33. With regard to the mechanisms implemented to proceed with adoptions, the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (hereinafter “the CICIG”) indicated that most adoptions took place through the extrajudicial rather than the judicial procedure.15 It maintained that the laws in effect at that time “led to the privatization of adoption by notaries.”16 34. The CICIG maintained that in a context where the processing of an adoption before a notary public could cost between US $12,000.00 and $15,000.00, the children given up for adoption are turned over in many cases by women living in extreme poverty in exchange for a small amount of money.17 It therefore concluded that adoptions done through the out-of-court procedure had turned into “the actual purchase and sale of children.”18 35. The International Labor Organization (ILO) found that transnational organized crime networks were formed during that time, which were engaged in irregular adoptions and facilitated the sale of Guatemalan children.19 The ILO maintained that this situation was due to the following factors: (i) the existence of laws that allowed for adoptions to be processed through notary public offices; (ii) the absence of detailed regulations on the pre-adoption procedures to guarantee the rights of the child and his or her family; and (iii) the lack of effective controls and oversight of the process by competent authorities.20 The ILO also noted that in many cases the mechanisms used to establish the nationality and biological family of the children in the process of being adopted were vitiated by unlawful activities including the forgery of documents and DNA tests, transactions for the sale of children, and threats against mothers.21 36. In June 1996, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child presented its observations on the situation in Guatemala.22 The Committee acknowledged the situation of “illegal child adoption” and even the existence of an illegal adoption network.23 15 International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), United Nations, “Report on Players Involved in the Illegal Adoption Process in Guatemala since the Entry into Force of the Adoption Law (Decree 77-2007),” December 1, 2010. Available in: http://www.cicig.org/uploads/documents/informes/INFOR-TEMA_DOC05_20101201_ES.pdf 16 International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), United Nations, “Report on Players Involved in the Illegal Adoption Process in Guatemala since the Entry into Force of the Adoption Law (Decree 77-2007),” December 1, 2010. Available in: http://www.cicig.org/uploads/documents/informes/INFOR-TEMA_DOC05_20101201_ES.pdf 17 International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), United Nations, “Report on Players Involved in the Illegal Adoption Process in Guatemala since the Entry into Force of the Adoption Law (Decree 77-2007),” December 1, 2010. Available in: http://www.cicig.org/uploads/documents/informes/INFOR-TEMA_DOC05_20101201_ES.pdf 18 International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), United Nations, “Report on Players Involved in the Illegal Adoption Process in Guatemala since the Entry into Force of the Adoption Law (Decree 77-2007),” December 1, 2010. Available in: http://www.cicig.org/uploads/documents/informes/INFOR-TEMA_DOC05_20101201_ES.pdf 19 National Statistics Institute (INE) and the International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC) of the International Labor Organization (ILO), Qualitative Study on Child Labor in Guatemala, 2003. Available in: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE) y Programa Internacional para la Erradicación del Trabajo Infantil (IPEC), de la Organización Internacional del Trabajo (OIT), Estudio Cualitativo sobre el Trabajo Infantil en Guatemala, 2003. Disponible en: http://white.oit.org.pe/ipec/documentos/cr_cualitativo_final.pdf 20 National Statistics Institute (INE) and the International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC) of the International Labor Organization (ILO), Qualitative Study on Child Labor in Guatemala, 2003. Available in: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE) y Programa Internacional para la Erradicación del Trabajo Infantil (IPEC), de la Organización Internacional del Trabajo (OIT), Estudio Cualitativo sobre el Trabajo Infantil en Guatemala, 2003. Disponible en: http://white.oit.org.pe/ipec/documentos/cr_cualitativo_final.pdf 21 National Statistics Institute (INE) and the International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC) of the International Labor Organization (ILO), Qualitative Study on Child Labor in Guatemala, 2003. Available in: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE) y Programa Internacional para la Erradicación del Trabajo Infantil (IPEC), de la Organización Internacional del Trabajo (OIT), Estudio Cualitativo sobre el Trabajo Infantil en Guatemala, 2003. Disponible en: http://white.oit.org.pe/ipec/documentos/cr_cualitativo_final.pdf 22 Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child: Guatemala. 07/06/96. CRC/C/15/Add.58. June 7, 23 Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child: Guatemala. 07/06/96. CRC/C/15/Add.58. June 7, 1996. 1996. 6