inquiries with those involved and, to the extent that this has been the case, referred the adoptee to the PAS offer for adult adoptees.
The Agency has also asked the adoptees to send a description of the reason for their suspicion that illegal acts have been committed in their adoption case, together with the information that the adoptees themselves are in possession of to ensure all relevant and important information, as not everything will necessarily appear in the Danish adoption case.
A meeting has also been held with the Swedish central authority on the Swedish handling of and knowledge of any illegal matters in adoption cases from Chile. The Agency has also been in dialogue with DIA, which has stated that DIA is in the process of reviewing a number of adoption cases from Chile, where the adopted children, among other things is mediated from the orphanage Casa National del Niño in Chile, which appears in the description of the illegal behaviour.
The Agency has reviewed a summary of the parliamentary inquiry from Chile on the illegal transfer of children, including through international adoption. The full report must be reviewed and is therefore under translation. Furthermore, through the International Social Service, the agency has obtained the legislation that was in force in Chile in the 1970s and 1980s. This material is also under translation.
The Agency has also been in contact with the International Social Service to obtain information on what help the adoptees can expect to receive if they turn Holmens Kanal 22 1060 København K Phone 72 28 24 00to the Chilean authorities. The Agency has made an initial assessment of whether there are illegal conditions in the six cases and an initial review of the adoption mediation from Chile to Denmark.
It is the Agency’s assessment that, on the basis of the preliminary handling of the inquiries from the adoptees and the initial review of the adoption agency from Chile to Denmark, there is a basis for carrying out a general coverage of adoptions from Chile to Denmark.
I have therefore asked the board to initiate this work.
Although the Ankestyrelsen (National Board of Appeal) has concluded that there is a basis for conducting a general coverage of adoptions from Chile to Denmark in connection with suspected illegal conditions, the Agency does not currently have sufficient information about the dissemination from Chile to be able to provide feedback in the six specific inquiries.
I also note that the Agency has stated that it is not certain that a final clarification can be reached as to whether there are illegal matters in a specific adoption case. The Agency reviews the information in the individual cases and tries in collaboration with Chile to uncover the facts of the case, etc. But there is no guarantee that it is possible to conclude what has actually happened in the cases.
Finally, I can inform you that the agency has posted information on its website about adoptees from Chile’s opportunity to contact Ankestyrelsen (the National Board of Appeal ) if they suspect that illegal acts have been committed in their adoption case. The adoptees will be able to get help to review the case documents and thus gain a more detailed knowledge of the specific circumstances in their adoption case.
When this general inquiry is available, I will brief the rapporteurs.
Yours sincerely
Astrid Krag
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