U.S. Families Plead for Help in Stalled Guatemalan Adoption Cases

Online, June 2, 2010 (Newswire.com) - For Immediate Release:
Over 400 innocent children languish for over 2 years, unjustly detained in Guatemalan orphanages, while their U.S. Families fight a desperate battle for U.S. Government intervention.

May 9, 2010 marked the third Mother's Day, at a minimum, for hundreds of families awaiting the homecoming of their adoptive children. Guatemala 900, a grass-roots campaign initiated by adoptive families, sent a Mother's Day Plea, signed by over 5200 concerned citizens, to First Lady of the U.S., Michelle Obama, and First Lady of Guatemala, Sandra Colom, requesting immediate intervention and advocacy for the families and children caught in this political nightmare.

The enactment of the new Guatemalan adoption law and ratification of the Hague Convention on Adoption took place on January 1, 2008, celebrated by the U.S. Department of State and UNICEF. Unfortunately, hundreds of U.S. families and thousands of Guatemalan children are being victimized as a consequence of this legislation. These cases should be guaranteed the protections and practices of the former notarial system under Article 56 (grandfather clause) of the Ortega Law (new Guatemalan adoption legislation). Today, hundreds of children continue to languish in institutions awaited by families while their "grandfathered" adoptions tarry in political gridlock. The rights ensured in Article 56 have been violated as these cases are scrutinized without transparency outside the practices and protections of the law. While both the Guatemalan and U.S. Governments have voiced their commitment to pre-Hague cases, there are still an estimated 400 children who remain in limbo whose "grandfathered" adoptions were initiated before 2008.!

After more than 2 years of waiting for the new adoption system to establish and the Guatemalan authorities to ensure legitimacy of all "grandfathered" adoption cases, families grow desperate and hopeless. All of the 400 children are over the age of 2.5 years with many having 3rd, 4th, and even 9th birthdays outside the love and stability of their permanent families who await them.! Sadly, the first 2 years are the most critical for development and bonding, and children are estimated to suffer an irreversible loss of up to (1) IQ point per month of institutionalization. Most families are not prepared for the emotional and developmental delays these children will inevitably exhibit. Tragedies, like the recent incident involving the Russian Adoption of Artern Hansen, can be averted by providing children with parental permanency at the earliest age possible. This is a humanitarian emergency that commands immediate senior level government intervention.

All those associated with Guatemala 900 believe in the sanctity of family and promote fair and ethical adoption practices. Families are committed to the children of Guatemala; they are proud of their heritage and embrace the beauty of their country of origin. Families entered into these adoptions in good faith with the expectation that their rights to a fair adoption process and their adoptive children's rights to a family would be protected and honored by the U.S. and Guatemalan Governments.

The Guatemala900 has initiated several noteworthy actions in their quest for Due Process including a march in Washington D.C. last June, meetings with UNICEF, a letter to Secretary of State Clinton signed by 53 Senators and Congressmen, and a Congressional Briefing on May 6, 2010 attended by over 30 families, over 30 representatives of Congress, members of Department of State, UNICEF, and multiple notable adoption advocacy and special interest groups.

Families are engaged in a bureaucratic entanglement that does not address the best interest of the child or the family; they have become collateral damage in a war they did not wage. We need our governments to work together for advocacy and justice: Advocacy includes the United States Government working with the pertinent Guatemalan adoption authorities to respect the children's rights to Due Process by establishing a transparent and expeditious path to process the adoptions through the combined efforts of U.S. DOS, USCIS, U.S. Embassy in Guatemala, and the Guatemalan authorities:
(Procuraduría General de la Nación -PGN, Ministerio Publico-MP, Consejo Nacional de la Adopcion-CNA, Registro Nacional de Personas-RENAP).

This has become a political issue, it demands a political solution.

Please see www.Guatemala900.org for further details and updates.
Press Contact for Guatemala900: Gary J.Cooper, 917.969.0203 917.969.0203, [email protected]
Mr. Cooper will be able to provide the press with photographs and families who are in-
process for interviews.

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Glossary:
PGN (Procuraduría General de la Nación): the equivalent to the Solicitor General's
office. Government entity responsible for reviewing adoption cases started before
January 1, 2008 and issuing approval to complete the Notarial Decree of Adoption. The
head of the PGN is the Attorney General.
MP (Ministerio Publico): an auxiliary institution of the government with autonomous
functions designed to ensure strict compliance with law.
CNA (Consejo Nacional de la Adopcion): an autonomous government institution created
in early 2008, chartered to promote transparent, agile adoption procedures in compliance
with the Hague Convention.
RENAP (Registro Nacional de Personas): public institution in charge of maintaining
and issuing civil records such as birth and death certifications.