| In the world of International Adoption, Guatemala is | | | | check out that the woman giving the baby up for |
| one of the most popular and least regulated | | | | adoption is the real birth mother. |
| Countries. Last year there were estimated to have | | | | 'The existence of DNA doesn't in any way tell you |
| been 1,500 Guatemalan Children and Babies who have | | | | whether the mother is willingly giving up the child or |
| started fresh lives abroad, but the spectre of Illegal | | | | whether she is being coerced. The second concern is |
| Adoptions have haunted Guatemala for years. Stories | | | | that the children who pass the DNA test are not the |
| have emerged of mothers being forced to give up | | | | same ones who go with the adopting parents on the |
| their new born children and of a booming private | | | | plane, they could be switched. And thirdly, that the |
| adoption business that has now grown almost into a | | | | child who is rejected for having a negative DNA |
| multi million pound industry. | | | | result by one of three embassies that offer this test, |
| One of the key questions to look into is, are illegal | | | | can then be offered to another embassy with |
| adoptions taking place and if so how widespread is | | | | parents of a another nationality.' |
| the practice? Finally, what is in the best interests of | | | | 'No one respects the law or the state; everybody |
| the Children of Guatemala? | | | | just does their own thing. And it's the same with |
| "With Overseas adoption, what is in the best | | | | adoptions' |
| interests of the children of Guatemala?" | | | | So with all of this abuse of the system going on, |
| Whilst organisations, such as UNICEF, do not claim | | | | why hasn't the government of Guatemala done |
| that all of the overseas adoptions coming out of | | | | anything to stop it. The general consensus is that |
| Guatemala are illegal or abusive, a new report issued | | | | Guatemala is in chaos with the country, now a |
| from the organisation does highlight the increasing | | | | fledgling democracy, only just emerging from under |
| problem of child trafficking. | | | | the shadows of years of Military rule |
| "Overseas adoption arose directly out of Guatemala's | | | | Guatemala is a difficult place from which to operate |
| harrowing history." | | | | from and it is very hard to know who is in charge of |
| Overseas Adoptions and International adoption arose | | | | what. There doesn't appear to be a Minister in charge |
| directly out of Guatemala's harrowing history. The 36 | | | | of Social Affairs and Adoption is very much bottom |
| year civil war - which ended officially only four years | | | | rung on the ladder. |
| ago - left nearly a quarter of a million dead or | | | | The Chair of the Commission on the Child and the |
| disappeared and one million homeless, half of them | | | | Family in the Guatemalan Parliament is Nineth |
| children. | | | | Montenegro who is a vigorous critic of her own |
| Elizabeth Gibbons is the director of UNICEF, and a | | | | system and is campaigning to pass the "The |
| leading critic of adoption as practised in Guatemala: | | | | Children's Code" to protect the rights of the Child in |
| 'Many, many orphaned children were taken into | | | | Guatemala explains: |
| adoption by military officers - sent into international | | | | 'We've been working on it for three years now and |
| adoption. Originally a humanitarian activity, but it | | | | parliament still hasn't passed it. They say, if we try to |
| became obvious that it had the potential for being a | | | | regulate adoption in this way we will deny children |
| lucrative business. And the higher demand in the | | | | better opportunities in wealthier countries. There has |
| West - the more birth control, more access to | | | | been terrible resistance to the new law. You know |
| abortion - so you have the problem of a huge | | | | Guatemala is a democracy only in name, not a real |
| demand, therefore a supply must be created.' | | | | democracy. |
| In recent years there has been a tightening up of | | | | No one respects the law or the state; everybody |
| controls in many of the major embassies and the UK, | | | | just does their own thing. And it's the same with |
| US and Canadian embassies now carry out DNA | | | | adoptions. |
| tests of both the birth mother and the baby to | | | | |