In the framework of the International Day of the Migrant Person, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Secretariat of Social Welfare of the Presidency (SBS) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) today presented the new study Migration and child labor . Guatemala 2017, at the National Museum of Archeology and Ethnology of this capital.

The objective of this study is to provide a clearer picture of the forms of work and the main characteristics of unaccompanied migrant working children. This is to promote the design of policy measures aimed at improving care and support in the reintegration of returnees, as well as preventing irregular migration of children and adolescents.

The results of the survey show that the migration of unaccompanied children returned to Guatemala is multi-causal and that, for the most part, it comes from the departments of the western highlands and El Petén. Among the reasons expressed, 75% of returned unaccompanied migrant girls, boys and adolescents claimed to have traveled in search of better living conditions, followed by family reunification (47%) and work (37%). 

The survey also found that more than 90% of this population does not meet the expected schooling. This percentage is higher for the group that carried out some type of work prior to migrating, which suggests that the time dedicated to productive activities limited the development possibilities for returned unaccompanied migrant girls, boys and adolescents.

In addition, 79% of children and adolescents returned to Guatemala invested more than 22 hours a week in unpaid family work activities before migrating. This percentage is higher for girls. On the other hand, the group that worked in a paid manner represents a smaller proportion (32%, mostly children), but the time dedicated is higher (more than 36 hours per week).

Agriculture was the sector that they mentioned the most, both for paid and unpaid work, in the case of children; while for girls it is domestic activities at home and at the home of third parties. For the returned migrant children and adolescents who worked for remuneration before migrating, the research found that they live in households with slightly higher levels of vulnerability than the rest: dirt floors, lack of access to drinking water and not property of the House. 

Migration is a right. However, thousands of people migrate irregularly, which places them in a situation of vulnerability to organized crime and other risks to their physical and psychological integrity en route, which has become a growing concern for Central American countries.

The most intense migratory process in the region occurs from Central America to Mexico and the United States, irregularly. In this route, full compliance with fundamental rights is put at risk, which not only affects the person - including girls, boys and adolescents - but also the development of countries and their population in various areas.

“We call on the Guatemalan State, society and family to join forces in favor of the guarantee and full compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, with special emphasis on unaccompanied migrant children and adolescents who have returned. It is imperative that - in all the decisions we make - we prioritize those that eradicate child exploitation, that increasingly minimize the risks of irregular migration and that fully restore the fundamental rights of the youngest migrant population that returns to Guatemala. Thus, we will contribute to the development of the country in favor of each and everyone ”, said the Chief of Mission for El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, Jorge Peraza Breedy.

For her part, Carmen Moreno, Director of the ILO Office for Central America, Haiti, Panama and the Dominican Republic, pointed out that since 2007 the migration of unaccompanied children and adolescents, especially in the Northern Triangle (Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador), tends to increase and encourages situations of child labor and its worst forms. In this sense, Moreno highlighted that collaboration with the IOM has been key to making visible the link between child labor and migration in the subregion, since joint work has allowed us to deepen this reality even more and promote research, monitoring and implementation agenda of the topic. 

The study Migration and child labor. Guatemala 2017 is the result of the joint effort of both United Nations organizations, and the government of Guatemala, which led them, in recent years, to commit to improving knowledge and understanding of the reality of irregular migration, especially of girls, boys and adolescents who migrate unaccompanied and make the trip in very precarious conditions, exposed to serious risks.

About the study and its results

Migration and child labor. Guatemala 2017 constitutes a first exploratory approach to the characteristics of child labor in this population, using as a platform a sample and a specialized instrument on returned migrant children, applied in Guatemala between the months of May and October 2017.

The interview included a small battery of questions to capture information about the performance of work by unaccompanied migrant children and adolescents, both in their community of origin, in their family and as an expectation at the destination.

To read the full study, click here .