GUATEMALA CHILD MARRIAGE

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 000734 SIPDIS DEPT FOR G/IWI:KHADIAGALA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM ELAB EAID KWMN PGOV SCUL SOCI GT SUBJECT: GUATEMALA CHILD MARRIAGE REF: STATE 36341 ¶1. The answers below are keyed to the reftel questions. ¶A. Article 8 of the Civil Code specifies that the age of majority is 18 years for both males and females. Article 81 establishes the age of majority as the legal age of marriage. Articles 82-84, however, specify that males over age 16 and females over age 14 can be married with parental or judicial permission. ¶B. The most recent 2002 National Household Maternal and Child Health Survey (ENSMI),conducted by USAID and CDC, notes that 18.2 percent of 15-19 year old females are in a union, along with 5.7 percent of males in the same age group. The same study notes that 5.7 percent of females in the 15-19 age group entered into a union before age 15. ¶C. While several U.S. Government-funded initiatives address health and education concerns of Guatemalan children, none directly address child marriage. In particular, the U.S. Department of Labor addresses the worst forms of child labor through grants to the International Labor Organization and Catholic Relief Services, and USAID operates several programs through its Office of Health and Education. HAMILTON