The Sāmoa government says some prospective adoptive parents allegedly used fake online photos during the adoption process.

Four Sāmoan children adopted by New Zealand families have been returned home after suffering abuse, according to Sāmoa's Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration.

The move has prompted renewed scrutiny of the adoption process between Sāmoa and Aotearoa.

According to Talamua Media in Apia, the children, aged 12, 16, 18 and 20, returned to Sāmoa last year after authorities confirmed they had been abused by their adoptive families.

According to new rules, registration with the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) has now been made mandatory for adoption by inter-country relatives and stepparents.

Deputy Commissioner Anupam Kashyap said on Thursday that registration was now compulsory if anyone wished to adopt a child within his family or from relatives.

After completing all formalities, the District Magistrate would issue an adoption certificate, he added.

He said that children were often adopted by relatives and within families, leading to legal difficulties.

To simplify this system, legal parental rights were granted through the Central Adoption Resource Authority for family and kinship adoption. Therefore, people should strictly adhere to these rules to ensure a better future for children, he added.

The cabinet apologized for forced adoption practices, but is undermining that gesture with the follow-up steps it is announcing, say the affected parties.

Representatives of so-called birth mothers and their children have severely criticized the remedial measures offered to them by the government. In particular, the continued limited access to their own files is leading to dismayed reactions among those involved.

Two weeks ago, the Dutch government apologized for some 14,000 cases in which mostly young, unmarried mothers were pressured to give up their babies immediately after birth. The family often played a role in this, as did the church, but the government as well. 'We did not listen to the mothers and never intervened,' said State Secretary Claudia van Bruggen at the time on behalf of the government.

Those apologies meant a great deal to those affected, says Frans Haven of the Verleden in Zicht foundation, which advocates for the interests of relinquished children. But the concrete plans subsequently presented by the cabinet caused a storm of indignation among his constituency. The biggest sticking point is that access to their own files remains limited. The cabinet says it wants to protect the interests of other people who appear in those files.

This file is our only lifeline.

Birth mothers

Privacy remains the problem regarding access to remote files. 'We must take into account the interests of all parties involved.'

State Secretary Claudia van Bruggen (Security and Justice) offered an apology to the birth mothers and children earlier this month.Source Photo Jeroen Jumelet, ANP

This article was written byJeroen den BlijkerPublished on July 16, 2026, 18:28

South Korea’s government has acknowledged wrongs, but advocates say accountability is still lacking.

Seoul, South Korea – In 2023, Marie Wang began digging into her past for the first time.

Growing up in Denmark, she had always known she had been adopted from South Korea in the early 1990s.

Report

The chairman

And now we are starting the 'Vaneeckhout Commission'.

Mr. Vaneeckhout has the floor.

Jeremie Vaneeckhout (Green)

For decades, thousands of Paraguayan children were adopted by families abroad. Often described as Paraguay’s “lost children” or “Stroessner babies”, many adult adoptees are now searching for their origins. At the same time, questions remain about the systems, vulnerabilities, and unanswered stories behind their departures. In the final years of Alfredo Stroessner’s dictatorship and during Paraguay’s transition to democracy, thousands of children left the country through international adoption. Many grew up abroad, often knowing little about their birth families or the circumstances that led to their adoption.

Decades later, a growing number of Paraguayan adoptees are searching for answers. Some have reunited with biological relatives, while others continue looking for information. The latter because of incomplete records, missing documents, or uncertainty surrounding their origins. This series explores the history of international adoption in Paraguay and the stories of those affected by it.

Adoption during the Stroessner era

Alfredo Stroessner ruled Paraguay from 1954 until 1989, leading one of Latin America’s longest authoritarian governments. His regime was marked by political repression, censorship, and the concentration of power among a small group of elites. While Paraguay experienced economic growth during parts of his government, many communities, particularly in rural areas and among low-income families, continued facing poverty and limited access to social services.

"Samoa continues negotiations to ensure processes align with reforms while safeguarding the welfare and best interests of Samoan children.."

Friday 10 July 2026 Apia Samoa. Samoa and New Zealand are holding high-level talks aimed at improved processes to ensure the safety and well-being of children placed with adoptive families. Samoa’s Ministry of Justice CEO and Chief Court Registrar, Papalii John Taimalelagi gave an update of the discussions to local media at Taumeasina Island Resort on Thursday.

“E lē vaai le tulafono i matua, (biological parents) e lē vaai le tulafono i adoptive parent’s – ae vaai le tulafono i le tamaititi, the best interest of the chil

Talks are looking at lifting the temporary suspension preventing Samoan children adopted by New Zealand families from automatically receiving New Zealand citizenship.

The discussions follow New Zealand’s September 2025 decision to suspend recognition of Samoan intercountry adoptions for citizenship purposes after concerns were raised about the welfare of some adopted children.

Guatemala will resume international adoptions starting in January 2027 with the U.S., El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic.

The National Adoption Council (CNA) asserts that after a two-decade suspension, the country has eliminated the notarial adoption system, which was plagued by corruption and child trafficking. Germany, Spain, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Canada have prohibited their citizens from adopting Guatemalan children until Guatemala implements the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption.

The adoption law has been in effect since 2007, following decades in which adoptions were a business: they could cost up to US$40,000. The United Nations even requested an investigation into former Attorney General Consuelo Porras, on suspicion of involvement in irregular adoptions.

Estuardo Mexicano, director of the CNA, points out the progress: a specific law for the Attorney General's Office; the certification of foster families; the supervision of homes to rule out a history of irregular processes; in addition, post-adoption follow-up:

"There are already enough filters to establish the legality of children in a state of adoptability, that their origin is well determined through an investigation by the Attorney General's Office."  

It is incomprehensible that adoptions are still taking place today, according to journalist and documentary filmmaker Qian van Binsbergen. While making her documentary, she stumbled upon abuses surrounding adoptions that touch upon her own life story.

Was she two days old? Seven months? A year and a half? Qian van Binsbergen has a suitcase full of papers, but is not sure how old she was when she was brought to the orphanage in China.

And yet it is so telling. "It says something about the essence of why you were given up," she explains on *Dit is de dag * (EO). "With Chinese adoption, the one-child policy plays a role. In that case, agreements were made in advance to give up a child if it was a girl. If I was indeed only two days old, that would be an explanation."

But what is the truth? "If I follow the entire trail of my papers, I probably lived with my original family for two months. That means that my original mother not only carried me in her womb for nine months in circumstances I do not know, but also fought for another two months to keep me in her family."