The law of child protection in guatemala

Guatemala’s Ley de Proteccion Integral

de la Niñez y Adolescencia:

One Year On



















A Report Prepared by

Brendan Kolbay

School of International and Public Affairs,

Columbia University, New York



in Collaboration with

Associacion Nuestros Derechos

Guatemala City, Guatemala

January, 2005














Table of Contents





1. Introduction………………………………………………………………..p. 3
2. Scope of the Report………………………………………………………..p. 3
3. Methodology……………………………………………………………….p. 3
4. Purpose……………………………………………………………………..p. 3
5. Background………………………………………………………………...p. 4
6. Changes Brought About by the New Code……………………………….p. 57. National Commission on Children and Adolescents…………………….p. 6
8. Children Who Have Been Physically or Sexually Abused………………p. 6
9. Homes of Protection………………………………………………………..p. 7
10. The Situation of Children Living on the Streets…………………………p. 8
11. The National Civilian Police (PNC).………………………………………p. 8
12. Individual Rehabilitation Plans…………………………………………..p. 10
13. Lack ofCollaboration with NGO’s…….…………………………….......p. 10
14. Funding for Programs……………………………………………………..p. 11
15. National Civilian Police – Minor’s Section………………………………p. 12
16. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………p. 12
17. Recommendations………………………………………………………....p. 13
18. Appendix…………………………………………………………………...p. 14
19. Notes………………………………………………………………………..p. 15




















1. Introduction



The Republic of Guatemala was among of the first signatories to the Convention on the Rights of
the Child in 1990. Nevertheless, many aspects of Guatemalan law and institutions continued to be
in conflict with certain provisions of the Convention several years after its ratification. This was
noted by the Committee on the Rightsof the Child (CRC) in its concluding remarks to
Guatemala’s initial report to that Committee in 1995. One of those aspects was the criminal
justice system for minors. In order to bring itself into compliance with the principles of the
Convention, therefore, Guatemala promulgated the Law of Integral Protection of Children and
Adolescents, which went into effect in July of 2003.2. Scope of This Report



The following report is a basic assessment of the implementation of the Law of Integral Protection
of Children and Adolescents in Guatemala one year since its promulgation. It is not meant to be a
comprehensive report on the situation of children in Guatemala, nor will it be a comprehensive
analysis of all the changes that have been brought about by thenew code. It will, rather, look at
some aspects of how the new code is being implemented and will point out some of the gaps that
still exist between what the code calls for and what is actually being implemented based on a six
week process of investigation.



3. Methodology



This report is based primarily on interviews with key actors in the Juvenile Justice System
includingJudges, Prosecutors, Public Defense Attorneys, Social Workers, Psychologists, Human
Rights Activists and members of Non-Governmental organizations who work to protect children’s
rights, as well as children and youth who have had some experience of the criminal justice system.
It is also based on first-hand observations of the author of this report who spent the months of July
and August of2004 in Guatemala working with the cooperation and coordination of Associacion
Nuestros Derechos, a local non-governmental organization dedicated to the education and
rehabilitation of Youth and Street Children in Guatemala City and Antigua, Guatemala.





4. Purpose




The primary purpose of the report, as stated above, is to present a partial assessment of how, one...