The cabinet must put an end to adoptions from abroad as soon as possible. That is one of the recommendations from the upcoming report of the Joustra Committee on the abuses in foreign adoptions. "What we have known for years is now finally being recognized," victims respond to Hart van Nederland .

Parents who gave up children without knowing it, children who subsequently received a false adoption report and can therefore no longer find their biological parents. Much went wrong in the adoptions between 1967 and 1997. Monday the report of the committee headed by Tjibbe Joustra that has investigated the role and responsibility of the Dutch government in Indonesia, Brazil, Colombia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will be published.

Ghost parents

One of those adopted children is Amanda Janssen from Nieuwegein. "I have ghost parents," she tells Hart van Nederland . "I know I was born of something, but from what?"

Amanda's life was turned upside down when she and her adopted sister set out to investigate her origins. But at the hospital she found out that her whole life, her name, her date of birth, belonged to someone else. "At the hospital they said: your document is false." The sister, who had always been told to be a thoroughbred sister, turned out not to be related.

What the government knew for decades but always covered up is now being confirmed. There are many abuses in foreign adoptions, concludes an investigation committee led by former top civil servant Tjibbe Joustra. Adoptees are happy with the recognition. Wish-parents fear a stop on adoptions.

"This proves that I do have a point and have not just shouted in a vacuum," says Butink. “It is nice that this is recognized. At the same time, it is crazy to be happy with the confirmation that abuses have taken place. ''

Butink filed a lawsuit against the Dutch state last year. She believes that the state and the Kind en Toekomst foundation, which arranged her adoption in 1992, made serious mistakes. The agency did not investigate whether the details of biological parents were correct or whether they gave her up for adoption voluntarily.

Barred

The judge ruled that the state is not liable because the fraudulent practices are time-barred. The court thus followed the defense of the state. Moreover, it would be impossible to detect fraud.

The adoption file of Doriet Begemann (41) from Zwolle is full of mistakes. "I take into account that I have been stolen and resold."

Doriet, like thousands of other adoptees, desperately searches for her origins.

The question is whether the Dutch government played a role in illegal adoptions between 1967 and 1998. An investigation committee will hand over a report to Minister Sander Dekker (Legal Protection) on Monday. Civil servants may have been involved , he writes when he establishes the committee in 2018.

The committee examined adoptions from countries including Bangladesh, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Colombia and Indonesia.

DORIET

LEO VARADKAR HAS told the Dáil he was “quite surprised” to hear that audio recordings of witness testimony given to the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes were destroyed.

His comments come amid calls for Children’s Minister Roderic O’Gorman to “take immediate action” to preserve the testimony of witnesses who gave evidence to the commission.

A number of campaigners and opposition TDs have also called for the commission to not be dissolved as planned at the end of the month amid concerns of the deletion of audio recording of testimony.

They say the commission should remain in operation until its members answer questions about its final report, as well as the destruction of audio recordings of witness testimony.

Varadkar said O’Gorman is examining if it “makes sense” to extend the term of the commission so these issues can be examined.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change has recommended that the government assuage concerns raised over the DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2019, including over creation of a national databank of crime scene DNA profiles and fears of communities being targeted.

While recognising the importance of DNA technology in criminal investigation, the committee, in its report tabled in Parliament Wednesday, says, “The risk with a national databank of crime scene DNA profiles is that it will likely include virtually everyone since DNA is left at the ‘crime scene’ before and after the crime by several persons who may have nothing to do with the crime being investigated.”

It adds, “These fears (regarding the Bill) are not entirely unfounded (and) have to be recognized and addressed by the government and by Parliament as well… The Committee is of the strong opinion that an enabling ecosystem must be created soon to ensure that DNA profiling is done in a manner that is fully consistent with the letter and spirit of various Supreme Court judgments and with the Constitution.”

First proposed in 2003, the Bill has gone through several revisions, by both the Department of Biotechnology and Law Ministry. It was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee in October 2019, soon after it was passed. A number of MPs who deposed before the panel repeated fears — expressed by members earlier too — that the Bill could be misused to target segments of society based on religion, caste or political views.

The panel’s report says, “The Committee is conscious of the fact that this Bill is very technical, complex and sensitive. A number of Members have expressed concern about the use of DNA technology — or more accurately its misuse — to target different segments of our society based on factors like religion, caste or political views. These fears are not entirely unfounded (and) have to be recognized and addressed.”

The Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP) has a new advisory board. This now consists of Alexander Pechtold, Marleen Stikker, Eric Tjong Tjin Tai, Jeannine Peek and Tjibbe Joustra. Pechtold is the chairman of the new board.The new advisory board was appointed by Minister of Legal Protection Sander Dekker on the recommendation of the AP on 1 February 2021. Peek and Joustra were also members of the previous advisory board of the AP.The chairman and members are appointed for different periods. In this way, not everyone leaves at the same time and the advisory board can continue.The Advisory Council provides the AP - solicited and unsolicited - with advice on the supervisory authority's mission, vision, ambition and strategy.The members of the AP's advisory board have different backgrounds and positions:Alexander Pechtold (chairman, appointed for 4 years)

Alexander Pechtold has many years of political and administrative experience, including as a Member of Parliament and minister. Since November 2019 he has been general director of the Central Bureau for Driving Licenses (CBR).He is also chairman of the Steering Committee Renovation Binnenhof, member of the supervisory board of the Drents Museum and chairman of the National Purchasing Fund Vereniging Rembrandt.Marleen Stikker (member, appointed for 3 years)

Marleen Stikker is founder and director of Waag Future Lab for design and technology. In addition, she is currently professor of practice at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam, member of the Advisory Council for science, technology and innovation, member of the Amsterdam Economic Board, co-founder and board member of Public Spaces and chair of the Consultative Body for the Physical Environment.In 2019 Marleen Stikker wrote the book 'The internet is broken'.Eric Tjong Tjin Tai (member, appointed for 3 years)

Eric Tjong Tjin Tai is Professor of Private Law at Tilburg University. He is chairman of the Cassation Commission in the interests of the law. And deputy judge at the Netherlands Commercial Court.Jeannine Peek (member, appointed for 2 years)

Jeannine Peek (photo) is General Manager of Dell Technologies Netherlands. She is also a figurehead ICT for the Top Sector ICT, board member of the NL Digital sector association and the National Register Foundation (on behalf of VNO-NCW), member of the supervisory board of the Internet Domain Registration Foundation Netherlands and ambassador for the University of Twente.Tjibbe Joustra (member, appointed for 1 year)

The DNA Technology Regulation Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in July 2019. The Bill was then referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology. The committee recently, in a draft report, pointed out that some of the provisions in the bill could be misused in different ways.

The standing committee pointed out that the DNA profiles can reveal extremely sensitive information of an individual & hence could be misused for caste/community-based profiling. There are criticisms that the DNA profiling bill is a violation of human rights as it could also compromise with the privacy of the individuals. Also, questions are being raised on how the bill plans to safeguard the privacy of DNA profiles stored in the databanks.

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NEW DELHI: A parliamentary committee in its report on the DNA

Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill on Wednesday

suggested the government to "pay very careful attention" to certain views

on very important issues on the proposed legislation, saying some

members have expressed their fears that the bill when it becomes a law

Actor Salim Diwan has revealed that he has adopted 12 children, and he looks after their education. He points out there is a stigma around adoption in our country.

“Adopting a child is very common abroad. There are plenty of international renowned names who have adopted children and even funded their education. In India, the thought is finally pacing up but it will still take a lot of time,” Salim said.

“I have always believed in the concept of ‘right to education’, children are our future and right education will not only help them prosper financially, it also makes them a better human being. As of now I have adopted and looked into the education of 12 lovely bright children,” he added.

Explaining his thoughts, he said, “There is a stigma around adoption that has been created by the people in our society so they either don’t do it or keep it in private. I never believed in talking about it but I feel with the changing phase and thoughts of the young souls of our nation, now is the time to speak up.”

“I will consider my work done even if my voice reaches out and inspires a few people. I would urge everyone to come out and openly accept these kids as they can live a life which they might have only dreamt off,” he added.

The football agent on how his daughter’s birth inspired him to work in the women’s game, and the search for his birth mother

Michael Kallbäck was working as an obscure agent in Scandinavian football when, in November 2014, he became a father for the first time. He describes the birth of his daughter, Charlie, as “an epiphany” which transformed his life. Apart from inspiring him to work in women’s football, where he is now an influential agent, the arrival of his daughter encouraged him to discover the secrets of his own extraordinary past.

Nadia Nadim, the first female footballer to work with him, remains the client to whom he is closest. Playing for Paris Saint-Germain and Denmark, Nadim is one of the world’s great footballers whose life transcends sport. Nadim escaped Afghanistan at the age of 11, after the Taliban murdered her father, and fell in love with football in a Danish refugee camp. She is close to becoming a surgeon while continuing to shine at PSG.

The 100 best female footballers in the world 2020

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