Last Update: October 2021
Institutional Framework Database for Social Policy
in Latin America and the Caribbean
Guatemala

 

 

Legal and regulatory dimension
Adherence, signing, and ratification of covenants, conventions, and agreements related to economic, social, and cultural rights
Ratified/Adhered to     Signed     Without Signature / Ratification
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racism Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women Convention on the Rights of the Child International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families Constituent Agreement of the Development Fund for Indigenous Peoples in Latin America and the Caribbean
19 May 1988 18 January 1983 7 April 2009 12 August 1982 6 June 1990 14 March 2003 28 November 2000
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The International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights and its Optional Protocol are the international instruments for the Universal Protection of Human Rights of the United Nations that regulate the protection of economic, social, and cultural rights. The Covenant was approved by the United Nations General Assembly with resolution 2200 A (XXI) on December 16th, 1966 and became effective in 1976.

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The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racism is the international instrument of the Universal System for the Protection of Human Rights of the United Nations, explicitly directed towards the elimination of any kind of racial discrimination. It was approved by the United Nations General Assembly with resolution 2106 (XX) on December 21st, 1965 and became effective in 1969.

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The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is the international instrument of the Universal System for the Protection of Human Rights of the United Nations that regulates the protection of human rights for persons with disabilities, explicitly mentioning a social development perspective. In this Convention a broad classification of persons with disabilities are considered, and it reaffirms that all people with all kinds of disabilities should be able to enjoy all their fundamental human rights and liberties. It was approved by the United Nations General Assembly on December 13th, 2006.

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The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women is the international instrument of the Universal System for the Protection of Human Rights of the United Nations that regulates the protection of rights of women. It defines acts that constitute discrimination against women and describes the nature of State obligations through laws, public policy, and programs that the State should develop to eliminate discrimination. It was approved by the United Nations General Assembly on December 18th, 1979.

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The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the international instrument used by the Universal System for the Protection of Human Rights of the United Nations that recognizes the articulated rights of the child on the basis of four fundamental principles: no discrimination, best interests of the child, the right to life, livelihood and development, and the respect of the child’s opinion. It was approved by the United Nations General Assembly on November 20th, 1989.

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The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families is the international instrument used by the Universal System for the Protection of Human Rights of the United Nations that regulates the protection of rights of migrant persons and their families, regardless of their migration status. It was approved by the United Nations General Assembly on December 18th, 1990.

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The Constituent Agreement of the Development Fund for Indigenous Peoples in Latin America and the Caribbean is the international instrument used by the Universal System for the Protection of Human Rights of the United Nations that advises governments in assuming responsibility for developing, with the participation of indigenous populations, a coordinated and systematic action plan with the aim of protecting the rights of these populations and guaranteeing the respect of their integrity. It was approved by the United Nations General Assembly on June 27th, 1989.

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Constitutional Mention of Sectoral Topics
Explicit Mention      Indirect/Implicit Mention     Does not mention

Year of Latest Observed Constitution

Social Housing

Work and Social Security

Public Health

Public Education

Social Development

Children and Adolescents

Youth/Young Adults

Women

Older Persons

Persons with Disabilities

Afrodecendants and Indigenous Peoples

Migrants

1985
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The latest constitutional text revised for this country does not present any explicit on indirect mentions for this sectoral topic in particular.

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Artículo 100. Seguridad social. El Estado reconoce y garantiza el derecho a la seguridad social para beneficio de los habitantes de la Nación. Su régimen se instituye como función pública, en forma nacional, unitaria y obligatoria.

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Artículo 93. Derecho a la salud. El goce de la salud es derecho fundamental del ser humano, sin discriminación alguna.

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Artículo 71. Derecho a la educación. Se garantiza la libertad de enseñanza y de criterio docente. Es obligación del Estado proporcionar y facilitar educación a sus habitantes sin discriminación alguna. Se declara de utilidad y necesidad públicas la fundación y mantenimiento de centros educativos culturales y museos.

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The latest constitutional text revised for this country does not present any explicit on indirect mentions for this sectoral topic in particular.

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Artículo 51. Protección a menores y ancianos. El Estado protegerá la salud física, mental y moral de los menores de edad y de los ancianos. Les garantizará su derecho a la alimentación, salud, educación y seguridad y previsión social.

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The latest constitutional text revised for this country does not present any explicit on indirect mentions for this sectoral topic in particular.

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Artículo 4o. Libertad e igualdad. En Guatemala todos los seres humanos son libres e iguales en dignidad y derechos. El hombre y la mujer, cualquiera que sea su estado civil, tienen iguales oportunidades y responsabilidades. Ninguna persona puede ser sometida a servidumbre ni a otra condición que menoscabe su dignidad. Los seres humanos deben guardar conducta fraternal entre sí.

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Artículo 51. Protección a menores y ancianos. El Estado protegerá la salud física, mental y moral de los menores de edad y de los ancianos. Les garantizará su derecho a la alimentación, salud, educación y seguridad y previsión social.

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Artículo 53. Minusválidos. El Estado garantiza la protección de los minusválidos y personas que adolecen de limitaciones físicas, psíquicas o sensoriales. Se declara de interés nacional su atención médico-social, así como la promoción de políticas y servicios que permitan su rehabilitación y su reincorporación integral a la sociedad. La ley regulará esta materia y creará los organismos técnicos y ejecutores que sean necesarios.

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Artículo 66. Protección a grupos étnicos. Guatemala está formada por diversos grupos étnicos entre los que figuran los grupos indígenas de ascendencia maya. El Estado reconoce, respeta y promueve sus formas de vida, costumbres, tradiciones, formas de organización social, el uso del traje indígena en hombres y mujeres, idiomas y dialectos.

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Artículo 4º.- Libertad e igualdad. En Guatemala todos los seres humanos son libres e iguales en dignidad y derechos.

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Specific national laws
Law present      Official information not available
 

Children and Adolescents

Youth/Young Adults

Older Persons

Women

Peoples with Disabilites

Afrodescendants and Indigenous Peoples

Migrants

Public Education

Work and Social Security

Social Housing

Public Health

Social Development

 
Legal Instrument Ley de Protección Integral de la Niñez y Adolescencia n.d. Ley de Protección para las Personas de la Tercera Edad Ley de Dignificación y Promoción Integral de la Mujer Ley de Atencion de Las Personas Con Discapacidad Decreto 135-96 Acuerdo Gubernativo No. 390 de 2002 - Comisión Presidencial Contra la Discriminación y el Racismo Decreto Nº 95 - 98, 'Ley de Migración' (1998) Ley Orgánica de Educación Código de Trabajo Ley de Vivienda y Asentamientos Humanos Código de Salud Ley de Desarrollo Social (Decreto Número 42-2014)
  Law Law Law Law Law Law Law Law Law Law Law

 

 

 

Organizational dimension
Main authority for intersectoral coordination

 

Country Guatemala
Main authority Social Development Special Council
Year of creation 2019
Coordinating authority Vice-President of the Republic
Members Vice-Presidency of the Republic; Ministry of Social Development; Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food; Ministry of Communications, Infrastructure and Housing; Ministry of Culture and Sports; Ministry of Economy; Ministry of Education; Ministry of Public Finance; Ministry of Public Health; Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare; Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources; Secretariat of Planning and Programming of the Presidency; Secretariat of Food and Nutrition Security of the Presidency; Secretariat of Executive Coordination of the Presidency; Secretariat of Social Welfare of the Presidency; Presidential Secretariat for Women; Management of the National Institute of Statistics; Directorate of the National Youth Council; Executive Secretariat of the National Council of Attention to the Migrants of Guatemala; Coordination of the Presidential Commission against Discrimination and Racism; Executive Secretariat of the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction, and Directorate of the Social Development Fund.
 
Main authority devoted to social development

 

Country Guatemala
Main authority Ministry of Social Development
Year of creation 2012
Mission It is the leading entity that promotes and articulates policies and actions for the sustainable social development of the population excluded from their basic opportunities, in order to contribute to improve their living conditions and reduce poverty. It strives to be efficient, transparent and reliable, to accompany the vulnerable population of Guatemala, in order to improve their living conditions with dignity and integrate them into the productive activity of the country. The Ministry formulates, dictates and establishes public policies aimed at improving the welfare level of people and groups that are socially vulnerable. As part of the Executive Body it was declared as a national emergency, which implies that it must formulate strategies for people to optimize their health, education and quality of life, while at the same time strengthening national food security. The Ministry is oriented to the attention of Human Rights in general and of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in a particular way, considering that many of the social difficulties are based on manifest deficiencies within the combination of these rights.
Incumbent Abelardo Pinto (2024)

 

 

 

Institutions protecting certain population segments
Official information not available
Population segment

Children and Adolescents

Youth/Young Adults

Older Persons

Persons with Disabilities

Women

Migrants

Main protection mechanism Secretaría de Bienestar Social Consejo Nacional de Juventud SOSEP - Comité Nacional de Protección a la Vejez (CONAPROV) Consejo Nacional para la Atención de las Personas con Discapacidad (CONADI) Dirección General de Migración
Legal Instrument Decreto Numero 27-2003 Ley de Protección Integral de la Niñez y la Adolescencia (PINA - 2003) Ley de Protección para las Personas de la Tercera Edad, Decreto Número 80-96 Ley 135 y la Ley de aprobación de la política nacional en discapacidad y plan de acción Decreto Nº 95 - 98, 'Ley de Migración' (1998)

 

 

 

Technical-operational dimension
Management, planning, evaluation, and transparency tools for social programmes
Tool present   Tool not present 



Main Social Protection Actor (Presence and Hierarchy)

Technical-operational dimension
Unique Registry of Participants Sistema Integrado de Administración Financiera /b Sectoral Plan for Social Development Transparence - system for accessing public information from the State

Integrated Social Information System

Evaluation mechanisms for social programs

General

Sectorial

General

Sectorial

Ministry of Social Development
                 

 

 

 

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