37. In relation to her visit to Guatemala in 1999, the UN Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution, and child pornography stated that intercountry adoption in Guatemala had “developed into a profitable business as a result of the large number of children who were orphaned or abandoned during the years of conflict.”24 She stated that the situation within Guatemala, including the extreme poverty, a high birth rate, and lack of effective control and supervision of adoption proceedings, sustained this trade.25 38. In the Inter-American sphere, the Inter-American Commission addressed the situation of adoption procedures in Guatemala. In its 2001 report, the IACHR stated that the adoption of children in Guatemala “was converted into a profitable business venture when it became evident that there was a substantial ‘market’ for adoptable babies.”26 The Commission indicated that a central aspect of the problem is the absence of adequate legislation.27 In consequence, it recommended that the State “take the measures necessary to achieve the entry into force of an adequate legislative framework so as to ensure that the best interests of the child are a primary consideration in all decisions taken, to assure the free and informed consent of the parent or parents, and to guarantee legality, clarity and transparency in the applicable procedures.”28 39. At the domestic level, in a report covering the period from 1996 to 2006, the Office of the Attorney General of Guatemala identified several anomalies in out-of-court adoption procedures, most notably including: (i) the double registration of birth certificates; (ii) documents showing that a mother has given up her children for adoption, when in fact she has died; (iii) fake birth certificates issued by unregistered physicians or nonexistent midwives; (iv) altered DNA tests certified by the United States embassy in Guatemala; (v) fingerprints that do not match the ones in the adoption file; and (i) the unwillingness of the biological mothers to give their children up for adoption, when the notary public has certified the opposite.29 40. Statistics from the Office of the Attorney General indicate that the adoption of Guatemalan children increased 6.7 times from 1996 to 2006, with a total of 731 adoptions in 1996 and 4918 in 2006. From 1997 to 2006, 97.6% of all Guatemalan adoptions were international, with the United States receiving 87% of the Guatemalan children given up for adoption during that period.30 41. The Commission notes that Guatemala acceded to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption in November 2002. Subsequently, the Constitutional Court called into question the procedure for the domestic incorporation of that instrument, which, according to international law, does not affect the fact that Guatemala is a party thereto. In the processing of this case, the State made reference to the enactment of various provisions and reforms designed to standardize adoptions in Guatemala. The Law for the Comprehensive Protection of Children and Adolescents entered into force in 2003.31 The following year, the Guatemalan State approved the “National 24 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, Ms. Ofelia Calcetas Santos, Addendum (Visit of July 19-30, 1999), Report on the mission to Guatemala, E/CN.4/2000/73/Add.2 January 27, 2000, para. 11. 25 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, Ms. Ofelia Calcetas Santos, Addendum (Visit of July 19-30, 1999), Report on the mission to Guatemala, E/CN.4/2000/73/Add.2 January 27, 2000, para. 11. 26 IACHR, Fifth Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Guatemala, April 6, 2001, para. 37. 27 IACHR, Fifth Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Guatemala, April 6, 2001, para. 41. 28 IACHR, Fifth Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Guatemala, April 6, 2001, para. 46. 29 Office of the Attorney General of Guatemala: Presentation on the Current Situation of Adoption, 2007. Study “Adoptions in Guatemala: protection or market?” Covenant House, Fundación Sobrevivientes, Social Movement for Human Rights [Movimiento Social por los Derechos Humanos], Human Rights Office of the Archdiocese of Guatemala (ODHAG), Office of the Secretary of Social Welfare (SBS), produced in Guatemala, November 2007, p. 24-25. 30 31 Law for the Comprehensive Protection of Children and Adolescents, Decree 27-2003. 7