Receiving Countries
Norway
On June 2023, the Norwegian government established a committee to investigate intercountry adoptions. The investigation was initiated following other similar inquiries into intercountry adoption carried out in other countries, as well as information revealed through adoptees’ searches for their origins and media reports highlighting irregularities in intercountry adoption practices in Norway.[1]
According to its mandate, the committee’s purpose is to determine whether illegal or unethical circumstances have taken place in intercountry adoptions in Norway. The committee will examine adoptions at their structural level, using a selection of individual cases. It will include all countries of origin from which Norway has adopted children, with priority given to Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Indonesia, China, Sri Lanka, South Korea and Vietnam. Public documents have not specified a specific time frame that will be investigated, stating only that the report will cover historic intercountry adoptions to Norway. It is, however, expected to start in the 1960s, when most intercountry adoptions were initiated, up to more recent years.
The committee will assess how Norwegian authorities have responded when informed of irregularities, evaluate the regulations and practices governing the adoption process, and make recommendations to improve the system. It has been given a two-year mandate to deliver its report, which was expected by the end of 2025. The committee is composed of Professor of law Camilla Berndt, Torunn Elise Kvisberg (Appellate Court Judge), Rudolf Christoffersen (Public Prosecutor), Anne Balke Staver (researcher at Oslo Metropolitan University) and .[2]
As the work of the Norwegian committee is still ongoing, no final findings have yet been published. However, the approach adopted by the Norwegian authorities in deciding to institute an independent committee tasked to investigate intercountry adoptions, which follows from examples in other European countries, indicates that serious issues are expected to emerge. The starting point of the investigation was indeed information reported in the media about grave circumstances surrounding intercountry adoptions from certain countries to Norway.[3]
Political and policy responses
Even before the Committee concludes its work, Norway has taken some precautionary measures. In early 2023, the Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs (Bufdir) recommended a full stop on new intercountry adoptions until the investigation is completed; the rationale behind it was the “real risk of illicit practices” and the need to prevent further potential harm.[4] While the government did not impose a complete suspension, it has tightened controls over adoptions from abroad, although allowing them to continue.
As of mid-2024, Norwegian citizens are permitted to adopt only from Colombia and Bulgaria. In June 2024, the list of banned countries extended to Peru, South Africa, the Czech Republic and Hungary, while adoptions from the Taiwan and South Korea had already been suspended in 2023. Families in the process of adopting from those countries were told to halt the process immediately.[5]
Moreover, Norway has increased funding to improve post-adoption procedures and support for adoptees. Once the committee delivers its final report, the government will determine its permanent position regarding intercountry adoptions.
On 23rd September 2023, Uma Feed, a Korean adoptee, delivered a formal notice of intent to sue the Norwegian state claiming that her international adoption was illegal. Uma Feed is asking for a declaratory judgment and compensatory damages, on the basis that Norway violated her rights under Article 4 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which constitute respectively violations for human trafficking and the right to private and family life. This legal notice marks one of the first cases questioning state responsibility in intercountry adoption. Uma Feed has not yet received a response from the Norwegian Ministry of Children and Families.[6] There is no evidence of further legal proceedings started in Norway.
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[1] ‘Information about the Committee’ (Granskingsutvalget for utenlandsadopsjoner, 31 May 2024) <https://utenlandsadopsjonsutvalget.no/2024/05/31/information/> accessed 8 November 2025.
[2] ‘Committee will Investigate Foreign Adoptions’ (Norwegian Ministry of Children and Families, 20 June 2023) <https://www.regjeringen.no/en/whats-new/Committee-will-Investigate-Foreign-Adoptions/id2985968/> accessed 8 November 2025.
[3] ibid
[4] ‘No temporary suspension of intercountry adoptions’ (Bufdir, 2024) <https://www.bufdir.no/en/suspension-adoption/> accessed 8 November 2025.
[5] ‘At least three countries restrict children’s adoption from abroad’ (CNE News, 11 June 2024) <https://cne.news/article/4304-at-least-three-countries-restrict-childrens-adoption-from-abroad> accessed 8 November 2025.
[6] Ka Man Mak, ‘Korean Adoptee Uma Feed Takes Legal Action Against Norwegian State for Enabling Illegal Adoption’ (The Oslo Desk, 23 September 2025) <https://oslodesk.com/korean-adoptee-uma-feed-takes-legal-action-against-norwegian-state-for-enabling-illegal-adoption/> accessed 8 November 2025.