The Board agreed the outcome of the targeted assessment of Guatemala

Outcome of targeted assessment of Guatemala

Decision reference: 2025-41 / BC-367
Decision basis: 2019 EITI Standard, Section 4 - Article 8.a Suspension

29 October 2025

Board decision

Following a review of Requirement 1 in Guatemala in accordance with Article 8.a of Section 4 of the 2019 EITI Standard, and Board decision 2024-52, the Board finds that Guatemala has ‘partly met with improvements’ the EITI Standard’s Requirement 1.1 on government engagement, ‘mostly met’ Requirements 1.2, 1.3 on industry and civil society engagement, ‘partly met’ Requirement 1.4 on multi-stakeholder oversight and ‘not met’ Requirement 1.5 on work planning. This limited progress follows a temporary suspension of Guatemala’s Validation in January 2020, which concluded an assessment of ’inadequate progress’ on Requirement 1.1 on government engagement.

The Board welcomes the continued engagement and interest of industry and civil society on EITI implementation and notes the relevance of EITI implementation for supporting national priorities and policy commitments of President Bernardo Arévalo’s administration. However, the Board manifests its concern on the continued challenges for a more meaningful government engagement, a lack of a proper legal mechanism to support EITI implementation, and the lack of a functioning MSG.

Despite the limited progress in renewing government engagement and restarting the process, the EITI Board recognises the ongoing efforts of the government in preparing the establishment of the MSG, as well as the strong alignment of Guatemala's national priorities with the objectives of the EITI. The Board decided that Guatemala remain suspended until it demonstrates progress on implementation, and that the country be validated under the 2023 EITI Standard commencing on 1 April 2027. Failure to demonstrate progress on Stakeholder engagement in the next Validation may result in delisting in accordance with Article 6 of the EITI Standard. In accordance with the EITI Standard, Guatemala may request an extension of this timeframe or request that Validation commences earlier than scheduled.

EITI Requirement	Progress	Score
Government engagement (#1.1)	Partly met with improvements	45
Industry engagement (#1.2)	Mostly met	60
Civil society engagement (#1.3)	Mostly met	60
MSG governance (#1.4)	Partly met	30
Work plan (#1.5)	Not met	0

Corrective actions and strategic recommendations

The EITI Board agreed the following corrective actions and recommendations to be undertaken by Guatemala. Progress in addressing these corrective actions will be assessed in the Validation commencing on 1 April 2027:

In accordance with Requirement 1.1a, the Government of Guatemala should ensure that there is a new Government Agreement that provides a legal basis for EITI implementation and for a functioning MSG. Guatemala should ensure that the government is fully, actively and effectively engaged in all aspects of the EITI process at the strategic and operational level. It should ensure that all key agencies are part of the MSG. Taking into consideration the Preamble to the new Government Agreement, the government should reinstate its public commitment with EITI implementation in line with its national priorities. The government should ensure the mobilisation of sufficient resources (both technical and financial) for EITI implementation, including a National Coordinator, the convening of MSG meetings, as well as the publication of EITI Reports. The government should convene the multi-stakeholder group as soon as the new Government Agreement is published, or even pending its approval, if feasible. The new Government Agreement should be published no later than December 2025.

To further strengthen the implementation of Requirement 1.1, the government is encouraged to inform the MSG of the regulatory efforts and the reforms the extractive sector is undergoing in Guatemala, to ensure that EITI implementation can support legal changes and its practices.
In accordance with Requirement 1.2a, companies in Guatemala should be fully engaged in EITI implementation, fully participate in EITI reporting and attend MSG meetings.

Moreover, to strengthen implementation of Requirement 1.2, companies in Guatemala should actively engage in broadening outreach activities to disseminate the EITI process and to strengthen the engagement of other extractive companies to EITI reporting in Guatemala. Companies in Guatemala are also encouraged to launch initiatives to preserve and strengthen transparency in the sector during the period of reviving EITI activities, as well as to continue disclosing EITI data in addition to publishing financial and sustainability reports regularly. In line with the efforts done in the previous years, companies in Guatemala are encouraged to contribute and be actively involved in discussions on how to create an enabling environment for their participation in EITI, and to contribute to the revival of EITI implementation in Guatemala.
In accordance with Requirement 1.3a, Guatemala should ensure that all members of the civil society constituency are fully and effectively engaged in all aspects of the EITI process by creating an environment for such participation.

In accordance with Requirement 1.3b, to guard against a potential impact of existing laws on restraint related to EITI implementation, the government should ensure, and the MSG should monitor, that laws and regulations such as the NGO law are not used as an obstacle to limit CSO participation in public debate, analysis and monitoring of the extractive sector. The government should also undertake measures to ensure that civil society actors engaged with the EITI are not harassed, intimidated or persecuted for expressing their views on the governance of the extractive sector.

Moreover, the MSG is expected to monitor the adherence to the EITI Protocol: Participation of civil society, including the enforcement of laws such as the NGO law, and other actions by the government that could limit the critical expressions or the engagement of civil society organisations in the EITI, in particular the existence of violence against defenders of the territory, indigenous communities and human right defenders.

The government, together with other constituencies, are encouraged to support civil society in finding funding that could support its engagement in EITI -activities, particularly with its linkages with organisations in the territory.
In accordance with Requirement 1.4a, Guatemala should ensure that an MSG is established by March 2026 to ensure full and effective oversight of all aspects of EITI implementation, including providing strategic direction on implementation with a view to contributing to public debate, review of current practice in extractives governance with a view to contributing to policy and reforms. The MSG needs to gather and begin its work on EITI implementation before the end of March 2026. The MSG should ensure that EITI implementation work considers the publication of Guatemala’s EITI Report covering fiscal years 2023 and 2024 by December 2026.

In accordance with Requirement 1.4b Guatemala should update its Government Agreement to provide a legal basis for the MSG to work no later than December 2025. The MSG should also update its terms of reference, in line with the new Government Agreement, and fulfil its oversight role in providing strategic direction for EITI implementation, approve the work plan and budget, and discuss key recommendations from previous EITI Reports and Validations.

All constituencies should ensure they follow a procedure to nominate and elect representatives to the MSG. These processes need to be agreed by every constituency and be publicly available no later than December 2025.

The multi-stakeholder group should undertake effective outreach activities with civil society groups and companies. Any deviations from the MSG’s governance documents, including in the frequency of meetings, should be publicly documented.
In accordance with Requirement 1.5, the MSG should ensure that it adopts a work plan that reflects the priorities of the government, industry and civil society constituencies and that is aligned with the EITI principles and the strategic priorities of the EITI, as relevant in the country context. This work plan should be approved and published by May 2026.

To strengthen implementation, the MSG is encouraged to link the work plan to a monitoring framework, and to include the monitoring of civic space conditions in Guatemala as related to the extractive sector in the work plan activities.

The government and all stakeholders are encouraged to consider these corrective actions and recommendations, and to document Guatemala’s responses to these recommendations in the next annual review of outcomes and impact of EITI implementation.

Failure to demonstrate progress in the next Validation of Guatemala may result in delisting in accordance with Article 6 of the EITI Standard. In accordance with the EITI Standard, Guatemala may request an extension of this timeframe or request that Validation commences earlier than scheduled.

Background

Guatemala joined the EITI in 2011. It has published five EITI Reports covering fiscal years 2012-2020. The last EITI Report published by Guatemala, covering fiscal years 2018-2020 was published on 1 December 2021. Guatemala’s Validation against the 2016 Standard, concluded in January 2020. found that the country had an inadequate progress in implementing the EITI Standard, and Guatemala was suspended for inadequate progress on Requirement 1.1 on government engagement. Guatemala’s next Validation was scheduled to begin in October 2022. In preparation for it, the International Secretariat undertook an internal assessment to evaluate Guatemala’s readiness for Validation and confirmed limited progress in EITI implementation during this period. On September 6, 2022, the International Secretariat provided a comprehensive briefing to the Validation Committee concerning the status of EITI Implementation in Guatemala. The Validation Committee was made aware of several key issues, including a significant reduction in mining activities, limited stakeholder engagement, and the inadequate quality of EITI reporting. Given these circumstances, the International Secretariat recommended that Validation in the current environment would not be a timely nor an efficient utilisation of resources. Consequently, the recommendation was to defer Validation and prioritise supporting the country in the development of an adapted implementation plan.

In the context of concluding all 2019 EITI Standard assessments by 2025, the Board mandated the International Secretariat to undertake a targeted assessment of Guatemala on Requirement 1 of the EITI Standard. This assessment was undertaken in accordance to the targeted assessment procedure. An in-person mission was conducted from 4-7 May 2025 in Guatemala City for stakeholder consultations to inform the assessment. The mission was composed of two members of the International Secretariat, Francisco Paris and Esteban Manteca.

The period under review of the assessment of Requirements 1.1-1.5 is January 2020 to April 2025. The assessment takes stock of the developments in this timeframe, with the Validation report of January 2020 as a benchmark. Given the lack of a functioning MSG, Guatemala did not submit documentation for this assessment.