Implicated for "serious facts", an international adoption organization loses its accreditation

Facts The association "Le Rayon de Soleil de l'enfant etranger", accused of "serious" abuses, had its authorization withdrawn by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday 10 February.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Friday February 10 that it had withdrawn its accreditation from the association "Le Rayon de Soleil de l'enfant etranger" (RDSEE), implicated for irregularities in procedures for adopted children. This clearance was withdrawn "due to his past activities" , said a diplomatic source.

On its website, RDSEE confirms that it “will cease its International Adoption activities on December 27, 2023” , as already specified in a decree published in the Official Journal on December 28, 2022.

“The ministry, in taking this decision, considered that the repeated attacks against the RDSEE in certain media did not allow (it) to fully carry out its mission. We contest this decision, a first complaint having been filed in July 2020 and no other complaint being known to date , ”says RDSEE on its site.

An association accused of "drift"

RDSEE operates in South Korea, China, India, Haiti, Madagascar, Romania, Bulgaria, Central African Republic, Mali and Vietnam. The association has been accused, in particular through a long investigation by the newspaper Le Monde , of "drift" as an intermediary to facilitate the process of foreign children by French couples.

"The services of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs ensure rigorous control of the adoption procedures accompanied by the bodies authorized for adoption and of their operation, in order to ensure that they comply with the requirements set by international conventions and French law ,” the diplomatic source commented.

An interministerial inspection mission on "illegal practices in international adoption" was launched in November 2022 by the French government. Its conclusions are scheduled for May.

"Serious facts"

The decision of the Quai d'Orsay comes as a historic study, funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and published on Monday, questioned, beyond this organization, "illicit practices" "recurring" in the adoption international.

She denounces the “recurrence of serious facts, not in conformity with the laws of the countries concerned or with human rights, which have marred the process of international adoption since their development in the 1960s” .

The authors of the study cite missing documents, falsification of documents, absence of consent from the biological mother, false declarations of civil status, fraud in the rules of exit and entry into the countries concerned, kidnappings, thefts or sale of children.

.