Yusril Backs Indonesian Citizenship for Dutch Illegal Adoption Victims

Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra has backed the granting of Indonesian citizenship (WNI) to victims of illegal adoptions to the Netherlands. These victims currently hold foreign citizenship after being illegally transferred abroad as infants.

Yusril has asked the Ministry of Law to accelerate the restoration of their WNI status, arguing that they are Indonesians who lost their citizenship through no fault of their own. “The process is simpler than naturalisation because it only requires the minister’s approval and does not need presidential intervention,” Yusril said in Jakarta on Wednesday, 22 July 2026.

At least three Dutch nationals born in Indonesia are currently applying for the restoration of their WNI status. They are Casmat Van Bloppoel, Indra Jaya Laksana and Ana Maria van Valen, who were victims of illegal adoptions to the Netherlands during the 1970s and 1980s. The Ibu Indonesia Foundation estimates there are more than 4,000 other victims of illegal adoption who are now Dutch citizens, most of whom are in their 40s and 50s.

Ana Maria van Valen, who was adopted at the age of two and a half, described the experience as traumatic. “We were separated from our biological families, and our identity and religion were erased. It is an irreversible loss,” she said. Now 50 years old and having lived in Indonesia for the past decade, she is seeking to reclaim her WNI status, stating that Indonesian citizenship is her right as she lost it against her will. She hopes other victims can also have their status restored, noting that thousands of Indonesian families were devastated by the loss of their children.