Guatemala: Children

Mr. Hollobone
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to help tackle the problem of violence against street children in Guatemala.

Mr. Malik
In Guatemala between 2004-05 DFID contributed $150,000 through the InterAmerican Development Bank to NGOs working with street children. This funding provided education, psycho-social care and work opportunities.

The British Embassy in Guatemala City has supported many local NGO projects on child rights including a sustainable training programme for police officers in the city centre. This aims to improve officers’ dealings with street children, ensure the inclusion of child rights in the Police Academy training curriculum and encourage efforts to bring child abusers to justice.