Study on illegal adoptions 2017, para. 84

Paragraph
Paragraph text
Guatemala presents one of the few examples of investigation and prosecution efforts having been made with the aim of dismantling criminal structures. In 2011, with the support of the United Nations-backed International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala, the Public Prosecutor's Office proved the existence of a criminal structure involved in trafficking in children for the purpose of illegal intercountry adoptions operated by owners of residential facilities with the complicity of lawyers, registrars and judges. Despite the convictions, the case illustrated the difficulties in balancing the conflicting needs and desires of those involved in adoptions (adoptees, adoptive parents and biological parents) and the interests of justice.
Legal status
Non-negotiated soft law
Body
Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Means of adoption
N.A.
Topic(s)
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Movement
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Children
  • Families
Year
2017
Paragraph type
Other
Paragraph number
84