Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Guatemala (Ratification: 2001)

Article 7(2) of the Convention. Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the Government had adopted an Education Plan (2008–12), the strategic objective of which is to increase and facilitate the access of all to high quality education, particularly for boys, girls and young persons from very poor families and vulnerable groups.

The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government as regards measures taken to improve the functioning of the education system in the country as part of the plan of action to implement the “Roadmap” to ensure that Guatemala is a country free from child labour and its worst forms. According to UNICEF 2010 statistics, the net school attendance rate for primary education has significantly improved since 2008 and stands at 95 per cent for girls and 98 per cent for boys (compared to 76 per cent for girls and 80 per cent for boys in 2008). Nevertheless, the Committee observes that the survival rate to the last primary grade is only 65 per cent and that the secondary school enrolment rate has remained stable since 2008 at 39 per cent for girls and 41 per cent for boys.

The Committee requests the Government to pursue its efforts to improve the functioning of the education system in the country. In this respect, it requests the Government to take measures to raise the school attendance rate, particularly for secondary education, and to increase the rate of completion of primary education, taking into account the special situation of girls and indigenous children. The Committee requests the Government to provide information in its next report on the measures adopted and the results achieved, particularly in the context of the implementation of the Roadmap.

Clause (d). Children at special risk. 1. Children affected by armed conflict. The Committee previously noted that children and young persons, particularly indigenous peoples, were affected by the armed conflict, which had afflicted the country. According to official estimates, 200,000 children were orphaned and over 1 million persons were internally displaced. The Committee noted on the basis of the concluding observations of the CRC of June 2007 (CRC/C/OPAC/GTM/CO/1, paragraph 20) that reparation measures, in particular for rehabilitation, compensation, physical and psychological recovery and the social reintegration of children who had been involved in hostilities, had been slow and inefficient. It also noted the results of the family reunification programme Todos por el Reencuentro of the Guatemalan Mental Health League, a private non-profit making organization, which also indicated that the programme received very limited support from the Government and that the National Commission to Search for Disappeared Children had never been established. Noting the absence of information on this point in the Government’s report, the Committee is bound to again express its concern at the situation of children affected by armed conflict, and it reiterates its request to the Government to take immediate measures with a view to protecting from the worst forms of child labour children who have been orphaned or have disappeared as a result of the armed conflict. In this respect, it again requests the Government to provide detailed information in its next report on the measures adopted and the results achieved, with an indication of the number of children who have benefitted from these measures.

2. Child domestic workers. The Committee previously noted the time-bound measures taken to prevent and eliminate child domestic work, in particular the results achieved by the project Conrado de la Cruz.

The Committee duly notes the information provided by the Government in its report concerning the results achieved of various programmes, which aim to prevent and remove children from domestic work. The Committee notes that the foundation Childhope removed in 2011 a total of 12 girls from child domestic labour and reintegrated them into the education system. The Committee also notes the Government’s indications that the Catholic Relief Service through the project Mis derechos son importantes raises awareness among parents, teachers, children and other relevant actors of the importance of eradicating child labour. The project operates in 165 primary schools with 120 facilitators with the highest incidences of poverty, whose population is known to search for employment opportunities in domestic work in Guatemala or Mexico. The Committee also notes that the project Conrado de la Cruz carried out by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, between September 2011 and January 2012, provided financial support to 237 families to prevent mothers and fathers from engaging their children in domestic work. As part of preventive activities, the project reached out to 4,623 children in school going age in the municipalities of Guatemala, Sacatepéquez, Totonicapán y Chimaltenango, who receive nutrition, funding for schooling and health services in order to distance them from being engaged in domestic work. In 2012, 62 early alert groups of mothers, fathers and community workers have been created comprising 351 persons who monitor and visit families with children vulnerable to being engaged in domestic work and other child labour. Lastly, the Committee notes that the Government in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare and the Ministry of Education, organizes a range of communication activities in local languages, for example on the radio, to raise awareness of the rights of children and the prohibition of child labour.

3. Street children. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the Government had prepared a National Plan for the Protection of Boys, Girls and Young Persons in the Streets and that in 2007 the Government planned to: establish a national database system for boys, girls and young persons in the streets; develop a system with the objective of preventing children from living in the streets; and implement specialized support programmes for street children, including programmes of assistance for their rehabilitation and social, educational and family integration. The Committee noted that the Secretariat for Social Welfare had implemented various programmes for the socially vulnerable population of the country, and had provided accommodation to 650 children in 2009. Yet, the Committee also noted that the CRC, in its concluding observations of 25 October 2010 expressed concern at the high number of children in street situations (CRC/C/GTM/CO/3-4, paragraph 90).

The Committee notes the Government’s indications that the Secretariat for Social Welfare provides fundamental services to children and adolescents in need, such as housing, nutrition, clothing, recreation and medical attention. In accommodation centres, children are attended by social workers, psychologists, doctors, nurses and lawyers, who provide their professional services to facilitate the restitution of the children’s rights. The Committee also notes the various social programmes administered by the Ministry of Social Development (see also Article 8), targeting families living in poverty and providing assistance in terms of nutrition and income support, which aim to reduce poverty and prevent child labour.

However, the Committee observes that the Government’s report again does not contain any information on the measures envisaged by the Government in 2007, nor on the results achieved in the context of the National Plan for the Protection of Boys, Girls and Young Persons in the Streets. Moreover, the Government’s report does not provide any information on the number of children withdrawn from the streets and those that have benefitted from rehabilitation and social integration services.

Considering that street children are particularly exposed to the worst forms of child labour, the Committee therefore again urges the Government to intensify its efforts for the withdrawal of children from the streets and to ensure their rehabilitation and social integration. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted in the context of the National Plan for the Protection of Boys, Girls and Young Persons in the Streets, and on the number of children removed from the streets and who have received education.

4. Indigenous children. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the results of the ILO–IPEC activities on child labour among indigenous peoples. It also noted that the CRC, in its concluding observations of 25 October 2010, indicated that the extreme poverty rate is particularly high among the indigenous population and that indigenous young persons are more likely to be the victims of sexual and economic exploitation (CRC/C/GTM/CO/3-4, paragraph 40). The CRC also noted that the measures taken by Guatemala were not sufficient to eliminate the structural obstacles preventing children belonging to these communities from exercising their full rights. The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report again does not contain any information on the measures adopted by the Government to protect the children of indigenous peoples from the worst forms of child labour. Observing that the children of indigenous peoples are frequently victims of exploitation, which takes on very varied forms, and are at risk of being engaged in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee reiterates its request to the Government to take immediate and time-bound measures to protect these children from the worst forms of child labour. It again requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted and the results achieved.

Article 8. Poverty reduction. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government in its report. It notes with interest that the objective of the conditional cash transfer programme, Mi Familia Progresa, of reaching out to 800,000 families has been achieved; a total of 904,910 families benefitted from the programme in 2010 and 874,282 families in 2011. The Committee notes the Government’s indications that the programme Mi Familia Progresa was administered by the previous administration and has been integrated into the various social programmes administered by the newly established Ministry of Social Development. The Committee notes that these programmes are aimed at breaking the cycle of inter-generational poverty and preventing child labour and currently benefit a total of 747,510 families. The programme Mi Bono Seguro, provides cash transfers to families with children between the ages of 0 and 15 years living in poverty conditional upon school attendance and medical surveillance of their children. The Mi Beca Segura and Jovenes Protagonistas programmes provide vocational education and training and capacity building to young persons in vulnerable and at risk situations. The Mi Comedor Seguro provides nutritional support to vulnerable and at risk families in order to ensure food security for poor families. The Mi Bolsa Segura programme also provides periodical nutritional support to vulnerable families with a focus on the empowerment of women as agents of change.

The Committee encourages the Government to pursue its efforts and requests it to provide information on the concrete results achieved through the implementation of the various social programmes administered by the Ministry of Social Development, as well as the practical measures adopted to combat poverty in the context of the implementation of the Roadmap.