In my May 16th,’07 blog I reported that the Hague Treaty did not get passed in congress. Then I went on leave for two weeks to visit family and friends in Israel. Upon my return, I discovered that on May 22nd the Guatemalan Congress approved a law which would give the President the right to accede to The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoptions. Consequently, Guatemala must pass legislation that is Hague compliant.

The following information was posted by Susana Luarca on the ADA web site:

For Guatemalan adoptions in process, this approval does not bring any changes, because the conventions by themselves cannot change the internal laws of the country. It will be an Adoption Law, the legal instrument that will implement the changes required by The Hague Convention, and it does not have to mean that adoptions become more difficult or handled only by the inefficient bureaucrats of the PGN or the Social Welfare Secretary. The Hague Convention allows private citizens and entities to be accredited and to perform the necessary services to handle the care of the children and the processes of adoptions.

Most agencies and people in “the know” believe that families in process have no need for concern. However, I am very concerned about the long range outlook for adoptions from Guatemala. Implementing legislation that will change the adoption process enough that Guatemala will be Hague compliant is no small challenge to this struggling little country.

The US put tremendous pressure on Guatemala to accede to the Hague Treaty. I want to believe that this stems from a desire to see adoptions from Guatemala continue. However, when you examine the records, in many countries where the Hague was implemented, adoptions have slowed considerably or stopped altogether.

I shudder at the thought of the children that will spend years in filthy, understaffed orphanages that receive no funding from the Guatemalan government. There are approximately 215 orphanages with over 20,000 children living in them. Then there are the children who will suffer an even worse fate such as being sold into prostitution as young children. Others will become street children, stealing and begging to stay alive, and tragically, many children will die from malnutrition and illness.

With elections in Guatemala coming up in September, it will take a miracle for any major adoption legislation to be passed and put into effect. However, occasionally miracles do happen so we better start praying for one.

Photo: Google Images

Further Reading:

What is the Hague Convention Anyway?

Guatemalan Street Kids


Child Prostitution in Guatemala