Receiving Countries

Sweden

In August 2020, members of the Swedish parliament submitted a motion calling for a comprehensive investigation into past intercountry adoptions in Sweden. The motion went to the Social Affairs Committee (Socialutskottet) for consideration. In January 2021, the Swedish Agency for Public Management (Statskontoret) published a report reviewing the structure and organisation of how international adoptions were managed in Sweden.

In Sweden there had been intermittent media reports about unethical adoptions ever since the 1970s, as well as individual adoptees being politically active in demanding a government investigation into the situations surrounding intercountry adoptions. The situation changed drastically when in February 2021 the biggest Swedish morning newspaper, Dagens Nyheter (DN), started to publish an article series titled “Children at all costs” (Barn till varje pris). The series sparked an intense debate as it revealed that children from poor families in some sending (Chile, Colombia, Ethiopia, South Korea and China) had been taken from their biological parents and adopted in Sweden.

The purpose of the inquiry was to understand whether there had been irregularities in the adoption system and to determine in which way the different stakeholders had acted and responded to any such cases. The investigation was based on material collected from authorities and organisations, including adoption files. The final report, consisting of two volumes of more than 1,500 pages, was presented in June 2025.

Findings

The first 2021 report highlighted several strengths and weaknesses across the different levels of the intercountry adoption system. Municipalities played a crucial role in assessing the suitability of adoptive parents; however, it was discovered that some social workers lacked specialised trainings and methods varied significantly across regions. The three authorised adoption agencies, all non-profit organisations, had been affected by the decline in intercountry adoption, as they relied primarily on applicant fees. This dependency created risks both in objectivity, integrity and financial sustainability. The Swedish Intercountry Adoptions Authority (MFoF) had limited capacity to detect irregularities abroad as it depended uniquely on the cooperation with local authorities and the information available to Swedish embassies. Although several ongoing risks were identified within the system, the researchers concluded that Sweden’s existing framework for intercountry adoption remained fundamentally effective.

This is view was strongly challenged by the findings of the 2025 report, which presented a more problematic picture. Professor Anna Singer’s commission uncovered consistent and repeated irregularities across at least ten countries, including South Korea, Colombia, China and Sri Lanka, where abusive and irregular practices, including cases of child trafficking, were documented. Furthermore, archival material showed that officials were aware of these practices. Other countries implicated included Chile, Thailand, Vietnam, Poland, Ethiopia and Russia. The inquiry also found cases where children had been adopted without the consent of a parent, kidnapped or wrongly declared dead, and therefore made adoptable. Moreover, the commission noted a consistent lack of information about the background of the children.

The investigation revealed that Swedish authorities and adoption agencies had been repeatedly alerted to these problems since the 1970s. Among its most significant recommendations, the commission suggested that the practice of arranging intercountry adoptions to Sweden should be phased out in its entirety. It further recommended that Sweden ratify the International Convention on the Protection for All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and that only kinship adoptions should be allowed. Finally, the commission called on the government to formally apologise, as the report characterised the state’s past handling adoptions as a violation of human rights.

Political and policy responses

The Swedish government’s responses have been mixed. Following the 2021 report on intercountry adoption structure and organisation, the Swedish Agency for Public Management, despite recognising that corruption was common in certain sending countries and that this could facilitate violations of children’s rights, recommended no immediate changes to the existing adoption system.

In contrast, the 2025 inquiry univocally recommended that Sweden halt all new international adoptions and issue a formal apology. Among other key recommendations were the establishment of a national resource centre for adoptees and the provision of financial support to enable adoptees to visit their country of origin.

As of October 2025, the Swedish government has not yet announced a final decision on implementing the recommended ban, although it is under significant pressure to act. In practice, however, Sweden has already suspended adoptions from South Korea following different allegations of misconduct. The Minister for Social Services, Camilla Waltersson Grönvall, has acknowledged the gravity of the findings, and a national resource centre as well as a formal government apology to those affected is expected. The Commission’s report has also fuelled a public debate on whether there should be a permanent end to intercountry adoption in the country.

Legal proceedings

In July 2025 Jenny Rogneby filed a police report, accusing the Swedish Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, of human trafficking and aggravated document forgery during his role as chairman of Jenny Rogneby is an Ethiopian adoptee who decided to report to the police the Prime Minister’s involvement in the adoption process between 2003 and 2005, along with other actors within the adoption sector, including Adoptionscentrum’ management, the Swedish Authority for Family Law and Parental Support (MFoF), the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and private adoption agencies. The police did not start an investigation, stating that no crime had been committed. There is no indication of other ongoing legal proceedings in the country.

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Organiseringen av den internationella adoptionsverksamheten (The organisation of international adoptions) (2021)

Report: https://www.statskontoret.se/siteassets/rapporter-pdf/2021/2021_1—utskriftsversion.pdf

Sveriges internationella adoptionsverksamhet − lärdomar och vägen framåt (Sveriges international adoptions business − learn lessons and the way forward) (2025)

Report:

Unofficial English Translation: