Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

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

Articles 3 and 7(1) of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Sale and trafficking of children for sexual exploitation. The Committee notes the detailed information contained in the Government’s report on the measures taken to strengthen institutional capacities for the prevention, investigation and punishment of the trafficking of children for sexual exploitation. The Government refers to various actions, including as follows: (1) the judiciary, through the School of Judicial Studies, has trained judges on the crime of trafficking of young persons, incorporating a child protection approach; and (2) during 2023–24, court orders for dignified reparation have been implemented in cases of child sexual exploitation, with awareness-raising actions in educational communities.

The Committee takes note of the statistical information provided by the Government, according to which, in accordance with the practical application of section 202 of the Criminal Code, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, through the Western Regional Agency of the Prosecutor’s Office against Human Trafficking, between 2022 and 14 April 2025 a total of 14 convictions were handed down, with sentences ranging from 8 to 21 years in prison, for crimes of trafficking of persons in the form of sexual exploitation.

The Committee notes that the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), in its concluding observations of 14 November 2023, expressed concern at the lack of preventive measures and low prosecution and conviction rates in cases of trafficking in persons, in particular women and girls, for purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labour (CEDAW/C/GTM/CO/10, para. 26(a)). The Committee requests the Government to continue taking steps to ensure that exhaustive investigations and proceedings are undertaken against persons who engage in trafficking of children for sexual exploitation, and that penalties constituting an effective deterrent are imposed in practice. The Committee also requests the Government to continue providing information on the application of section 202 of the Penal Code, including statistics on the number of investigations and proceedings undertaken, and the number of convictions and penalties imposed.

Forced child labour. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government, according to which the Public Prosecutor’s Office, in coordination with the Human Trafficking Investigation Section of the National Civil Police, the Office of the Attorney-General (PGN), the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, and other institutions, has implemented actions to identify, prosecute, and punish those responsible for subjecting minors to forced labour, including child begging.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that coordination meetings have been held with the Human Trafficking Investigation Section to detect locations where the exploitation of child labour occurs and conduct investigations that enable rescue and protection. The Committee also notes the work of the Inter-institutional Coordination Committee against Child Labour (CICELTI), which coordinates joint actions and operations between the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the PGN, and the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare when dealing with cases of forced labour, labour exploitation, and trafficking of children and young persons.

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government according to which, between 2022 and 11 April 2025, these operations resulted in 212 raids, 58 individuals arrested, 209 young persons rescued, and 149 operational plans executed. According to the Human Trafficking Investigation Section, between 2022 and 20 March 2025 a total of 58 people were arrested for labour exploitation and begging. Furthermore, the Labour Inspectorate conducted 2,588 inspections in 2024 to verify that young persons were not employed under conditions of forced labour.

The Committee also notes the indication by the PGN that, between January 2022 and 15 March 2025, it recorded 640 reports of begging, 1,716 reports of trafficking and labour exploitation, and the rescue of 263 young persons (106 from begging and 157 from labour trafficking/exploitation). The Committee requests the Government to continue taking the necessary measures to identify, prosecute and punish those responsible for subjecting children to situations of forced labour, including begging, and to provide information on their outcome.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clauses (a) and (b). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, removing them from these forms of labour and ensuring their rehabilitation and social integration. Sale and trafficking of children and commercial sexual exploitation. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the PGN, through the Office of the Attorney for Children and Young Persons, coordinated care and rehabilitation efforts for child victims of economic and sexual exploitation, rescuing 31 children between 2022 and 15 March 2025, three of whom were rescued in 2025.

The Committee notes the measures taken by the Secretariat against Sexual Violence, Exploitation and Trafficking in Persons (SVET) within the framework of the “National forum for the protection of children and young persons against sexual exploitation in travel and tourism-related activities”, including the promotion of adherence to the Code of Conduct between 2022 and 2024, and the carrying out in 2024 of a study and analysis of the crime of tourism-related activities for the commercial sexual exploitation of young persons. The Committee also notes that, through the technical committee on the child labour risk identification model (MIRTI) located at the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, the SVET is raising awareness especially of the crime of using tourist activities for the sexual exploitation of minors, in order to generate evidence that allows the formulation of new prevention and victim care strategies, and has carried out awareness-raising actions especially in the departments prioritized by MIRTI, reaching 1,098 persons in 2024.

The Committee also notes the information from the Institute for Victims, which between 2022 and 2025 provided psychological support in 2,650 cases to young persons who were victims of the worst forms of child labour. Furthermore, between 2022 and 11 April 2025 the Social Welfare Secretariat (SBS) at the Office of the President of the Republic conducted 72 social visits on the basis of court orders in cases of sexual exploitation and provided support to 201 young persons who were victims of human trafficking through the specialized programmes of the Under-Secretariat for the Protection and Care of Children and Young Persons. The Committee notes that CEDAW, in its concluding observations of 14 November 2023, expressed concern at the insufficient number of specialized shelters, especially in rural areas, the decrease in funding for shelters, and the lack of adequate support services for victims of trafficking and exploitation (CEDAW/C/GTM/CO/10, para. 26(b) and (c)). While welcoming the steps taken by the Government, the Committee requests the Government to continue its efforts to provide the appropriate direct assistance needed to prevent children becoming victims of trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation, and to ensure their rehabilitation and social integration. The Committee also requests the Government to continue providing information on the number of children removed from these worst forms of child labour and on their subsequent rehabilitation and social integration. Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the results of the national study – undertaken by the Secretariat against Sexual Violence, Exploitation and Trafficking in Persons (SVET) – on the commercial sexual exploitation of young persons in the tourism sector.

Article 8. International cooperation. Trafficking of children. The Committee duly notes the detailed information provided by the Government regarding international and regional cooperation efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labour, including: (1) the participation of the Human Trafficking Investigation Unit of the National Civil Police in operations coordinated with AMERIPOL, including the Plan Turquesa, Itzel and Liberterra II projects, designed to identify trafficking cases and to dismantle transnational criminal networks; and (2) the Labour Inspectorate at the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare carried out cooperation visits in 2022 and 2023 with Panama and Colombia, aimed at the exchange of experiences and capacity-building for labour inspectors to prevent and eliminate child labour.

The Committee also notes the information available on the official website of the “Regional Initiative Latin America and the Caribbean Free of Child Labour”, in which Guatemala plays an active role. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the international and regional cooperation measures taken to combat the worst forms of child labour.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.