DNA does not lie, but the interpretation that can be given to it, says genetic genealogist Maarten Larmuseau after the testimony of Noëmi, who is linked to the wrong biological father. Because it is such an emotional and existential quest, it is precisely the scientific execution of genetic genealogy that is so important. Don't let descent be just a commercial product, he explains in this opinion.

The testimony of the Flemish Noëmi Plateau was heartbreaking. On Tuesday evening she told openly about her difficult and emotional search for her biological parents in "Late" on One. Noëmi was adopted from China at the age of one and a half and had felt a loss all her life.

She first felt where she came from when she was linked to a biological father after a DNA test. But a second DNA test disproved this claim. She's back at the start of her quest. How is it possible that different DNA analyzes provide conflicting results? DNA doesn't lie, does it?

DNA kits

However, there is no doubt about the power of DNA analysis for finding biological relationships. As soon as commercial DNA kits came on the market, many adopted children found their biological parents, children of the same anonymous sperm donor were linked together and genealogists further clarified their family history by searching for distant relatives worldwide. For children with unknown biological parent(s), the commercial DNA companies are often the only hope in their emotional and existential quest.

Child welfare organization Wereldkinderen is shocked by the role it played in the much-discussed mismatches in Colombia, according to program maker Kees van der Spek. Like the TV program Spoorloos , the foundation worked for years with Edwin Vela, the Colombian fixer who became discredited after the broadcast of Scammers .

On September 29, 2022, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice and reparation, the Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children and the Working Group on enforced or involuntary disappearances have issued a joint statement (in English only) on illegal international adoptions.

This declaration aims to “promote a human rights-based and gender-sensitive approach to preventing and eradicating illegal intercountry adoptions by identifying the rights that are violated by illegal intercountry adoptions and clarifying the obligations of States in this regard. regard, under international human rights law .

This text is undoubtedly welcome at a time when many host countries are considering how to respond to the consequences of past mistakes. The right of victims to know the truth and to obtain the assistance necessary to find their origins is, for example, clearly expressed there. However, the UN authorities have included in their approach other rights and different concepts which, in my opinion, would have deserved either a more detailed lexical study or a development of their ins and outs.

In general, this text presents the risk of a certain confusion insofar as it does not make sufficient distinctions between the bad practices of the past and the standards of human rights whose application is necessary and recognized today. .

On the qualification of the theme first of all: speaking of “illegal international adoptions” certainly makes it possible to grasp the subject of the declaration, but the use of the word “illegal” is not appropriate. In my opinion, there is a bias in understanding between, on the one hand, what is considered today as an "illegal adoption", and, on the other hand, the analysis of the practices which may have affected procedures in the past. In a current reading, there is no doubt that "adoptions that are the result of crimes such as abduction, sale or trafficking of a child, fraud in declaration of adoptability, falsification of official documents or coercion, as well as any activity or practice such as the absence of the appropriate consent of the biological parents, improper material profits for the benefit of intermediaries and the corruption associated therewith, constitute illegal adoptions and must be prohibited, criminalized and punished as such ”.

Van der Spek brought the news last night that the TV program Spoorloos has linked adopted children to wrong biological parents. KRO-NCRV has since confirmed that there have been two mismatches and is investigating twelve more cases . In two other cases investigated, the match was correct.

In his RTL5 program Oplichters tackled , Van der Spek will tonight look for a fraudulent Colombian fixer who linked Dutch people to family members for Spoorloos . ,,Actually, I never realized that adoptive children and their search for their parents is such a huge thing. Coincidentally, my last broadcast is also about adoption, but with a completely different approach. It is about children who are adopted from India from a children's home in Mumbai. From there, 500 adoptions have been made. Children who knock on their door now have to pay to look in their file. That orphanage is a revenue model.”

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A Romanian woman testifies to the Council of Europe about the trauma experienced in communist orphanages/ Independent investigations are requested in all EU states regarding the violation of children's rights/ "We were naked, there was no heating, we only received a little food and we were left in the dark"

Sirmanca Fekete, a survivor of the Cighid home for disabled and mentally ill minors, testified today at the Council of Europe in support of a motion submitted by the Justice Initiative, the association announces in a press release.

This is a pan-European initiative that brings together 19 countries and aims to stop, recognize and prevent child abuse in Europe.

The Justice Initiative was initiated by the Swiss Guido Flori to investigate and find solutions for those affected by this phenomenon present throughout the continent.

The Council of Europe and the member states are asked to ensure an independent investigation of the violation of the rights of the child in each European country and the official recognition of the trauma of children who have suffered any kind of sexual, physical or psychological violence. The motion also calls for victims to receive some form of compensation, and for existing laws in member states to be geared towards protecting all children from abuse and maltreatment.

TV program Spoorloos linked at least two participants to the wrong family

Omroep KRO-NCRV acknowledges that at least two people who participated in the Spoorloos program were linked to the wrong biological family. The broadcaster makes this known in a press statement, in response to findings in the RTL program Scammers Tackled by journalist Kees van der Spek.

The upcoming episode of Scammers Tackled a Colombian intermediary, who for years carried out investigative work in Colombia for Spoorloos for a fee. The fixer, Edwin Vela, was involved in sixteen cases. It turns out that there are now at least two mismatches.

Kees van der Spek told this in the Jinek program:

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MISMATCHES TRACK A Dutch correspondent who has been working as an intermediary in Colombia for the Spoorloos program for many years, had to leave the Wereldkinderen foundation in the past because of allegations of inappropriate practices involving adoptive parents, sources against this site confirm. This seems to indicate a second dubious intermediary in the popular program.

The broadcaster confirms that until 2010, the woman worked closely with Edwin Vela, the discredited Colombian fixer who used the Spoorloos program to track down family members. "She occasionally hired Vela for his detective work in places that were unsafe or difficult to reach for her as a foreign woman," a spokesperson said. "Together with him, she has selected a total of sixteen cases for Spoorloos."

Those involved in the adoption world find it 'inconceivable' that KRO-NCRV still works with the woman, they let this site know.

Bomb under program

Crime journalist Kees van der Spek yesterday put a bomb under the extremely successful Spoorloos program with his revelations, which has been an institution on Dutch television for over thirty years. A fraudulent intermediary in Colombia is said to have participated in at least sixteen searches for biological parents of Dutch people for the program. KRO-NCRV can now confirm two 'mismatches' of Dutch people who are not linked to the correct biological parents in Colombia.

KRO-NCRV will screen the fixers who participate in the Spoorloos program "more carefully" after the news about mismatched families. The broadcaster is in contact with people who have been incorrectly linked and offers them support if necessary, a spokesperson said to NU.nl when asked.

Spoorloos started using DNA testing in 2000 . "In the beginning a few times a year in case of doubt, over time more and more." The program has only been testing for DNA in all cases since 2019.

Over the years, DNA testing has become more accessible to consumers, according to KRO-NCRV. "We can now often test with cheek mucus instead of blood. Many mothers in many South American and Asian countries did not find the latter desirable. DNA samples often ended up at customs and did not even leave the country."

From Van der Spek's program Scammers Tackled , it appeared on Monday that the Spoorloos intermediary had not linked two Dutch people to the right biological parents. This was due to a Colombian fixer, who worked on sixteen quests for the program.

The mismatched cases date from 2004 and 2005. Of the sixteen cases in which the fixer was involved, two mismatches are now known and two matches have been confirmed as correct by previous DNA testing. "We will review the other matters again. If desired and possible, we will still offer those involved a DNA test."

Georgia Tann sold over 5,000 children over a period of 30 years

The lack of empathy in some people will never stop surprising humanity just how far they will cross any sort of boundaries just go gain something. One such person is Georgia Tann who is one of the most notorious child traffickers in modern history. From 1924 to 1950, Georgia kidnapped over 5,000 children and sold them to various people who would either use them as servants around the house or for hard labor. For that period of time, Georgia played a character that looked innocent and in love with children, the exact person who everyone would put at the end list of suspects for all the kidnapped children at the time.

How does a person end up doing something like this? Let’s go back and have a look at her younger self for an answer.

Taking children away from their parents from a young age

Georgia Tann was born in 1891 in Philadelphia, Mississippi, in a loving and modest family. Her parents worked to offer her the best chance at a good life whilst offering her affection, so there is nothing within her childhood to explain her behavior later on in life.

Being linked to the wrong biological family. It happened to Kristian and probably Barbara too. Kees van der Spek travels with them to Colombia and finds out that the Spoorloos program has made mistakes.