International adoptions will be allowed again in the Netherlands but are to be handled by a new government body, government sources have confirmed to the AD.

The decision, which will be announced on Monday, follows the suspension of all international adoptions in the wake of a hightly critical report by former senior civil servant Tjibbe Joustra last year.

Joustra was asked to look at Dutch adoption procedures covering the 30 years to 1997 following concerns about the illegal adoption of babies from Brazil in the 1970s and 1980s.

In the report, he said the lack of supervision and action on abuses are permanent and systemic, and that all adoptions should be stopped for the time being, if not permanently.

However, legal protection Franc Weerwind said international adoptions could go ahead if private agencies operate under the auspices of  a government supervised foundation.

There will be stricter conditions for international adoptions, and only children who cannot be cared for in their country of origin will be considered for adoption.

The number of adoptions from abroad has been falling over the years, from 700 in 2010 to 145 in 2019.