Wouter Beke: 'No need for an adoption break in Flanders'

"I don't see any need for an adoption break in Flanders for the time being." Flemish Minister of Welfare Wouter Beke said this in the Flemish Parliament on Tuesday. Earlier this month, the Netherlands decided to suspend intercountry adoption altogether following a damning report about the system.

According to the report, the Dutch government has fallen short of looking away from bad situations for years. This includes the forging of documents, the abuse of poverty among the birth mothers and the relinquishment of children for payment or coercion.

According to Minister Beke, however, you cannot simply compare Flanders with the Netherlands. He points out that the start-up of international adoption channels in Flanders is different from our northern neighbors. “In the Netherlands, adoption services can have themselves accredited in the country of origin without a prior investigation by the government. In Flanders, the Flemish Central Authority (VCA) conducts a preliminary investigation and an adoption service must be given permission to start in a specific country. ”

In addition, the minister says, every new cooperation requires advice from the Federal Central Authority, Foreign Affairs and other relevant partners. "The cooperation is thoroughly investigated and certainly also whether the principles of the Hague Convention are respected, as well as our legislation and that of the country of origin."

In addition, the services are only allowed to start with a limited number of trial files after approval. According to Beke, as much as possible is visited on site, except during corona, to check all information against the reality on site.

“At the moment I see no need for an adoption break in Flanders,” the minister says. He does want to await the recommendations of the expert panel on Intercountry Adoption, which was set up in response to adoption fraud in Ethiopia and Guatemala, among others. That report was delayed due to corona, but should be ready this summer. “There were no new reports of abuses,” said Minister Beke.

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