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Summary: This report summarises hearings on children's rights in Guatemala held by the Inter-American Commission, reports by the Commission's Rapporteur on the Rights of the Child, and cases brought to the Commission and Court.
Guatemala is a member of the Organization of American States (OAS). The Inter-American Commission is an autonomous body of the OAS which monitors Member States' compliance with their obligations under regional human rights conventions. Regional instruments ratified Guatemala ratified the American Convention on Human Rights on 27 April 1978. Search CRIN's ratifications table to find other regional instruments to which Guatemala is a party. _____________________________________________ Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Hearings Country visits by the Commission's Rapporteur on the Rights of the Child In May 2008, the Rapporteur gave a presentation on the "Protection of children and adolescents' right to health in the Inter-American Human Rights system." This was part of a national workshop on "Promoting the protection and development of children and adolescents" through planning and programmes, with a focus on human rights. The conference was organised by the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) in Guatemala City. In August 1998, the Commission received information about child labour and prostitution, illegal adoption networks, street children, violence against children (and impunity for crimes committed against them) and a failure to guarantee the economic, social, and cultural rights of most children. The Commission also visited juvenile detention centres "Los Gorriones" for boys and "Las Gaviotas" for girls. The Commission noted that because the country's detention system is centralised in the capital, detained children often lose contact with their families if they live outside the capital, hindering their rehabilitation. Commission reports In a regional report on children's involvement in gangs in Central American countries, including Guatemala, the Commission expressed concern about the tendency in government policy to deal with these children solely from the standpoint of public safety, law enforcement and criminal justice. Read the reports: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and UNICEF Express Concern over Situation of Boys, Girls, and Adolescents Involved with Gangs in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras (4 December 2004) Fifth Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Guatemala 2001 - Chapter XII _____________________________________________ Guatemala has accepted the contentious jurisdiction of the Court (what does this mean?) Find cases on children's rights in Guatemala here.
Inter-American Court of Human Rights