Chile: New adoption law and trials for child trafficking

Thousands of children were illegally given up for adoption under the dictatorship. Those affected are demanding justice and international investigation. German authorities show little awareness of the problem.

Santiago. A new law came into effect in Chile at the end of July, permitting adoptions by single individuals and same-sex couples. It also limits the period for final court decisions to 18 months and allows adopted children contact with their biological parents. Furthermore, it sets limits to prevent illegal adoptions.

Back in March, the government established an interministerial task force to investigate 20,000 suspected illegal adoptions during the Chilean military dictatorship ( as reported by Amerika 21 ). To seemingly legitimize the adoptions, those involved left traces that are now being sought in medical records, forensic documents, registry offices, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

President Gabriel Boric has promised to establish a genetic database by the end of his term, which can facilitate and expedite the tracing of family members. The identification and potential prosecution of those involved is only just beginning.

The mothers involved came without exception from poor, socially disadvantaged backgrounds, from whom any resistance or subsequent inquiries were not to be expected. Social workers and clergy took on the task of persuasion, while hospital staff, midwives, and doctors manipulated medical records and registered the births with the civil registry under false names. Either the mother was coerced into signing an adoption agreement under threat, or she was denied the handover of an allegedly stillborn child under false pretenses. Lawyers then used these documents to file for adoption in court, in order to feign the legality of the process to potential adoptive parents abroad. Since placement immediately after birth was impossible, the children were temporarily placed in selected institutions.

The investigations are proving difficult. In some cases, maternity wards and neonatal units have been relocated or closed. Furthermore, under Chilean law, patient records may be destroyed fifteen years after the last treatment of the person, i.e., the mother.

Nevertheless, volunteer-run organizations such as Hijos y Madres de Silencio ( HMS ), Nos buscamos (We are looking for each other), and Adopción Illegal ( AI ) have successfully facilitated family reunification in approximately 1,000 cases. They offer legal advice, actively search for family members when they come forward, and arrange genetic testing.

Part of addressing these human tragedies also involves prosecuting those responsible. In June, the court opened the first criminal trial against five people from San Fernando, a small town 150 kilometers from Santiago, on charges of criminal conspiracy and child abduction. While four defendants are in pretrial detention, the court is awaiting the extradition of Ivonne Gutiérrez Pávez, who is currently in Israel and was a judge at the San Fernando juvenile court during the period in question. The investigating prosecutor has ruled out the possibility of the statute of limitations, as these are crimes against humanity. He can base this on a recent Supreme Court ruling and internationally recognized legal norms. The president of HMS expressed hope that the approximately 1,300 pending cases will be pursued. She urges all women to consult the foundation and file a report if they have any doubts.

Chilean media are increasingly reporting on the issue of forced adoptions, which is also generating attention in foreign media and reactions from government agencies. HMS has signed a memorandum at the French Embassy in Santiago, agreeing to close cooperation and guaranteeing support for victims of forced adoptions in France.

In Sweden, there are considerations to ban the adoption of foreign children.

In Germany, the Green Party submitted a major inquiry to the Bundestag in 1989 regarding forced adoptions and child trafficking . Item 31 of the inquiry asked: "Can the Federal Government rule out the possibility that the lawyers and air force judges belonging to the German-Chilean Cultural Institute were or are involved in privately arranged adoptions?" According to a 2023 broadcast on Deutschlandfunk radio , official state agencies were not involved in illegal activities but stabilized the system by turning a blind eye and failing to investigate. The broadcast noted the absence of a state commission of inquiry or a public apology. The Federal Ministry for Family Affairs also had no plans to do so. For Melanie Kleintz (a Peruvian adoptee, now an activist for the interests of foreign adoptees in Germany), this was disappointing: "We had no lobby then. We still don't have one now."