Guatemala has several policies in effect to protect the rights of children. The first is the Guatemalan Constitution,"Constitution politica de la Republica de Guatemala", which protects the rights of all Guatemalans. This government document provides extra protection to children. It mandates that children have the rights to education, security, health care, and food. It also declares that the government must protect the "physical, mental, and moral health of children",and states that the "protection of orphans and abandoned children is a matter of national interest ". The Guatemalan Constitution also declares that minors are not chargeable because their reasoning skills are not fully developed. This law requires the rehabilitation of children in juvenile centers instead of time in adult jails. In addition to the Guatemalan Constitution, Guatemala became the sixth country to sign the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is an international policy that protects children's rights. The CRC even requires governments to develop programs and legislature to handle problems particular to their country. Particularly, there are articles that relate just to the protection and treatment of street children. The CRC calls upon governments to protect children from physical, mental, and sexual abuse, neglect, exploitation, or maltreatment while being cared for by parent, guardians, or other care providers (article 19). Article 33 requires the responsible government agencies to take action against childhood use and abuse of drugs and prevent children from being involved in drug trafficking. The government must try to prevent at all costs the exploitation of children in the form of prostitution or other unlawful sexual practices, as article 34 requires. Other articles require that "no child shall be subject to torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, and no child shall be deprived of his or her liberty" (article 37). Also "every child alleged or accused of having infringed the penal law has at least the following guarantees: i) To be presumed innocent until proven guilty, ii) To be informed promptly and directly of the charges against him or her" (article 40). Guatemala also has an outdated Minor's Code (the Code). Adopted in 1979, this government policy conflicts with the Constitution and the CRC in many ways. Occasionally the Code enables judges to deny the rights of less fortunate children. This conflict is a major factor in the abuse of street children within government run facilities. Fortunately the national Attorney for Human Rights (the Attorney) sees this as a problem and is working towards fixing it. The Attorney has created a special subdivision called the Defender of the Rights of the Child. This division is responsible for the protection of children's rights. They are responsible for investigation involving rights violations, and for raising awareness of children's rights. The Attorney has also joined the Pro-Convention Commission on the Right's of the Child. This commission is in the process of replacing the outdated Minor's code with the Code for Childhood and Adolescence. Guatemala is working to change policies and create organizations to better protect their children. If things continue in this direction, street children and the abuse of street children will become an epidemic of the past.