On January 26, 1990, Guatemala signed the Convention on the Right's of a Child, the main document that defines children's rights across the World. Currently, all but two countries (United States and Somalia) have signed it. The United Nations treats the Convention as an effective and appropriate outline of the ideal state of children's rights. When a country signs the convention, it agrees to the following:

"Signature constitutes a preliminary and general endorsement of the Convention by the country in question. It is not a legally binding step...it does create an obligation to refrain from acts that would defeat the objectives of the Convention, or to take measures to undermine it."

After signing the Convention, Guatemala made the following statement to the United Nations:

"The State of Guatemala is signing this Convention out of a humanitarian desire to strengthen the ideals on which the Convention is based, and because it is an instrument which seeks to institutionalize, at the global level, specific norms for the protection of children, who, not being legally of age, must be under the guardianship of the family, society and the State."

Guatemala later ratified the Convention on June 6, 1990, effectively agreeing to be bound by all of its terms.

As demonstrated above, the Guatemalan government has good intentions for upholding their children's rights. Regardless of these good intentions, however, the current status of children's rights in Guatemala is very tragic and the government's efforts to improve this problem have been relatively useless. The justice system is totally corrupt and does not protect children's rights; when children bring their grievances to court, judges do not give them a fair opportunity to speak, nor do they provide them will proper legal assistance. The Guatemalan police force, the supposed protectors of children, routinely violate children's most fundamental rights. They frequently arrest street children, sometimes putting them directly in jail, without even honoring their right to a trial. Even worse, Guatemalan police are responsible for about half of the recorded cases of abuse every year. Practically speaking, children's rights do not exist in Guatemala, especially for the poorer children who need them the most. By signing the Convention on the Right of a Child, the Guatemalan government showed their concern for children. But clearly, the government has not given nearly enough attention to the issue.