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Terre des Hommes Suisse has never been involved in adoption processes

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The adoption of children in Switzerland from various countries around the world has recently been the subject of a number of investigations and reports, in Switzerland and in Europe, questioning in particular the role, legality and ethics of Terre des Hommes in these processes.

Founded in Lausanne in 1960, Terre des Hommes has been a key player in international adoption. However, for historical reasons, there are now several legally independent organisations working together under the umbrella of the “International Federation of Terre des Hommes“, but headquartered in different cantons or countries. Most of these restructurings took place between the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s.

While the “Terre des Hommes – Aide a l’enfance ” fundation, based in Lausanne, continued to be involved in adoption activities until the 2000s, “Terre des Hommes Suisse“, based in Geneva and which separated from the Lausanne structure in 1972, immediately gave priority to direct aid to beneficiaries on the ground, forging its specificity from that moment on by working with local partners on the ground.