(Photo by Camille BAS-WOHLERT / AFP)

Norway’s final report on international adoptions has turned Costa Rica’s recent file review into a sharper official finding: Norwegian authorities did not do enough to understand how some Costa Rican children were declared abandoned before being sent abroad for adoption.

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A Norwegian commission is questioning the procedures that led to 101 Costa Rican children being declared abandoned and sent abroad for adoption. What were the findings of this investigation?

A commission created by the Norwegian government to investigate possible irregularities in international adoptions questioned the way in which dozens of minors were declared abandoned in our country before being sent abroad for adoption.

The findings are part of an independent investigation into international adoptions to Norway from 1960 to 2024, a period in which 20,464 adoptions of children from 36 countries were carried out in that country. 

The study dedicated an entire chapter to Costa Rica, as between 1975 and 1992, Norwegian families adopted 101 children of Costa Rican origin. The adoptions were carried out through the agency Adopsjonsforum and in coordination with the National Children's Welfare Board (PANI).

A Singapore couple told CNA that they were handed a baby in a restaurant in Malaysia and told to take her and go, without any paperwork.

SINGAPORE: Singapore adoptive parents Sarah and Adam were in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, waiting nervously at a fast-food restaurant to meet a baby they were looking to adopt when a woman walked in with the newborn in her arms.

After a brief conversation, the woman told the couple to “take now … bring this baby back now”.

The couple was shocked – their adoption agent did not turn up, there was no paperwork and almost no information about the child.

early one-third of registered adoptions in Iran over the past decade were illegal, according to state welfare data, exposing a hidden child-transfer market that advocates say can leave babies vulnerable to sale, abandonment, domestic servitude and other forms of abuse.

Parisa Valentina Pouyan, director of the Pouya Helpers of Child Workers Institute, told Iran’s labor-focused ILNA news agency that baby-selling is a hidden and complex phenomenon driven not only by poverty but also by addiction, cultural pressures, weak oversight, lack of parenting education and failures in state protection systems.

“Buying and selling children is one of the most horrifying forms of social harm and one of the most damaging acts committed against children,” Pouyan said.

Her remarks followed renewed attention in Iranian media to the case of a mother accused of selling several of her newborns over different years for small sums, reviving concerns about underground markets for infants and the future awaiting children transferred outside legal adoption channels.

A recent analytical report by Iran’s State Welfare Organization, known as Behzisti, found that illegal adoption remains a serious challenge for the country’s child-protection and judicial systems.

Three adoptees from Chile have sued the Danish state for violating their right to family life. The plaintiffs claim the state approved, promoted, and contributed to their illegal adoptions despite possessing their “deficient” and “questionable” adoption papers. They argue that the state failed to effectively supervise the private organizations responsible for bringing them to Denmark.

Each plaintiff has demanded 250,000 kroner in compensation, a claim the Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing has rejected. Previously, eight adoptees from South Korea also sued the Danish state in similar cases, demanding 250,000 kroner each for human rights violations due to insufficient control over adoptions.

I was born in Montreal, Canada, in 1955.

Nearly seventy years later, I am still trying to prove who I am.

For most people, the facts of their birth are straightforward. They know who their parents are, where they come from, and how their story began. Their identity is supported by family history, records, photographs, and shared memories.

My search for the truth about my birth has taken nearly thirty years and is still not over.

I was almost forty years old before I learned that Donna Kole existed.

About the investigation

The Independent Investigation into Historical Intercountry Adoptions from the Republic of Korea to Australia will review adoptions from the Republic of Korea (ROK) to Australia between 1964 and 1999.

The investigation responds to long-standing concerns raised by adoptees, families and advocates. It aims to examine Australia’s role in these adoptions. It also aims to support transparency, accountability and healing.

Robert Cook will lead the investigation. He has over 30 years of legal and judicial experience. This includes a decade as an Australian Capital Territory Magistrate and Coroner and 3 years as Head of the Children’s Court.

We have engaged external auditors to assist with the investigation.

Ukrainian Refugee Child at Centre of Italy-Kyiv Adoption Dispute; 82 Other Cases Under Review

An Italian court has approved the adoption of a Ukrainian teenager who was evacuated to the country in 2022, sparking an international dispute with Kyiv over whether the child should remain in Italy or be returned to his living mother in Ukraine. The case has raised questions about how host countries are handling wartime child evacuations and whether some placements have crossed the line from temporary refuge into permanent adoption against the wishes of surviving parents.

The Case of Sasha

The boy, identified as Sasha and now 15 years old, was evacuated to Lecce in southern Italy in 2022 as part of a larger group of Ukrainian children seeking temporary safety during Russia's invasion. According to CNN reporting, the juvenile court in Lecce approved his adoption by the Italian family that had been fostering him since his arrival, making him a permanent resident of Italy rather than a refugee able to return home.

The decision carries particular weight because of Sasha's family circumstances. His father went missing while fighting against Russian forces, and his mother remains alive in Ukraine, never having lost her parental rights. According to available sources, his two sisters have been permitted to return to Ukraine, leaving Sasha isolated from his remaining family.

The Albanese Labor Government is delivering on its election commitment to undertake an independent investigation into historic Republic of Korea-Australia intercountry adoptions.

Recently the Government commenced the investigation and appointed Magistrate Robert Cook to lead it. The Government has now released the Terms of Reference and is inviting adoptees to express their interest in sharing adoption files and personal experiences.

Following the Republic of Korea's Truth and Reconciliation Commission report, this process will support a deeper understanding of the impacts of historic adoption practices on Australian adoptees and their families, while also shedding light on Australia's role in the program.

The independent investigation into historical intercountry adoptions from the Republic of Korea to Australia will review adoptions from the Republic of Korea to Australia between 1964 and 1999. It responds to long-standing concerns raised by adoptees, families and advocates and aims to understand Australia's role in these adoptions.

In last month's Budget, the Government invested an additional $4.1 million over four years to boost support for individuals and families impacted by intercountry adoption through Intercountry Adoptee and Family Support Services (ICAFSS).

The governor says policy has already saved lives, while ACLU called the decision ‘a painful setback’

This story was originally published by Source New Mexico.

The New Mexico Supreme Court on Monday sided with Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and unanimously denied a petition filed last month requesting reversal of a policy mandating the removal of newborns exposed to drugs and alcohol.

The case stems from a July 2025 directive the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department issued requiring staff to take immediate custody of newborns with diagnoses of fetal alcohol syndrome or substance-exposure with “no exceptions.”

In 2019, the New Mexico Legislature updated its mandatory reporting laws to include language that a pregnant women using or abusing drugs “shall not alone form a sufficient basis to report child abuse or neglect.”