Already in January, the minister announced that she would have an external investigation into foreign adoptions . Five months later, the mandate is ready.

– They will work for two years and investigate adoptions from all countries Norway has collaborated with, says Toppe to VG.

The committee will also look at how the Norwegian authorities have handled adoptions. This means, among other things, that Toppe’s own ministry must be investigated.

Law professor Camilla Bernt will lead the committee that will examine Norwegian adoptions for all countries. The work begins over the summer.

– Two years is a long time, but it is necessary for this to be as thorough as necessary, continues the minister.

The statements came after VG uncovered several stories about illegal adoption:

• In January, VG wrote about Camilla Austbø, who was kidnapped and adopted to Norway. The biological mother in Ecuador demanded that the adoption be annulled – so that she could get her daughter back. Then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the organization Adoption Forum transferred  sums of money to Ecuador  – and the demand to get the girl back disappeared.

• In May, VG uncovered systematic cheating in adoption papers from South Korea. South Korean children were adopted to Norway as orphans , despite the fact that they were not. The Norwegian authorities themselves said that this was against the law . Nevertheless, the adoptions continued.

• VG has also told about adoptive parents who notified the organization Adoptionsforum about smearing – and that they were given incorrect information about the children they were to adopt .

The Minister has asked the committee to deliver at least an interim report, probably during the first year.

– Many people are waiting for answers, especially from the countries Ecuador and South Korea that VG has written about. It is natural that the committee will prioritize this and have it clear in the interim report, says Toppe.

Encourages adoptees to get in touch

When the committee begins its work, the minister encourages adoptees to get in touch.

– Anyone with information they are sitting on or concerns should contact the committee. All the information and pointers they can get are very important.

Toppe emphasizes that the committee will not be able to help the individual adoptee to find out what happened in their adoption – then Bufdir is the right place to turn.

Going into individual cases

Several other countries have already carried out investigations into foreign adoptions, including Sweden. There, the investigators found information about illegal adoptions in all the countries they have examined, Dagens Nyheter could report on Sunday .

The mandate for the Norwegian investigative committee was approved in the King’s Cabinet today, Tuesday. It states that, in addition to examining the system for adoption, the committee must look at individual cases.

– They have to go into the individual cases if, for example, they are going to find examples of fake papers, says Toppe.

– Does that mean that the committee can make contact with biological parents and others abroad, such as Camilla Austbø’s mother ?

– I will not go into detail about what the committee does or does not do, but it is a matter that will obviously be relevant to look into in more detail.