Complaint to Spain’s Ombudsman over discrimination against adopted people and “stolen babies” receives the support of the Baltasar Garzón Foundation
The initiative denounces the fact that adopted people, even when their original parents have been legally recognised, may face restrictions on their rights as their children because they remain legally adopted. This discrimination particularly revictimises “stolen babies” who were subsequently adopted.
Tudela de Duero (Valladolid), 27 October 2026.
The Baltasar Garzón International Foundation (FIBGAR) has endorsed the initiative submitted on 6 September to Spain’s Ombudsman against discrimination affecting adopted people and “stolen babies” in relation to their original parentage and identity. Promoted by Olmo Gómez Aldaz, it calls for adoption not to diminish the rights that people hold as children of their original parents.
The complaint states that adoption has been used to conceal the trafficking and theft of babies, leaving victims identified solely as adopted people for decades. It denounces the fact that, even after the abduction has come to light and their original parents have been legally recognised, this legal status may continue to restrict their rights. The adoption that concealed what happened thus becomes an obstacle to reparation and a source of revictimisation.
The problem also affects people who were legally adopted. The initiative questions why legally recognised parentage by nature should have different effects depending on whether an adoption exists. It calls for restrictions on kinship, surnames and family rights to have a specific justification, rather than arising generally from adoptive status. Recovering those rights must also be possible for people who wish to retain their adoption and their adoptive surnames.
The proposal calls for this difference in treatment to be investigated and corrected; for an independent legal avenue allowing adults to voluntarily terminate their adoption, with safeguards and without having to prove that it was illegal; and for consideration of an adoption model that adds protection and a family relationship while preserving rights of origin compatible with the care of the child.
On 16 October, FIBGAR confirmed that it had formally endorsed the complaint as an organisation. Individuals and organisations interested in supporting the complaint can find instructions on the promoter’s website:
https://gomezaldaz.com/es/queja-adoptados-bebes-robados/
“FIBGAR’s endorsement has particular significance for me because of its experience in defending human rights. Its support strengthens my conviction that what we are asking for is just and deserves a response,” Gómez Aldaz explains.
Other people and organisations have also informed him of their support, although he does not know the total number of endorsements: “Endorsements are submitted directly to the Ombudsman, and I have no way of knowing who has joined or when, unless they tell me.”
His story helps explain what is at stake. Born in Bilbao in 1971, he was taken and adopted without his parents’ consent, events for which he has received official recognition as a victim this year from the Spanish Government and from Gogora, part of the Basque Government.
Between 2021 and 2025, he pursued legal proceedings that culminated in the recognition of his paternal parentage by nature and his right to use his original surnames, confirmed by the Provincial Court of Navarra. His story and his struggle to recover his identity are recounted in his book DOGA 2025. La batalla por mi identidad.
Today, his original surnames finally appear in the Civil Registry and on his national identity card, without his adoption having been affected, demonstrating that both forms of parentage can coexist.
On the one hand, the complaint to the Ombudsman denounces discrimination of a general nature. On the other, his new legal proceedings seeking the annulment of his adoption remain open in Bilbao.
On 26 October, FIBGAR published Olmo Gómez Aldaz’s testimony as part of the project “Enforced Disappearances of Children: Dialogue for Justice and Legislative Change”, which aims to raise the visibility of victims and promote truth, justice and reparation. Nadia Gayoso de la Calle, who leads the foundation’s democratic memory work, has coordinated his participation and has been his contact in the arrangements relating to the endorsement.
Video testimony by Olmo Gómez Aldaz published by FIBGAR: https://youtu.be/f85iYqTFlkY
On Friday 30 October, Olmo Gómez Aldaz will take part in the victims’ round table at the international conference “Abduction and Enforced Disappearance of Minors under Dictatorial Regimes: Dialogues between Navarra and Argentina”, to be held from 16:30 to 18:30 at the Parliament of Navarra. At this session, moderated by journalist Amaia Otazu, he will share his testimony alongside representatives of the Navarra association AMALUR, Soledad Luque and Manuel Gonçalves Granada, secretary of Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo.
Photographs for the media: https://gomezaldaz.com/docs/fotografias_para_prensa_olmo_gomez_aldaz.zip
Contact for information and interviews
Olmo Gómez Aldaz
Telephone: (+34) 603 384 677
Email: prensa@gomezaldaz.com
Web: https://gomezaldaz.com