Minutes of the meeting of the Committee for Welfare, Public Health, Family, Poverty Reduction and Equal Opportunities
Ask for explanation
Ask for explanationon the role of the Flemish Centre for Adoption in the investigation into abuses in historical adoptions
436 (2025-2026)
from Jeremie Vaneeckhout to Minister Caroline Gennez
Report
Mr Vaneeckhout has the floor.
Minister, this is a topic we've discussed regularly in this committee in recent years: intercountry adoption and the abuse that has occurred in this context, which has created traumatic situations for some children here in Flanders and Belgium.
When we talk about Belgium and Flanders, we also need to look at the countries of origin involved. There, we see – and this is the theme of my question – that people's good intentions and legitimate desires are sometimes abused by others with bad intentions. This has a huge impact on children.
The debate is raging here in Flanders and Belgium, but also in the countries of origin. For example, at the end of last week, we saw the South Korean president apologize for the historical abuses in intercountry adoptions from his country. He did so in response to the advice of the South Korean Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Adoption. A growing number of countries, both sending and receiving, are often conducting joint investigations into abuses surrounding intercountry adoptions, which often turn out to be outright child abduction or child trafficking. We must continue to address this as such.
Here too, there finally seems to be some progress at the federal level. A 2022 resolution is being implemented. Minister Verlinden has requested a federal investigation into illegal adoptions. The Flemish Centre for Adoption (VCA) is participating in this investigation. However—and that's the point of my question—it's not entirely clear in what role or capacity they are doing this.
It appears that the VCA is not only an interested party, as it is involved in several cases, but also wants to conduct its own investigation and act as an investigating judge, examining foreign cases. We were told that the VCA is actively contacting authorities in sending countries to announce that it is launching an investigation into individual adoption cases.
To be clear: I sincerely assume this is well-intentioned. However, it does entail risks. Such investigations are, by definition, particularly diplomatically sensitive. This is something the VCA may not have much expertise in. Moreover, the mixing of roles—being part of the investigation on the one hand, and conducting it on the other—does raise concerns.
Former Foreign Minister Lahbib also slipped up in the previous legislative term by raising an individual adoption case with a Central American colleague. This led to retaliatory measures against the family of the person involved. Such investigations generate considerable controversy and have numerous ramifications.
Therefore, the question is to what extent the VCA consciously assumes this role, and whether this is done under direct instruction from the competent minister. You are the supervising minister of the VCA through the Opgroeien agency.
So I have a few questions.
What role does the VCA play in the federal investigation into adoption abuses?
What role can the VCA play?
Is it the task of the VCA to investigate historical files or to assist in doing so?
How far does that mandate extend?
To what extent is it useful, necessary, or desirable for the VCA to actively contact sending countries, specifically regarding past issues? Does the VCA possess sufficient diplomatic expertise for this purpose?
Does the VCA fulfill this role at your request or in consultation with you?
Are you personally involved in the investigation by your federal Justice Department colleague? If not, do you plan to request to be involved?
Minister Gennez has the floor.
Minister Caroline Gennez
The Flemish Adoption Centre has absolutely no authority as an investigating judge and receives no instructions whatsoever in this regard. The VCA does, however, participate in the federal task force established within the Consultation and Monitoring Committee and chaired by the federal office of the Minister of Justice. This task force's purpose is to conduct a comprehensive historical investigation into illegal adoptions, as requested in the federal resolution of March 13, 2025, concerning the measures to be taken following the recognition that children have been illegally adopted in Belgium.
The VCA's role is supportive and facilitating, never investigative. The VCA contributes its expertise in its own Flemish services regarding individual reports of illegal adoptions, the historical context surrounding adoption practices, and the archives available in Flanders. They therefore provide information.
The federal research will be conducted by an external partner with expertise in scientifically sound historical and archival research, in accordance with the principle of independence, as required by the federal resolution.
Following the initiative of former Minister Crevits, we are taking responsibility to support adoptees, first or birth parents, and adoptive parents in their search for accurate information about their ancestry and adoption.
The Flemish role is limited to the following tasks: carefully recording and forwarding individual reports of potential irregularities at the case level, which the VCA then receives and forwards; identifying potential research partners based on recommendations from Flemish adoptee groups and partners from its broader national and international network. Interested potential research partners are assessed by the external NGO International Social Service using a standard screening tool. Other tasks include appointing an external research partner who can demonstrate the necessary adoption-sensitive and context-specific knowledge and monitoring the progress of the administrative investigation in individual adoption files.
The VCA is not an investigative body itself, but it is a point of contact for reporters and responsible for the follow-up of the administrative investigation at case level by an external and neutral investigative partner in the countries involved.
The VCA maintains preparatory and exploratory contacts with foreign government agencies, with the aim of facilitating the administrative investigation by the external research partner on-site and never to inspect individual files itself.
In some cases, the knowledge and expertise of the Belgian diplomatic network is also called upon.
The VCA acts in consultation with all relevant services in the administrative investigation of individual adoption files.
Regarding the global historical research into illegal adoptions, which is not conducted at the case level, the VCA operates within the framework of the Consultation and Follow-up Committee, where all competent authorities and communities regarding adoption are represented.
Each step is coordinated within the federal task force to ensure consistency and transparency across levels.
Both the Cabinet and the administration are actively involved in discussions within the task force on the implementation of the federal investigation.
The federal government services and communities involved are part of the consultation structure that prepares the global historical research within the task force.
It's crucial that we're involved in ensuring that all archives, regulations, and stakeholders can share their expertise correctly. In the interest of adoptees and their families, and with a view to respecting their privacy and safety, it's crucial to handle the information we have with care, never to conduct research on our own initiative, and to handle the information shared responsibly and share it for the benefit of the adoptees.
Mr Vaneeckhout has the floor.
Minister, thank you for your answer. It does provide some clarity about the role the VCA does or doesn't play. At the same time, it remains a particularly sensitive issue, involving many individual experiences. For example, some people aren't always very positive about the VCA. So, there's a tension: on the one hand, the VCA may be the only partner that can properly provide certain information, but on the other hand, that involvement sometimes leads to a sensitive investigation.
I'd like to address a very specific aspect. There are already situations where the VCA, as you just mentioned, is contacting people and discussing individual cases during the preparation phase. I can imagine that this happens during such a meeting. This may be well-intentioned, but in certain situations, it has a direct impact on the personal environment of family members of adopted children in their country of origin.
Have you discussed with the VCA how sensitive certain matters might be, and what the potential impact might be on children, their biological parents, and family members in their country of origin, for example, in the form of reprisals by regimes that do not want certain practices to be exposed? Is this a topic on the agenda, something you've discussed with the VCA yourself, or something that has been raised within the federal task force, for example, as a warning that the VCA should not record something in a certain way?
From the testimonies I've received, it's clear that the VCA isn't always handling this role with the utmost care. Are you willing to discuss this further? Otherwise, I might come back to this later.
Mrs Perdaens has the floor.
A first element, purely administrative: I find it a bit odd that the investigations here began in 2019, and that this is now a continuation. It's strange that we're only now joining the federal action plan. But hey, that's how people organize things.
What I find more strange, Minister, is that the answer to my written question last summer gave me the impression that the role of the recruited employee at the VCA is more hands-on than you indicate. I will read a passage from the answer to my written question of June 12th.
The new employee at the VCA will be specifically responsible for initiating and following up on investigations into potential malpractice in adoption cases. This includes identifying potential research partners in the relevant countries, coordinating collaboration agreements with these partners, and monitoring communication regarding the research results with those directly involved. We hope to launch the first investigations in the fall of 2025.
From that answer, I infer that the intention is for them to contact research partners in the countries involved, as well as those directly involved, the reporters. But I understand from your answer today that this isn't actually the case. Are those two parallels? Did I misinterpret this? That's certainly possible, but it doesn't really seem to connect.
Last week, I also asked a question here in the committee about the status of the investigations and the abuses. In your answer to my written question, you indicated that the investigations would begin at the end of 2025, or that you wished them to. That's why I asked about the current status, which countries had already been contacted, and how many dossiers were involved. You didn't answer that question at the time, but I'll ask again. Perhaps you can answer it now.
Minister Gennez has the floor.
Minister Caroline Gennez
We must be very careful not to confuse matters. You're talking about individual cases, and I've outlined that as well. Minister Crevits made that call. People have come forward, and the intention is for that information to be made available within the framework of the federal task force. That's happening within the VCA (Flemish Security Agency). But the VCA does not have the role or mandate to act as an investigating judge, not even in those individual cases. That, I think, is something we must handle with caution.
That being said, don't hesitate to raise specific issues. We will then consult with the VCA. It's important that everyone knows their role, plays their part, and defines it, in the interest of truth-finding, but especially in the interest of the adoptees. That's what must unite us and what we always prioritize.
The VCA certainly has its expertise, but it was only established, if I'm not mistaken, in 2005, while the files are essentially half a century old. So there's a certain distance between them.
We'll continue working on this. If you identify any violations or sensitivities that are inconsistent with the VCA mandate, I'll certainly look into it.
Mr Vaneeckhout has the floor.
Thank you, Minister. I feel our concerns are shared and will be addressed. If we receive any information, we will certainly pass it on. We will certainly return to this topic in the coming months, once we have a better understanding.
The request for explanation has been dealt with.