Sending Countries

In 2017, Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne publicly acknowledged during a television programme that illegal “baby farms” had operated in Sri Lanka during the 1980s. According to the information he shared, children were either bought or abducted before being sold for adoption abroad. During the same appearance, he announced plans for a formal investigation into adoption fraud, along with the creation of a DNA databank intended to help reunite separated families.[1] However, no official findings, reports or public updates on these initiatives had been released as of 2025.

The only significant development reported in 2025 was that Sri Lanka capped its foreign adoptions at 100 per year. At the beginning of the year, the government announced that it would issue an annual notification establishing a limit on intercountry adoptions.[2] While official investigations have been carried out in several receiving countries concerning children adopted from Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan state itself does not appear to have taken further steps to address past practices or to investigate irregularities within its intercountry adoption system.

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[1] Karen McVeigh, ‘“There were a lot of baby farms”: Sri Lanka to act over adoption racket claims’ (The Guardian, 20 September 2017) <https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/sep/20/baby-farms-sri-lanka-admits-adoption-racket-claims> accessed 16 November 2025.

[2] Lakmal Sooriyagoda, ‘Sri Lanka permits 100 adoptions for foreign applicants for 2025’ (Daily Mirror UK, 3 February 2025) <https://www.dailymirror.lk/main_image/Sri-Lanka-permits-100-adoptions-for-foreign-applicants-for-2025/346-301558> accessed 16 November 2025.