Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Paraguay (Ratification: 2001)

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Article 7(2) of the Convention. Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (d). Children at special risk.Children in street situations. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it continues to implement the ABRAZO Programme for the progressive reduction of children working on the streets. The Government indicates that the ABRAZO Programme extended its coverage to all families in situations of vulnerability, and that there are currently 55 Family Care Units providing services and assisting 4,200 families, including 12,068 children. While noting the information provided by the Government, the Committee recalls that children in street situations are at an increased risk of involvement in the worst forms of child labour and it therefore requests the Government to pursue its efforts and to continue providing information on: (i) the measures taken to identify and assist these children; and (ii) the results of the measures adopted, in terms of the number of children who were removed from the streets and provided with direct assistance for their rehabilitation and social integration.

Indigenous children. The Committee takes note of the Government’s indication that, due to the complexity of the situation of indigenous peoples, it has established an Operative Working Group, headed by the Public Ministry, to provide assistance to children and adults of indigenous communities. This Operative Working Group has been working on an Intervention Roadmap with competent authorities including the Ministry of Childhood and Adolescence (MINNA), the national police and the Paraguayan Institute of Indigenous Peoples (INDI).

The Committee notes the adoption of Decree No. 5897/2021 approving the National Plan for Indigenous Peoples 2020–30, in which, objective 3.2 seeks to improve education for children of indigenous communities by, among others: (1) building and improving school infrastructures for communities; (2) guaranteeing pertinent and relevant education for all indigenous children; and (3) allocating the necessary resources to achieve this goal. Objective 4.3 which aims to guarantee the rights of indigenous children, also envisages: (1) the development of adequate measures to encourage children to stay in school; (2) building strategies to prevent indigenous children from becoming engaged in the worst forms of child labour, including the criadazgo system and hazardous work; and (3) the design of a protocol to approach the situation of indigenous children in the streets.

The Committee notes, from the observations of the Central Confederation of Workers Authentic (CUT-A), that children of indigenous communities are particularly vulnerable to trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation, and that there is a lack of measures to protect them and their families. The CUT-A expresses particular concern over the commercial sexual exploitation of indigenous girls in construction camps of the “Biocéánica” route. The Committee also notes, from the 2022 Annual Report of UNICEF, that 73.7 percent of indigenous peoples live in poverty and 40 per cent in extreme poverty. While Paraguay has made substantial progress in improving child well-being over the past years, especially in health coverage, access to education, particularly in the early years, and the creation of public policies and programmes for the protection of children and adolescents, persisting gaps continue to impact the rights of children and families, especially among those of indigenous background. The Committee requests the Government to continue to take effective and time-bound measures, including within the framework of the Intervention Roadmap and the National Plan for Indigenous Peoples, to protect indigenous children from the worst forms of child labour. It asks the Government to provide information on the results achieved.

Article 8. Enhanced international cooperation. The Committee notes the adoption, in 2023, of Act No. 7128/23 approving the agreement between Paraguay and Bolivia to strengthen the fight against trafficking in persons. The Committee also takes note of the information provided on other international cooperation measures undertaken within the reporting period, including: (1) cooperation with Spain, Chile and Bolivia to fight and prevent trafficking in persons; (2) in 2022, an inter-regional meeting in Buenos Aires on the prevention of trafficking, assistance to victims and regional cooperation; and (3) between 2020 and 2022, the implementation of the ATLAS Project which aims to improve inter-regional cooperation and the application of the legislation relating to child labour, forced labour and trafficking in persons.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, during the Special Migration Reunion of MERCOSUR in 2022, a draft “Regional Action Guide for Early Detection of Situations of Human Trafficking at Border Crossings of MERCOSUR and Associated States” was prepared. The Government adds that work is ongoing on the MERCOSUR “Regional Plan for the Prevention and Eradication of Forced Labour and Trafficking in Persons for the purpose of labour exploitation”. The Committee takes note of the Government’s information that two child victims of trafficking were repatriated from Bolivia back to Paraguay. The Committee welcomes the measures taken by the Government and requests it to continue providing information on the measures taken and the results achieved through cooperation with, and the assistance of the MERCOSUR countries with regard to the trafficking and sexual exploitation of children and young persons.