A new report is recommending the Netherlands immediately halt the adoption of babies and children from abroad because of ‘serious abuses’, the AD reported on Friday, quoting sources close to the cabinet.

Former senior civil servant Tjibbe Joustra was asked to look at Dutch adoption procedures covering the 30 years to 1997, but says the problems are permanent and systemic, and that all adoptions should be stopped for the time being, the paper said.

Among the problems highlighted in the report are corruption, forgery and document theft, but also child trafficking and child snatching, the AD said. The research focused on Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

The report also recommends the Dutch government recognise the wrongs that were done to parents and children, and that it sets up a hotline in those countries where parents can report abuses.

The report is due to be published on Monday following discussions in Friday’s cabinet meeting.