Every country in the world (except the U.S. and Somalia) has ratified the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Despite such overwhelming ratification, the institutional structures needed to implement the convention's tenets are inadequate—and often, nonexistent. Such institutional inadequacy is reflected in the estimated 100 million children who live and work on city streets throughout the world.

      This problem is especially pronounced in Latin America, where approximately 40 million children live and work on city streets. These children are vulnerable to physical, sexual, and psychological exploitation. Armed with the CRC, a network of transnational advocates has emerged to ameliorate the plight of these children.

      Using a case study of Guatemalan street children, this research analyzes the efficacy of transnational advocacy networks in promoting the tenets of the CRC. International treaties are increasingly used as a means for obtaining justice in environmental, economic, political, and humanitarian spheres. Consequently, an exploration into how transnational actors use the CRC to help Guatemalan street children may generate insights that will be useful for analyzing the efficacy of other international treaties.

     Chisec is a remote region in the district of Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. The area is predominately comprised of K’ekchi Indians. Nearly 75% of the populace is illiterate and extremely poor, earning approximately $100 U.S. annually. The region was the latest massacre site in Guatemala’s 36-year civil war.

      Because of its remote location, the inhabitants of Chisec have lived in relative isolation. However, all this is about to change with the construction of paved roads and telephone lines that will connect Chisec to Cobán—the capital of Alta Verapaz. With the construction of paved roads, dramatic social and developmental changes will occur.

      Research in this area considers these dramatic changes and attempts to create planning documents to help the local government develop in an ecologically and socially sustainable manner. Some of the projects currently taking place include: an ecotourist project, water and land conservation projects, and youth groups to help the region’s youth cope with the rapid changes to come.