No Federal Funds for Origin Search of Adopted Children from Sri Lanka
Published: Thursday, Sep 21st 2023, 11:01
Mise à jour le : Vendredi, 13 octobre 2023, 14:12
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Private organisations will not receive federal funding for the search for the biological relatives of adopted children from Sri Lanka. On Thursday, the Council of States rejected a parliamentary initiative from the National Council's Commission for Legal Matters (RK-N). The decision was made with 31 to 10 votes, meaning the initiative is no longer being considered. In 2020, the Federal Council acknowledged and regretted that Swiss authorities had committed errors and omissions in connection with adoptions from Sri Lanka, despite being made aware of serious irregularities. The National Council then unanimously supported the commission's initiative and financial support for the search for origins, without providing support for individual cases, as this is the responsibility of the cantons. The Council of States' Commission for Legal Matters (RK-S) argued that the cantonal authorities were primarily responsible for the past mistakes, and that the federal government was not obliged to do so. A minority of the Council of States' commission unsuccessfully proposed the acceptance of the initiative. Since 2020, the federal government and cantons have been participating in a pilot project for the search for origins of adopted children from Sri Lanka. The cooperation with private organisations has proven successful. To extend the model to other countries in addition to Sri Lanka, a legal basis is needed.
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