Libro II. Disposiciones organizativas

Comprehensive protection of boys, girls and adolescents shall be carried out at the social, economic and legal levels.

The administrative actions developed in this Book, in order to foster the effective observance of the rights of children and adolescents, shall be carried out through the formulation, execution and control of public policies developed by the State with the participation of society.

For purposes of this Law, integral protection policies shall be understood as the set of actions formulated by the National Commission and the Municipal Commissions for Childhood and Adolescence, respectively, to guarantee to boys, girls and adolescents the full enjoyment of their rights and freedoms. The rights set forth in this Law may be expanded, but in no case varied nor contravening the principles that inspire it, and under the strict premise of strengthening the unity of the institution of the family.

For the purposes of this Law, the comprehensive protection policies for childhood and adolescence, in their order, are the following:

a)Basic social policies: the set of actions formulated by the State and society, to guarantee to all boys, girls and adolescents, the full enjoyment of their rights.

b)Social assistance policies: the set of actions formulated by the State and society, to guarantee to boys, girls and adolescents, in situations of extreme poverty or in a state of emergency, the right to an adequate standard of living, through programs of support and assistance to the family.

c)Special protection policies: the set of actions formulated by the State and society, to guarantee to boys, girls and adolescents threatened or violated in their rights their physical, psychological and moral recovery.

d)Guarantee policies: the set of actions formulated by the State and society, to guarantee to boys, girls and adolescents subject to judicial or administrative proceedings, the minimum procedural guarantees.

The formulation of the policies for the integral protection of children and adolescents corresponds, at the national level, to the National Commission for Children and Adolescents and, at the municipal level, to the Municipal Commissions for Children and Adolescents.

The execution of the policies for the integral protection of children and adolescents shall be the responsibility of the different bodies to which they correspond according to the subject matter.

The formulation, execution and control of comprehensive protection policies in favor of boys, girls and adolescents shall be based on the following principles:

a)Unity and integrity of the family.

b)Primary responsibility of parents with respect to the rights and duties inherent to parental authority, within the framework of ethical principles, fulfilled within the legal order.

c)Decentralization.

d)Deconcentration.

e)Participation.

f)Coordination.

g)Transparency.

h)Sustainability.

i)Mobilization.

j)Respect for cultural identity.

k)Best interests of the child.

The National Commission for Childhood and of the comprehensive protection policies for childhood and adolescence; in accordance with the provisions of Article 81 of this Law; as well as of transmitting them to the urban and rural development councils system and to the ministries and dependencies of the State for their incorporation into their development policies; overseeing compliance therewith and adopting the pertinent actions that bring said protection to greater efficiency. It shall have internal regulations and resources originating from:

a)Contributions from the Secretariat of Social Welfare, to cover such operating expenses as may be necessary.

b)Ordinary or extraordinary contributions or subsidies received from the State and other national and international bodies.

c)Donations from individual or juridical persons.

The National Commission for Children and Adolescents shall be deliberative and shall be composed on a parity basis of representatives of the State and of the same number of representatives of non-governmental organizations that carry out actions and develop programs in favor of children and adolescents, as follows:

a)For the State: One representative from each of the areas of education, health, labor and social welfare, interior, culture, social well-being, finance and from the Secretariat of Planning and Programming of the Presidency or the agency responsible for planning in the Executive Branch; one representative of the Congress of the Republic; one representative of the Judicial Branch.

b)(Amended by Article 1 of Decree 2-2004 of the Congress of the Republic) For the non-governmental organizations dedicated to the development of children and adolescents, the representatives of: children's and adolescents' human rights organizations, religious, indigenous, youth, educational and health organizations.

The nomination of the representatives of the non-governmental organizations shall be carried out in accordance with the procedure of each group.

The members of the National Commission for Children and Adolescents shall serve ad honorem and shall hold their offices for periods of two years, from the date of assumption of office. They shall elect from among their members their Board of Directors, for a period of one year, which shall be coordinated by the Secretariat of Social Well-being.

The president of the Board of Directors shall be a member of the National Council for Urban and Rural Development.

All terms of the representatives before the Commission, as well as that of its Board of Directors, shall be computed as of December 31 of each year. The National Commission for Children and Adolescents shall submit to the Congress of the Republic during the first fortnight of the month of February of each year, through the Commission on Women, Minors and the Family, a detailed report on its activities and on the situation of children in the country.

The decisions of the National Commission for Children and Adolescents shall be autonomous and propositive, which shall be taken by majority; in the event of a tie, whoever presides shall have a double vote.

The following are powers of the National Commission for Children and Adolescents:

a)To formulate and approve comprehensive protection policies for children and adolescents and to ensure that the corresponding allocations are included in the General Budget of Income and Expenditures of the State.

b)To transmit the comprehensive protection policies formulated to the National Council for Urban and Rural Development and to the ministries and dependencies of the State, for their incorporation into their development policies.

c)To promote, coordinate and oversee the implementation of comprehensive protection policies for children and adolescents.

d)To obtain resources for its functioning.

e)To disseminate the rights of children and adolescents, their situation, as well as the policies that are formulated.

f)Others established within the framework of national and international legislation consistent with the comprehensive protection of children and adolescents.

For the performance of its functions, the national commission shall have an Executive Secretariat. Its powers shall be established in the respective regulation.

The Office of the Defender for the Rights of Childhood and Adolescence is created, whose powers are the defense, protection and dissemination of the rights of boys, girls and adolescents, before society in general, as well as the effective compliance with the provisions that on this matter are prescribed by the national legal system, the Political Constitution of the Republic, and other agreements, treaties, pacts and other international instruments on human rights accepted and ratified by the State of Guatemala.

The Office for the Defense of the Rights of Children and Adolescents is directly subordinate to the Human Rights Ombudsman and deputy ombudsmen.

The Defense Office for the Rights of Children and Adolescents shall have the following functions:

a)To protect the human rights of children and adolescents established in the Political Constitution of the Republic, the agreements, treaties, pacts and other international instruments accepted and ratified by Guatemala, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other legal provisions in force, through the investigation of complaints filed or processed on its own initiative in relation to the violation of such rights, in order to determine responsibilities, order the cessation of the violations that have occurred and promote the measures or complaints that are appropriate before the competent bodies.

b)To ensure that the authorities responsible for providing protection to boys, girls and adolescents comply with their attributions and that in their actions they observe what is set forth in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

c)To supervise governmental and non-governmental institutions that serve boys, girls and adolescents, to verify the conditions in which they are found, in order that the pertinent measures be adopted in the protection of boys, girls and adolescents, as well as to follow up on compliance with the recommendations formulated.

d)To coordinate actions in an interinstitutional, governmental and non-governmental manner at the national and international level, especially with those that provide protection to boys, girls and adolescents.

e)To carry out prevention actions aimed at protecting the human rights of the boy, girl and adolescent, by means of talks, conferences, seminars, forums, videos, television shorts, radio and written press.

f)To coordinate with the Director of Promotion and Education of the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman, actions aimed at promoting and educating the child, youth and adult population in relation to the rights and duties of the boy, girl and youth and their protection mechanisms, preparing for such purpose appropriate didactic material, reproducing and publishing the same and ensuring that both parents and teachers carry out multiplier actions to disseminate such rights.

g)To represent and accompany the Human Rights Ombudsman, when he so directs, in activities related to boys, girls and adolescents both at the national and international level.

h)To provide to the Human Rights Ombudsman the necessary supporting information in order that he propose to the Ministry of Education a program of curricular readjustment that includes human rights education at the national level with emphasis on the rights of children and adolescents.

i)To coordinate with teachers' associations and trade unions actions and programs of human rights education on children and adolescents.

j)Other functions and attributions that although not expressly listed are inherent to this Defense Office.

For purposes of processing the complaints filed or actions initiated on its own initiative, action shall be taken in accordance with the provisions of the Law of the Human Rights Commission of the Congress of the Republic and of the Human Rights Ombudsman, the corresponding regulations and the internal provisions issued by the Ombudsman.

The Unit for the Protection of Working Adolescence is created, to execute the projects and programs undertaken by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare through the respective Vice Ministry, taking into account also the guidelines established by the National Commission for Children and Adolescence, it shall communicate to the competent authorities any noncompliance in this regard of which it becomes aware, for its due investigation and sanction if applicable.

The Unit for the Protection of Working Adolescents shall coordinate actions with the Labor Inspection and the General Directorate of Labor.

The Specialized Unit for Childhood and Adolescence of the National Civil Police shall have as its principal objective systematically training and advising all members of the Institution on the rights and duties of boys, girls and adolescents.

The specialized Childhood and Adolescence Unit shall develop training and advisory programs in accordance with the following principles:

a)Unrestricted respect for national legislation, as well as for international treaties on human rights of children and adolescents, accepted and ratified by the State of Guatemala.

b)Specialized protection and care in accordance with the best interests of boys, girls and adolescents.

c)Civil nature and vocation of service to the community, open to rendering accounts for its actions, principally in the control and prevention of crime against boys, girls and adolescents and those committed by adolescents.

d)High technical and human content in the performance of its functions.