Meg Munn (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Foreign & Commonwealth Office) | Hansard source

Our embassy in Guatemala City, along with EU colleagues, regularly raises human rights issues with the Government of Guatemala. We continue to urge Guatemala to improve security and health provision for the most vulnerable sectors of society, including street children.

On 15 October the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) hosted a meeting between Guatemalan Vice President Eduardo Stein and Minister of Foreign Affairs Gert Rosenthal and several non-governmental organisations, including Christian Aid, Amnesty International and Casa Alianza. The non-governmental organisations were able to put their concerns directly to the delegation. Child rights and the problems faced by street children including the alarming number of murders were discussed. On 30 October, FCO officials in London held a discussion forum with a number of international child rights non-governmental organisations to identify further opportunities for intervention.

On 25 September our Ambassador in Guatemala City, in partnership with EU ambassadors, met with Alvaro Colom (since elected as the next President of Guatemala). They discussed a range of human rights issues. Our ambassador emphasised the importance of improving the protection and rights of children and undertook to develop this dialogue further with the new administration. The FCO also sponsored a project earlier this year in which 800 Guatemalan police officers were trained in the rights of street children.