Guatemalan Adoptions: Not Looking Good

Adoptions From Guatemala Face an Uncertain Future
The Guatemalan Congress dampened hopes for an imminent overhaul of the system yesterday by failing to pass a bill recognizing the country’s endorsement of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, a multilateral treaty intended to reduce corruption by standardizing international adoption procedures.

The United States expects to ratify the treaty late this year and begin enforcing it early next year. Guatemala’s president endorsed the convention in 2003, but constitutional challenges have slowed enactment.

“We’ve been very clear that if Guatemala does not implement the treaty by the time we are implementing the treaty, that we cannot do adoptions with Guatemala,” said Catherine Barry, deputy assistant secretary for overseas citizens services at the State Department.