St. Gallen failed to enforce the law for the children involved
A report by researchers from the Institute of History of the University of Bern was published on Thursday, pointing out the irregularities of the canton.
The canton of St. Gallen has done poorly in the face of irregular adoptions of Sri Lankan children in Switzerland. Its authorities have largely failed in the monitoring and application of the law between 1973 and 2002. The legal provisions have not been respected for any of the 85 children concerned, according to a report published Thursday.
Mandated by the St. Gallen government, researchers from the Institute of History at the University of Bern looked at documents available in the archives and compiled a digital file for each Sri Lankan child adopted in the canton. Their analysis shows that the cantonal and communal authorities of the time did not apply the directives in force.
50% of inconsistent birth certificates
A total of 40 birth certificates show inconsistencies. The children in question – most of them babies under six months old – did not have a legal representative. The nurturing bond with the adoptive parents was insufficiently monitored. Children have even been entrusted to married couples without sufficiently clarifying the reception conditions beforehand.
The report is based exclusively on documents from the St. Welsh authorities and the Adoptio foundation. Further research in Sri Lankan archives would be important, according to the researchers who also recommend conducting oral interviews with the persons concerned and their biological parents, in order to give them a voice.
Frightening federal report in 2020
In December 2020, the Federal Council published a report revealing that the Swiss authorities showed shortcomings between the 1970s and 1990s by not preventing adoptions of Sri Lankan children despite indications of sometimes serious irregularities. He expressed his regrets on this occasion. The government will take measures to further support adoptees in the search for their origins.
A total of 881 adoptions of Sri Lankan children were granted in Switzerland between 1973 and 1997. The latter were most often babies a few weeks old or young children. They came from "baby farms", where white men were also used to produce children with the lightest skin possible.
Swiss parents paid between 5,000 and 15,000 francs for a child. Sri Lankan mothers received only a few dollars or even a thermos flask. Intermediaries in Sri Lanka, including female lawyers, were highly paid.
.