Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2000, published 89th ILC session (2001)

Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) - Paraguay (Ratification: 1993)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which reads as follows:

1.  The Committee notes the Government’s report covering the period 1 June to 1 September 1998. Shortly before the beginning of its session, the Committee received a new report with many annexes covering the period 1 June 1994 to 31 May 1998, which it will examine closely next year, together with the Government’s reply to the comments made in the present session and any additional comments received. The Committee requests the Government to provide specific information on the matters raised below concerning the application of the following Articles of the Convention.

2.  Article 1 of the Convention.  The Committee had noted the Government’s indication in its first report that the national census of 1992 was not very reliable with regard to data on indigenous peoples and that it had not been possible to obtain the necessary international resources to undertake an exclusive census of indigenous peoples. The Committee notes from the information provided by the Government that the Office of the Attorney General is carrying out a census of the indigenous population by municipality. The Committee requests the Government to provide it with the results of this census and to indicate whether the self-identification as being indigenous by the persons covered by the census was taken into consideration in determining the ethnic origin of the persons concerned.

3.  Article 2.  The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the machinery for collaboration and cooperation between the institutions of the various governmental, non-governmental and religious bodies which are active in indigenous affairs, including the methods adopted by the Paraguayan Indigenous Institute (INDI) to follow up the reports transmitted to it by private entities on their activities in indigenous communities. It also requests the Government to indicate whether there is in practice effective participation by the peoples concerned in coordinated and systematic action to protect their rights.

4.  Article 3, paragraph 1.  The Committee notes the various information received on the apparent discrimination in wages and treatment based on the indigenous origin of workers in ranches in the country. The Committee urges the Government to provide detailed information on the wages paid to indigenous and non-indigenous workers in ranches in the country, and to indicate any differences in the minimum wage paid to both categories of workers and whether the Ministry of Justice and Labour keeps a register of the wages paid to these workers. Furthermore, it requests information on the application of section 183 of the Labour Code requiring rural employers, on each occasion that they recruit rural workers, to inform the Administrative Labour Authority within 30 days. It also requests the Government to provide information on the number of indigenous rural workers in the country.

5.  Article 3, paragraph 2.  The Committee notes that the Department for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights of the Ministry of the Interior coordinates its activities with governmental, national and international organizations and once again requests the Government to provide information, in so far as it is related to the application of this provision of the Convention, on the number of complaints received and their follow up, and on the activities which will be or have been carried out.

6.  Article 5(a) and (b).  The Committee notes that the Government has not provided any information on the application of this Article. It urges the Government to provide information on the measures which have been taken or are envisaged to ensure recognition, protection and respect of the social, cultural, religious and spiritual values and practices of these peoples and their institutions.

7.  In its previous direct request, the Committee noted that in 1992 the Directorate of Planning, Projects and Development of the INDI had been established to implement a development planning policy for indigenous communities based on the proposals made by those communities. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information in its next report on any study which may have been carried out, with the cooperation of the peoples concerned, to evaluate the socio-cultural, spiritual and environmental impact of current projects or of projects which are under preparation.

8.  Article 6.  The Committee notes the information provided by the Government that the INDI is holding consultations with indigenous communities which may be affected by the implementation of a project. Nevertheless, the Government does not provide specific information on the application of this Article. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which consultations are held with indigenous peoples whenever measures are adopted which may affect them. It also requests it to indicate whether consultations were held on the implementation of the Paraguayan Chaco Sustainable Development Project (PRODECHACO).

9.  The Committee noted the implementation of the project for food assistance to indigenous primary schools in certain departments in the eastern region. In this respect the Committee once again requests information on the progress made and the current situation of the above project.

10.  Article 7, paragraph 4.  The Committee requests the Government to provide information on whether environmental studies are undertaken when development projects are carried out in indigenous areas.

11.  Articles 9, paragraph 2, and 10, paragraph 2.  The Committee notes that, under section 5 of Act No. 904, indigenous communities may apply their customary methods to regulate internal matters in all cases which are not incompatible with the principles of public order. It requests the Government to provide information on whether the customs of indigenous peoples are taken into account when courts are imposing penalties on them. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate whether, in cases involving indigenous persons, methods of punishment other than confinement in prison are used.

12.  Articles 9, paragraph 2, and 11.  The Committee notes that section 40 of the Penal Code provides that convicted persons are required to perform the work assigned to them, thereby facilitating their employment situation in their future life outside prison. Taking this information into account, the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether, under this section and taking into account the provisions of Article 9, paragraph 2, indigenous persons who are sentenced to imprisonment are also obliged to work.

13.  Article 14, paragraphs 1, 2 and 3.  With reference to its observation, the Committee notes the Government’s statements in August 1999 to the Sub-Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights of the United Nations Human Rights Committee to the effect that it is becoming difficult to grant enormous extensions of land to indigenous persons pursuant to their claims so that they may continue in their natural state living in reserves and surviving exclusively from hunting, fishing and the collection of forest fruits, without incorporating the new technologies for the rational use of land and for sustained and sustainable development. The Committee notes that Paraguayan Chaco has a surface of 24,695,000 hectares, that the officially recognized indigenous lands amount to only 1.8 per cent (445,305 hectares) of the above area and that, in terms of population, 60 per cent of the total population of Chaco is indigenous and only has access to less than 2 per cent of the territory of the region.

14.  The Committee reminds the Government that under this Article of the Convention steps shall be taken as necessary to identify the lands which the peoples concerned traditionally occupy and to guarantee effective protection of their rights of ownership and possession. It requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which it is proposed to give effect to this Article of the Convention, and particularly on the measures which have been taken or are envisaged to safeguard the right of indigenous peoples to use lands not exclusively occupied by them. It also requests the Government to provide information on the procedures which exist in the national legal system to resolve land claims by the peoples concerned, as provided for in Article 14.

15.  The Committee also recalls that, in an earlier report on Convention No. 107, the Government indicated that in 1991 there had been a pronounced increase in invasions of indigenous lands by landless rural workers and that illegal settlers in Naranjito, Torreskue and Ka’ajovai had been ordered by the courts to leave the area. The Committee requested the Government to provide information on these court orders and the effect given to them, including any measure taken by the Institute of Rural Welfare to restore the lands of the "Fortuna" community, which had lost the title to its lands to the Industrial Paraguayan Company SA, due to an administrative error made by the Institute. The Committee once again requests this information and urges the Government to report in the near future on developments in this situation.

16.  The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the outcome of the processes respecting the land claims of the indigenous communities in Laguna Pato, Santa Juanita, Riachito (12,000 hectares), the Siete Horizontes Indigenous Community (18,000 hectares), the Aurora Indigenous Community (20,000 hectares), the Mbaracay Indigenous Community (1,000 hectares), and the Totoviegosode Indigenous Community (600,000 hectares), which are pending before the Indigenous Defence Department of the Office of the Attorney General.

17.  Article 15.  In its previous direct request, the Committee noted that major hydroelectric projects which might affect indigenous communities had not been developed and it hoped that the Government would provide information on the transfer of indigenous communities displaced by the Itaipú and Yacyretá dams, any mechanisms in place for paying compensatory damages for any loss or injury and the amount of compensation actually received by the affected communities. Please also provide information indicating the manner in which the peoples concerned were consulted before their transfer. The Committee is once again awaiting this information. The Committee recalls that it has been requesting information on the application of this Article in practice since the ratification of the Convention.

18.  Article 16.  The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application of this Article of the Convention in practice, with an indication of the manner in which the peoples concerned are consulted. It also requests it to provide information on the case of the expulsion of 25 indigenous families of the Enxet ethnic group from a ranch owned by the Bischoff family for allegedly having reclaimed their rights to the land through the courts.

19.  Article 17.  The Committee notes that both article 64 of the Constitution and section 17 of Act No. 904 provide that indigenous lands shall not be seized, divided, transferred, prescribed, used as a guarantee for any credit or contractual obligation, nor shall they be leased, and they shall be exempt from taxation. Taking these circumstances into consideration, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the type of consultations held and the consultation procedures which exist, if any, when indigenous communities consider transferring their lands outside their community.

20.  Article 18.  Taking into account the information on the conflicts of interests between "landless" rural workers and indigenous communities, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures which have been taken or are envisaged to settle these disputes in cases where indigenous lands are invaded, the penalties applicable to persons who invade indigenous lands, with practical examples, if any, of cases in which such persons have been removed and damages have been paid to an indigenous community. It also requests the Government to indicate the penalties imposed on persons invading indigenous lands, if such penalties exist, and whether they are adequate to impede invasions, as well as on any pending claim to indigenous lands.

21.  Article 19.  The Committee notes, under section 22 of Act No. 904, for the purposes of the settlement of indigenous communities on public lands, additional land may be granted to meet their economic needs and their need to expand, but that the section respecting agrarian reform in the Constitution does not contain an explicit reference to indigenous peoples. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on whether agrarian reform plans actually secure to indigenous peoples treatment equivalent to that accorded to other sectors of the population, particularly in regions such as Chaco, where the ownership of land by indigenous peoples is not proportional to their numbers.

22.  Article 20(3)(d).  The Committee also requests the Government to indicate whether any legislation, draft legislation or other measures exist to protect the members of these peoples in particular against sexual harassment in employment.

23.  In its previous direct request, the Committee asked the Government to provide information on the extent to which indigenous communities are included in the scope of the Labour Code of Paraguay (Act No. 213 of 1993), with particular reference to any special measures designed to facilitate their access to equal opportunities for recruitment and employment. Please also include information on the number and frequency of labour inspections in indigenous areas, with particular reference to the Mennonite settlements. The Committee is once again awaiting the provision of this information.

24.  Articles 21, 22 and 23.  The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which these Articles are applied in practice, and particularly on how it is intended to promote traditional activities related to the subsistence economy. It also requests the Government to indicate the number of credits granted to indigenous communities for the development of handicrafts and rural and community-based industries.

25.  Articles 24 and 25. Social security and health.  The Committee notes the Government’s statements to the Sub-Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights of the United National Human Rights Commission, in August 1999, indicating that assistance will be provided to the inhabitants of Paraguayan Chaco, including indigenous peoples, in the fields of health, housing, education and living standards, to permit them to live a dignified life, through the Paraguayan Chaco Sustainable Development Project (PRODECHACO), concluded with the European Union in 1995. It requests the Government to provide information on current plans, if any, to improve health services in the areas inhabited by indigenous peoples, including preventive care. It also requests information on the manner in which the PRODECHACO project has benefited indigenous peoples in the region, and particularly indigenous workers on ranches.

26.  Article 27.  The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the measures adopted to facilitate the access of indigenous peoples to educational institutions, based on their special needs, which incorporate their histories, their knowledge, their value systems and their culture.

27.  Article 29.  The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted to facilitate the access of indigenous children to educational institutions with a view to encouraging their full participation in their own community and in the national community.

28.  Articles 30 and 31.  The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its first report in May 1996 that a process of educational reform was being undertaken in the country. It also indicated that the INDI had supported the proposals made by indigenous representatives to the Educational Reform Commission. In this respect, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the practical outcome of the proposals made by indigenous representatives to the Educational Reform Commission. Furthermore, it requests information on whether any programmes exist to make known to indigenous peoples their rights and duties in regard to labour, economic opportunities, education and health matters, social welfare and their rights deriving from the Convention.

29.  The Committee also repeats its earlier request to the Government to provide information on the measures which have been taken or are envisaged to eliminate prejudices which may exist against indigenous peoples by raising awareness and increasing respect for indigenous cultures and traditions among non-indigenous persons who are in most direct contact with the peoples concerned, including government authorities.

30.  Article 32.  The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether any type of agreement or dialogue exists with neighbouring countries to facilitate contacts and cooperation with the indigenous peoples of Paraguay.

31.  Article 33, paragraph 2(b).  The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any legislative measure which is currently being taken to align the legislation with the rights guaranteed in the Constitution. Furthermore, it requests information on any plans to amend the Indigenous Communities’ Charter.

  32.  Part VIII of the report form.  The Committee wishes to recall that this Part of the report form on the Convention indicates that, although such action is not indispensable, the Government may find it helpful to consult organizations of indigenous or tribal peoples in the country, through their traditional institutions where they exist, on the measures taken to give effect to the present Convention and in preparing reports on its application. Since the above information has not been provided by the Government in either of its two reports, please indicate whether such consultations have been held in practice.