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Guatemala: Intercountry Adoptions and the Hague Adoption Convention

December 15, 2006

The Hague Adoption Convention:

The Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (the Convention) is a multilateral agreement that strengthens protections for all parties involved in adoption, including birthparents, prospective adoptive parent(s), and especially children. The Convention encourages and regulates intercountry adoption by setting out internationally agreed-upon rules and procedures for adoptions between countries that have a treaty relationship. The Convention is unique in that it offers a framework for member-countries to work together to ensure that adoptions are based on what is best for the child and to prevent the abduction, sale of, or trafficking in children. Each member country establishes a Central Authority to provide an authoritative point of contact for prospective adoptive parents to receive reliable and accurate information on the adoption process. The Central Authority is also responsible for addressing complaints involving violations of Convention standards. For these reasons, the U.S. government strongly supports the principles of the Convention. To learn more about the Convention, consult the Hague Permanent Bureau at
http://hcch.e-vision.nl/index_en.php?act=conventions.status&cid=69 Guatemala, the Convention and the United States:

More than 70 countries have already joined the Convention, including major countries of origin for adoptive children like China and India, because they firmly believe that the principles of the Hague Convention offer the best hope for the ethical and transparent adoption process and that every child deserves a permanent family. Many other countries have indicated their intention to join the Convention, as well.

Guatemala ratified the Hague Adoption Convention in 2003 and is recognized as a party to the Convention under international law. However, Guatemala has not yet created the infrastructure and systems necessary to implement the
Convention and its current adoption procedures do not provide the protections for children, birth parents, and adoptive parents required under the Hague principles.

The United States is nearing completion of its preparations to ratify the Convention and our goal is to do so in 2007. Three months after the United States deposits its instrument of ratification with the Hague Permanent Bureau, the Convention enters into force for the United States. At that point, if Guatemala has not taken the necessary steps to comply with the Convention, then the United States will not be able to approve adoptions from that country. It is important to note that U.S. law provides for a transition period and that the U.S. government will not apply the new rules under the Hague Convention to orphan petitions (I-600A) filed with the Department of Homeland Security before the United States ratifies the treaty.

The Way Forward:

We continue to be hopeful that Guatemala can become compliant with the Hague Convention before the United States ratifies the Convention. U.S. and Guatemalan officials are engaged in a dialogue at the highest levels on the need for
the Guatemalan government to move forward immediately to become compliant with the Hague Convention and to establish an intercountry adoption system that will be in the best interests of the Guatemalan children.

We are pleased that the government of Guatemala has stated that adoption reform legislation will be a priority. In order to avoid a situation where the United States can no longer process adoptions from Guatemala, a Hague-compliant process must be in place when the Convention enters into force for the United States.

The United States maintains ongoing high-level discussions with the government of Guatemala about the importance of ensuring a smooth transition to a Hague-consistent adoption process. We believe that any sudden halt to adoption processing would be problematic and hurt both the children and adoptive parents because children would be caught in the process with no system through which they could be placed internationally with a permanent family. However,
prospective adoptive parents should be aware that changes in the adoption process could be instituted by Guatemala with little or no advance notice and the possibility exists that adoptions could be disrupted.

Prospective Adoptive Parents Must Stay Aware and Informed:

The U.S. Embassy in Guatemala has occasionally received reports of Guatemalan police in and around some of the major hotels in Guatemala City attempting to extort money from adopting parents by threatening to take the birth mother or foster mother and the prospective or adopted child into custody.

Thereis no basis under local Guatemalan law for such actions and we encourage all U.S. citizens who encounter similar experiences to report them immediately to their local lawyer and the American Citizens Services section at the U.S.
Embassy in Guatemala City at 502-2326-4405.

In addition, prospective adoptive parents may hear unsubstantiated rumors during this time when the situation is in flux. Some of these rumors may be generated by individuals or organizations opposed to the very important reforms that
Guatemala needs to undertake, and designed to confuse prospective adoptive families. We encourage parents to contact the Department of State or the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala and to consult our website for the latest information.

rospective adoptive parents should not rely on word of mouth, which is often incorrect. This holds true particularly if someone is encouraging or insisting that you pay additional fees or threatening you in any way. This information will be updated as the situation changes. Please check our website for updates. Additional information on U.S. implementation of the Hague Adoption Convention, and on intercountry adoption from Guatemala, can be found on the Consular Affairs’ website at: www.travel.state.gov or by calling 202-647-9090 or 1-888-407-4747 (8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST). Further information on the Hague Adoption Convention is available from the Hague Permanent Bureau’s website at www.hcch.net.

Sincerely,

Hague Implementation Staff
U.S. Central Authority
Department of State

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