The Dutch government does not intend to provide financial assistance to adoptees who are looking for or have gone in search of their biological parents. This is apparent from the rejection of a liability claim by lawyer Dewi Deijle. She had submitted that claim to the Ministry of Justice and Security, partly on behalf of a group of Dutch people adopted from Indonesia.
According to Deijle, who was also adopted from Indonesia, the Dutch State is legally liable for abuses in adoptions from abroad. That is why, among other things, there should be a compensation fund for adoptees who are looking for or have gone in search of their biological family, she believes.
Commission-Joustra
Outgoing Minister Dekker for Legal Protection does not agree. “Extremely disappointing,” says Deijle. According to her, many adoptees had hoped that the government could help them financially, especially after the tough research report of the Joustra Commission. He concluded in February that the Dutch government did not intervene in abuses such as child trafficking and child theft during adoptions in the 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s.
Dekker has adopted the conclusions of the Joustra Committee and has apologized for the abuses. He also said the government has a “moral responsibility” to support adoptees in their search for their ancestry. To this end, a national expertise center is being set up to provide them with legal and psychosocial support, among other things. Adoptees can also gain access to adoption files and parentage information.
But they don’t have to turn to Dekker for money. In his response to Deijle’s liability claim, Dekker writes that he sees no basis for such a financial compensation, although he realizes that the message is disappointing. According to Dekker, the national expertise center will soon be able to offer adoptees sufficient appropriate support.
By the way, Dekker also wrote in a letter last week letter to the House of Representatives that he does not intend to pay for individual searches, not even from the yet to be established national expertise center. The minister is making 36.4 million euros available until 2026 to set up this expertise centre.
Sri Lanka
Twelve Dutch adopted from Sri Lanka in April also filed a liability claim to fund their search. They also hold the State liable for the abuses during their adoptions in the 1980s. They believe that the government should reimburse them for the costs they incurred in looking for their biological parents.
This group does not yet have an answer to the claim, their lawyer said.
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