Foreign adoptions treaty ratified

Guatemala has ratified an international adoption treaty, committing to bring adoptions under government regulation and make sure babies are not bought or stolen.

Guatemalan law has allowed notaries to act as brokers who recruit birth mothers, handle paperwork and complete foreign adoptions in less than half the time it takes in other countries.

But U.S. officials have urged Guatemala to tighten the procedure amid concern that brokers were paying or threatening mothers to give up their babies. More than 4,000 babies from Guatemala were adopted by residents of the United States last year, making it the second-highest source of U.S. adoptions after China.

Legislators hope to approve a related law in coming weeks.