Unclarity about Swedish adoption control

- Unofficial translation -

5 June 2008 - GRINGO

We call Margit Hasselgren, consultant of Swedish Adoptionscentrum and Meit Camving, Director-general for the authority for international adoption (MIA).

Hello Margit, me and my husband speculate on applying for about adoption and I have some questions. One has of course read about different adoption scandals and I want to know more about how it all goes.

- OK, it is only to ask.

How does it go to when you" search children"?

- it is more so that we have contact with countries where they have laws on adoption. They deal with adoptionerna. We work with countries as stipulated in international conventions.

How do you know that they follow those conventions?

- one must trust that it goes fairly.

But do you do some control?

-         there is a Swedish authority that checks, you can to see on www.mia.eu.

In which way, they check?

- we adopt of course from around thirty countries, they can of course not travel around to everyone of those countries all the time.

- but if we consult that something is wrong so it will be checked.

It costs of course quite a lot that to adopt. Where goes the money?

-         it is different what they take for payment in sending countries. If it is a State authority that collects the adoption costs it is for example often smaller than if it is a private orphanage where the involvement of lawyers, judges and so on is required. We have employees in the countries that take care of the adoptive families when they come there.

Can it therefore be private lawyers also?

- yes, it is the country's own laws that governs what is required.

Do you check where each money goes?

- where we can we do it.

How do you tackle corruption?

-                     yes… We do not pay additional money in order so that it, for example, will go quicker. Sometimes, they can of course think that we are a little stupid to not use it. In for example India there are influential persons that you can pay few a sour cream.

Adoptionscentrum relies therefore on cooperation partner in the children's birth country and refers to MIA's control. But when we call MIA they refer us back to the adoption agency's own responsibilities.

-         we are a monitoring authority over adoption organisations. We do not check individual adoptions. It is important that adoptions organisations follow the legislation in each country, says Meit Camving who is Director-general in MIA.

But how do you check you adoption organisations?

- we require an account of their work each year. And they must report on each individual country they work with.

- since do we also tillsynsresor to the different countries, orphanages visits, embassies and authorities.

How do you check where the money goes?

- Adoption organisations must present costs for each country.

How works you against corruption?

- it is important that the organisations have serious collaborative partners and that they present all costs.

- in order that the organisations will be allowed to work in foreign countries it is required that they follow the child convention's fundamental principles.

Jeanette Thuresson
and Federico Rodriguez Moreno