Tried to notify about illegal adoptions - met with a closed door at the minister

In 2021, Kjersti Toppe (Sp) was called upon to investigate illegal adoptions to Norway. But the organization that asked for an investigation was not even given a meeting.

It was in October 2021, two weeks after Toppe had taken her seat in the minister's office in the Ministry of Children and Families, that she received a letter from the organization Romanticized immigration .

The four-page letter, which VG has seen, had a simple message: Illegal adoptions have taken place in Norway, probably on a larger scale than was known.

Romanticized immigration therefore asked for an independent investigation of Norwegian adoption practices.

The organization also asked for a meeting with Toppe.

The answer came a month later, and was of the bureaucratic kind:

"The Minister for Children and Families has received the request. The ministry can advise that it is not appropriate to have a meeting on this topic now, but it may be appropriate to have a meeting with the ministry and/or the Directorate for Children, Youth and Families at a later date," wrote a department director.

There was no response to the request for an investigation.

Could have been initiated much earlier

Just over a year later, both VG, NRK and TV2 had published cases about illegal adoptions.

Then Toppe nevertheless decided to carry out an independent investigation.

It happened too late, says chairman Priyangika Samanthie in Romanticized immigration.

- This could have been initiated much earlier. It is nothing new that there have been illegal adoptions to Norway, although it has received more media coverage now, says Samanthie to VG.

Samanthie points out that there has been talk of illegal adoptions in the Norwegian public since the 80s.

- That was precisely why we wanted to have a meeting with Toppe when she became a minister, to tell her that we already know enough illegal adoptions that it was time for an investigation.

Suspect "strategic" scrutiny

When the investigation was finally announced, Samanthie felt that Minister Toppe had been forced into a corner.

- It seemed as if it was strategic, that the Minister for Children and Families had no other choice after the media coverage. Why couldn't she do it earlier, when many of us have tried to warn her?

The Minister: - Should have happened many years ago

Minister Toppe has been presented with the criticism from Romanticized immigration.

- Now it is actually the case that while previous governments have not seen the need for an investigation, my government and I will take this further and will carry out an external investigation. I agree that this should have happened many years ago, writes Toppe in an e-mail to VG.

The SP politician writes that the meeting request in the autumn of 2021 was refused because a meeting about post-adoption had been called to which Romanticized immigration had been invited. But this meeting was therefore about what happens after an adoption has been completed, not while the adoption process is still ongoing.

- But it was also planned that more things could be addressed from adoptees' organisations, writes Toppe to VG.

She emphasizes that she has had meetings with Romantic immigration and other adoption organizations afterwards.

Toppe also adds that work was already underway on the need for an investigation when Romanticized immigration asked for the meeting in autumn 2021.

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