Receiving Countries
Belgium
In Belgium, on 19 July 2019, the Flemish Government, at the suggestion of the then Minister for Welfare, Public Health and Family, Jo Vanderurzen, appointed an independent panel of experts on intercountry adoptions. Similarly to what had happened in the Netherlands, the Minister pointed out the need to clarify whether irregularities had occurred in past intercountry adoptions, as several adult adoptees came forward alleging that their adoption files were incomplete and stories in official documents did not match the reality of what they knew.[1]
The response of the government followed two main approaches. The Flemish Central Adoption Authority (Vlaams Centrum voor Adoptie, VCA) was tasked with independently investigating specific allegations concerning adoptions from Ethiopia, while the panel of experts was asked to review adoption practices more broadly in Flanders. Between 1996 and 2017, 936 adopted children arrived in Flanders from Ethiopia, through intercountry adoption procedures. At the end of April 2019, the newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws published a series in which adoptees from Ethiopia and their adoptive parents reported various malpractices. These publications also raised questions about possible malpractice in intercountry adoption from other countries to origin. These led to a hearing and exchange of views on intercountry adoptions from Ethiopia by the Welfare, Health and Family Committee of the Flemish Parliament in May 2019.[2] Therefore the VCA was instructed to re-examine individual Ethiopian adoption case files for signs of fraud, while the Independent Expert Panel on Intercountry Adoption had to conduct a broader review of historical intercountry adoption practices. The Panel was composed of academics, legal experts, officials from foreign affairs and child welfare professionals. Its task was to identify both the shortcomings and the positive aspects of past adoption practices, which would result in drafting policy recommendations.
The panel’s work was supported by researchers from Ghent University, the University of Antwerp and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Each institution prepared sub-reports, which included literature reviews, analyses of complaints and empirical research. These constituted the basis for the panel’s final recommendations. The report was built on three central ethical and legal principles, namely the best interest of the child as the primary consideration, the principle of subsidiarity and the importance of informed consent. Following its analysis, the panel issued twenty-one detailed recommendations grouped into five main areas of reform.
The expert panel found evidence of widespread malpractice in past intercountry adoptions. It concluded that the existing structure of the system incentivises adoption agencies to pursue “new channels” abroad, thereby creating pressure to supply children. The panel also found that current legal remedies were insufficient and called for a comprehensive transformation of intercountry adoption policy in Flanders. The experts recommended that intercountry adoption would need to be a last resort measure and emphasised the importance of publicly recognising past mistakes and government involvement in such malpractice. They further suggested a temporary pause on new intercountry adoptions in order to reform the system.
In parallel, the VCA conducted its investigation. The VCA had made a public appeal to any family who had adopted from Ethiopia, between 1977 and 2015, and had doubts about their case. Twelve families came forward, triggering in depth case-by-case investigations in cooperation with Ethiopia. Investigators were sent to the sending country to conduct field verifications for those dossiers. Preliminary findings revealed that the actual circumstances sometimes differed from the information included and contained in the adoption files. In most serious cases, this included situations where children had not been voluntarily abandoned by their birth parents.
Political and policy responses
Despite the expert panel’s advice, Belgian authorities did not suspend all adoptions in 2021. The Flemish Minister of Welfare, Wouter Beke, who succeeded Vandeurzen, proposed a two-year suspension of new intercountry adoptions to create a time-out for reform, but his plan faced resistance and was not implemented.[4] Instead, Flanders began implementing reforms, trying to translate the panel recommendations into an action plan and to revise the legal framework of the adoption system in line with those suggestions.[5] Adoptions from Ethiopia had already been suspended since 2015, after fraud concerns surfaced in Ethiopia itself, and that programme was permanently closed in 2017. But other country programs continued. During that time, Flanders initiated a country-by-country review of existing adoption agreements, which led to a stop in cooperation with Vietnam in 2023. A second screening further halted cooperation with three additional countries: Gambia, Haiti and Morocco. International adoptions from these countries are no longer permitted.[6]
In 2022, the Belgian parliament adopted a resolution formally recognising the occurrence of illegal adoptions in Belgium, granting victim status to those affected and launching an administrative inquiry into the matter. This inquiry was also to be carried out by a panel of independent experts.[7] The new inquiry was mainly concerned with cases of illegal adoptions involving children from Guatemala, Chile, Sri Lanka and India.
In December 2023, following new reports of irregularities, Hilde Crevits, the new Flemish Welfare Minister, announced a suspension of new intercountry adoption applications until the system is reformed.[8] The Flemish Government’s new commission is currently examining existent adoption practices surrounding intercountry adoptions and taking measures to develop a better framework for future international adoptions. Moreover, it is expected to address remedies for those affected.
The VCA, acting as the central authority, is currently working on a project aimed at offering adoptees in Flanders an accessible pathway to request individual verification of the correctness of their intercountry adoption files. Since the end of 2023 the VCA has received 220 notifications from adoptees who expressed doubts about the accuracy of their adoption files. A total of 31 countries where the adoptees who reported their concern come from have been registered, but only 21 countries from where at least one adoptee also wants an individual investigation to be started. These numbers differ as some adoptees just want to report their concerns, but do not want an investigation. The VCA intends to establish collaborations with partner organisations in the sending countries to support adoptees in the clarification process. These “investigation partners” may include contact persons, NGOs, interest groups, forming a network of contacts. Before collaboration is formalised, partner organisations undergo a screening procedure conducted by the ISS using a quality manual and technical screening tool, assessing aspects such as team composition, background, funding, expertise, reference and internal organisation. When there are multiple interested organisations in one country, the VCA will make a selection as only one partner in each country will sign the cooperation agreement, to ensure that an equal approach is maintained for the investigations. Following this screening, the organisations are approved by the VCA, after which a cooperation agreement is signed. The planned start date for the screening phase is July 2025, with the ambition of completing the screening by the end of 2026. This network is expected to help adoptees in clarifying potential past irregularities in their individual adoption procedures and to facilitate support in their personal search for their origins and identity.
On 4 March 2026, Belgian media reported that Flanders may move towards ending intercountry adoption. During a debate in the Flemish Parliament, Flemish Minister for Welfare Caroline Gennez stated that it is time to discuss a possible termination of the system, noting that there can never be “a hundred percent certainty” that intercountry adoption procedures have been carried out correctly. According to the reporting, majority parties N-VA and CD&V expressed support for a gradual phase out of intercountry adoption in Flanders.
In May 2019, a Guatemalan adoptee, Mariela Coline Fanon filed a legal action against both the Guatemalan and Belgian states for their role in her illegal adoption.[9] The Council Chamber of Mons ruled in 2025 and referred the former president of the NGO Hacer Puente to the criminal court for thirteen counts of child abduction in Guatemala.[10]
In March 2025, eight adult adoptees from South Korea filed a collective complaint against two Belgian adoption agencies, Terre des Hommes and Enfants du Monde, and the Belgian state. The complaint accuses the agencies of child abduction, forgery of documents, trafficking as well as accusing the state of negligence in overviewing these organisations. The case is still pending review by an investigative judge in Brussels.[11]
Moreover, a Romanian-born adoptee raised in Belgium, Lucian Schepers, announced that he would initiate legal proceedings against Belgium and Romania for illegalities in his adoption. He discovered evidence that his adoption resulted from children trafficking and accuses Belgium of knowingly disregarding this information.[12] There are no updates available as to whether legal proceedings were actually initiated.
On 10 February 2026, the Liège Court of Appeal sentenced Julienne Mpemba, a Belgian woman of Congolese origin, to 14 years’ imprisonment and an €8,000 fine for offences including hostage-taking, kidnapping, human trafficking fraud and forgery. According to the court, Mpemba facilitated the adoption in Belgium of around a dozen children presented as orphans but who had in fact been taken from their biological families in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The children, aged between two and five, were welcomed by Belgian adoptive families in 2015, while Mpemba also reportedly demanded additional payments from those families and placed abducted children areas near Kinshasa in an orphanage she managed.
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[1] Lauren Walker, ‘Ethiopian children involuntarily put up for adoption in Belgium’ (The Brussels Times, 23 November 2023) <https://www.brusselstimes.com/belgium/809159/ethiopian-children-involuntarily-put-up-for-adoption-in-belgium> accessed 8 November 2025.
[2] see https://docs.vlaamsparlement.be/pfile?id=1482428.
[3] Lauren Walker, ‘Ethiopian children involuntarily put up for adoption in Belgium’ (The Brussels Times, 23 November 2023) <https://www.brusselstimes.com/belgium/809159/ethiopian-children-involuntarily-put-up-for-adoption-in-belgium> accessed 8 November 2025.
[4] Hannes Heynderickx, ‘Wouter Bekes adoptiepauze komt er dan toch niet: minister teruggefloten door coalitiepartners’ (GVA, 10 September 2021) <https://www.gva.be/binnenland/wouter-bekes-adoptiepauze-komt-er-dan-toch-niet-minister-teruggefloten-door-coalitiepartners/38645762.html> accessed 1 December 2025.
[5] Lauren Walker, ‘Belgium: Flanders working to future-proof intercountry adoption’ (NJ Arch, 17 September 2021) < https://www.brusselstimes.com/belgium/185491/flanders-working-to-future-proof-intercountry-adoption> accessed 8 November 2025.
[6] ‘Flanders will stop intercountry adoptions from Gambia, Haiti and Morocco’ (Belga News Agency, 29 November 2023) <https://www.belganewsagency.eu/flanders-will-stop-intercountry-adoptions-from-gambia-haiti-and-morocco> accessed 8 November 2025.
[7] ‘Belgian Parliament adopts resolution on illegal adoptions’ (The Brussels Times, 11 September 2023) <https://www.brusselstimes.com/683908/belgian-parliament-adopts-resolution-on-illegal-adoptions> accessed 8 November 2025.
[8] Maithé Chini, ‘Eliminating malpractices – Flanders halts adoptions from abroad’ (The Brussels Times, 16 December 2023) <https://www.brusselstimes.com/841330/eliminating-malpractices-flanders-halts-adoptions-from-abroad> accessed 8 November 2025.
[9] Lynelle Long, ‘Intercountry adoptees taking legal action and reclaiming our rights’ (Intercountry Adoptee Voices, 17 October 2025) <https://intercountryadopteevoices.com/2025/10/17/intercountry-adoptees-taking-legal-action-and-reclaiming-our-rights/> accessed 8 November 2025.
[10]‘Chambre du conseil de Mons: l’ex-présidente d’une ASBL en correctionelle pour enlèvement d’enfants au Guatemala’ (RTBF Actu, date unspecified) <https://www.rtbf.be/article/chambre-du-conseil-de-mons-l-ex-presidente-d-une-asbl-en-correctionnelle-pour-enlevement-d-enfants-au-guatemala-11623982> accessed 8 November 2025.
[11] ‘Belgium taken to court over illegal adoptions from South Korea’ (The Brussels Times, 27 March 2025) <https://www.brusselstimes.com/1506328/belgium-taken-to-court-over-illegal-adoptions-from-south-korea> accessed 8 November 2025.
[12] Anna Maria Ciobanu, ‘“I Was Definitely Trafficked”: Romanians Adopted As Kids Now Seek Justice, Answers As Adults’ (Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, 7 January 2023) <https://www.rferl.org/a/32213639.html> accessed 8 November 2025.
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Expertpanel Inzake Interlandelijke Adoptie (Expert Panel on Intercountry Adoption) (2021)
Unofficial English Translation: https://intercountryadopteevoices.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/expertenpanel-interlandelijke-adoptie-eindrapport-met-aanbevelingen-ENG.pdf