I have a friend who is totally apolitical, although I would suspect that

[Horse with no Name]

she might fall as a moderate Democrat or even a centrist Democrat if you plotted her out on a chart somewhere.
She and her husband are in their late 20's and decided to adopt instead of to add another child to the world.
They have a baby in Guatemala that they have "adopted".
Now they are basically waiting on the legal stuff.
She just returned from a weekend trip there and she said it looks like they have to wait until after the elections there because supposedly the new President-elect is holding all adoptions until the US agrees to "The Hague".
I am absolutely not sure of what she is talking about...at all.
Anyone have a clue about this?

[MedleyMisty]

1. My f rst thought was agreeing to have Bushco tried at the Hague

I seriously doubt that's it, though.

[mark414]

2. the International Criminal Court perhaps?

or maybe to send Bush and Cheney there?

this might help:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_International_Criminal_Court_and_the_2003_invasion_of_Iraq

[Horse with no Name]

3. I know what it is.

I also know we bullied some of the smaller countries into not signing on with the ICC...threatening to withhold foreign aid if they did.
I am just curious about the current politics of Guatemala and how it would affect this?

[primavera]

4. According to Wikipedia

The Hague reference has to do with a convention on international adoption. Here are the basics:

Recognising some of the difficulties and challenges associated with international adoption, and in an effort to protect those involved from the corruption and exploitation which sometimes accompanies it, the Hague Conference on Private International Law developed the Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption <3>, which came into force on 1 May 1995.

The main objectives of the Convention are:

* to establish safeguards to ensure that intercountry adoptions take place in the best interests of the child and with respect for his or her fundamental rights as recognized in international law;
* to establish a system of co-operation amongst Contracting States to ensure that those safeguards are respected and thereby prevent the abduction, the sale of, or traffic in children;
* to secure the recognition in Contracting States of adoptions made in accordance with the Convention.

To date, this Convention has been ratified by 70 countries. <4> Several more countries are signatories to the Convention and are at various stages in taking steps to achieve full ratification.

The following is a quotation from the convention:

Intercountry adoptions shall be made in the best interests of the child and with respect for his or her fundamental rights. To to prevent the abduction, the sale of, or traffic in children each State should take, as a matter of priority, appropriate measures to enable the child to remain in the care of his or her family of origin.

From what I know from some other boards I'm on, Guatemala has experienced some high-profile cases recently of babies being stolen from poor mothers and then sold to Americans.

[Horse with no Name]

5. Thank you for this.

I had no idea what she was referring to and she wasn't exactly sure of the specifics either.