The Swiss Government has acknowledged that authorities failed to prevent the illegal adoptions of children from Sri Lanka until the 1990s, Swiss and international media reported yesterday.
In a statement issued last night, the Swiss Government regretted adoptions had gone ahead “despite strong indications of, in some cases, serious irregularities.” “Despite early and clear indications of illegal adoption placements in Sri Lanka, the Swiss Confederation and the Cantons waited far too long before taking the appropriate action against the irregularities,” it said.
“The negligence of the authorities has marked the lives of adults adopted as children to this day,” it added. “The Federal Council regrets that the Confederation and the Cantons failed to shoulder their responsibility to the children.” The issue surfaced after adults adopted as children in the 1980s and 1990s returned to Sri Lanka to find their biological parents. They found that information in the adoption files assigned to them was false.
The Swiss Government will now provide greater support for Swiss citizens searching for their origins in Sri Lanka and other Asian and African countries. The Government will also start a historical analysis of possible illegal adoptions in Switzerland.