With the goal of continuing to strengthen Guatemala’s juvenile criminal justice system by promoting interinstitutional collaboration and implementing effective strategies for the care of adolescents in conflict with the law, today a meeting of the Interinstitutional Technical Committee to Strengthen the Juvenile Criminal Justice System of Guatemala was held. This committee is coordinated by the Prosecutor’s Office for Adolescents in Conflict with the Criminal Law.

The event was led by Mrs. María Consuelo Porras Argueta, Attorney General of the Republic and Chief of the Public Ministry, and included the participation of delegates from the Italo-Latin American International Organization (IILA), Francesco Padovani, Regional Coordinator of the ILA-SICA Project, and Sonia Navas, Juvenile Justice Specialist of the same project.

Representing the Public Ministry were Mr. Julia María Juárez Sagüil, Second Deputy General Secretary; Mr. Eduardo Mejía Calito, Secretary of International Affairs and Cooperation; Mrs. Lidia María Martínez Salguero, Prosecutor and Coordinator of the Comprehensive Care Model for Juvenile Criminal Justice; and Mr. Marlon Kenneth Pacheco Rodríguez, Section Prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office for Adolescents in Conflict with the Law.

Officials from the Secretariat for the Protection of Children and Adolescents and Juvenile Criminal Justice of the Judiciary, Supreme Court of Justice, National Civil Police, Ministry of Education, Public Defense Institute, and the Secretariat of Social Welfare of the Presidency of the Republic were also present.

During the meeting, educational programs and complementary services were presented. Additionally, in response to requests from the Judiciary and the Public Ministry, the General Directorate of Extracurricular Education (DIGEEX) of the Ministry of Education shared progress on the development of a roadmap resolution.

The proposal for the dissemination of the campaign #PreventionActionJuvenileJustice was also discussed, along with a presentation on the risk-need assessment tool, focusing on the protection of children and adolescents in conflict with the criminal law.

Guatemala, May 22, 2025