Guatemala, February 23, 2012. Latin America is one of the most unequal and violent regions in the world, and women and children are most affected as a result. In Guatemala, people aged between 0 and 17 comprise more than half of the country's population.
Children are still not guaranteed a life free of violence or protection from abuse or exploitation, despite the significant progress that has been seen. Impunity and violence are marking the lives of Guatemalan children and adolescents.
In respect of illegal adoptions—a form of child trafficking—a number of children have disappeared or been stolen or kidnapped, and their mothers have been threatened, deceived and even punished within their communities. As an example of the impact of impunity, in 2007, 60 per cent of lynchings were linked to alleged child abductions.
This is one of the main concerns for the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG).
For these reasons, in support of the great efforts of UNICEF, the Cooperation Agreement to Conduct Studies to Help Children and Adolescents was signed. The report was signed with the aim of supporting the work of UNICEF and other institutions responsible for the protection of children and the investigation of crimes committed by illegal security forces and clandestine security organizations against Guatemalan children and adolescents.
The CICIG investigation on the matter was presented in the Report on Actors Involved in Illegal Adoptions in Guatemala, which was released in December 2010.
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