This information comes from the U.S. Dept. of State

Update on Guatemala and the Hague Adoption Convention

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.
There
is 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.
Prospective
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