The UK's Special Envoy for Gender Equality, Alicia Herbert, will travel to Guatemala Nov 11-12 to visit UK funded projects and meet with Government authorities.
Special Envoy Alicia Herbert will travel to Chimaltenango to visit a project by the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women (UNTF). The project aims to improve Mayan women's access to justice while addressing violence against women in rural Guatemala. The UK has supported the UNTF since 2014 and announced a further £18 million in 2023 to support women's rights organisations working to tackle gender-based violence.
In Guatemala City, the Special Envoy will meet with Vice President Karin Herrera and the Minister of Education Anabella Giracca, to welcome the Guatemalan Government's efforts in empowering women as civil servants and decision makers, and discuss areas of UK-Guatemala collaboration.
Special Envoy Herbert will also meet Guatemalan female leaders, human rights advocates, and Chevening scholars to explore opportunities for partnerships that would enhance gender equality in Guatemala.
Finally, the Special Envoy will visit the offices of UK-based NGO Save the Children to support the work that they do in Guatemala helping children in vulnerable conditions, including underaged migrants who often travel unaccompanied.
This financial year, the UK Government is investing Q1.8 million (£181,450) in human rights projects in Guatemala aimed at strengthening civil society, improve protection for human rights defenders, address transitional justice, and tackling human trafficking.
