Individual Case (CAS) - Discussion: 2013, Publication: 102nd ILC session (2013)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Paraguay (Ratification: 1967)

A Government representative expressed satisfaction at the fact that the measures adopted in the context of the application of the Convention, and the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169), had been noted with interest, and that recognition had been given to the process of formulating a National Strategy for the Prevention of Forced Labour. Forced labour was a criminal offence under national law; even so, her Government considered that, to tackle this scourge, States should promote the empowerment of vulnerable groups, including indigenous peoples. Her Government recognized that the particular geographical features of the Paraguayan Chaco hampered government initiatives, since it accounted for 60 per cent of national territory while harbouring barely 2 per cent of the population, comprising, inter alia, more than a dozen indigenous peoples, large Mennonite communities, and small- and large-scale producers. The progress made since the last meeting of the Committee of Experts included: Comprehensive Act No. 4788 of 13 December 2012 against the trafficking of persons, which contained specific definitions relating to the trafficking of persons, forced labour, economic exploitation and debt bondage; the National Strategy for the Prevention of Forced Labour, which was being formulated with the active participation of trade unions, employers’ associations and the support of the ILO Special Action Programme to Combat Forced Labour (SAP-FL); registration of, and issuing of identity cards to, more than 6,000 indigenous persons through the Civil Registry programme; the holding of workshops to raise awareness and provide information on forced labour in various locations in the interior of the country, including Chaco; the training of 898 indigenous persons by the National Service for Vocational Promotion and of 325 indigenous persons by the National Labour Training System; and the training of more than 200 women in fishing and domestic work by the Directorate for the Social Promotion of Working Women. She also referred to the implementation of 78 labour inspection visits in the Chaco region, covering 62 enterprises and a total of 808 workers; on those occasions, the inspection staff had not detected any situations involving forced labour or debt bondage. With the support of the ILO, a process had been launched to strengthen and modernize the labour inspection services. Regarding the adoption of legislative measures, a law was being drawn up for establishing a Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security of Paraguay, which was currently being examined in the Chamber of Deputies of the National Congress; and an Organic Act concerning the prison system had received preliminary approval in the Chamber of Deputies and was now before the Senate.

The speaker observed that some of the issues raised by the Committee of Experts in its observation on Convention No. 29 had been dealt with by the Government in its reports sent in 2012, particularly relating to the Protection of Wages Convention, 1949 (No. 95), and Convention No. 169. She emphasized that the observations made on forced labour had been addressed by the national Government with the full participation of various public institutions, the social partners and non-governmental organizations. She addressed some aspects referred to in the report of the Committee of Experts, such as: the fact that the latter had noted the complaint from the Central Confederation of Workers–Authentic (CUT–A) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), even though the Government had only received a complaint from the CUT–A; the ordinary meetings held by the National Commission on Fundamental Rights at Work and the Prevention of Forced Labour, established through Decision No. 230 of 2009; the setting up of a technical committee for the modernization of the administrative processes of the labour inspectorate; the future creation of a special inspection unit for the detection of forced labour; information and awareness-raising activities relating to labour rights carried out by the Chaco Regional Labour Directorate; the signing of a general collaboration agreement between the Ministry of Justice and Labour (MJT) and the Rural Association of Paraguay (ARP), for the registration of citizens and the issuing of identity cards to them, as well as the regularization of workers. She stated that consideration was being given to establishing a directorate of indigenous labour at the Ministry, which would be responsible for coordinating the mediation system, inspection services and worker training, taking into account the necessary free and informed prior consultation of indigenous peoples, with regard to all present and future measures. She also reiterated the request to the trade union federations and non-governmental organizations to identify the specific establishments and locations where situations of forced labour had supposedly been detected, so that the relevant checks could be made.

The Employer members stated that many of the points raised in the Committee of Experts’ report were long-standing issues that had even been taken up by this Committee in previous years. The case referred to a number of matters, largely concerning the situation in the Paraguayan Chaco. Although the Government’s latest report contained a whole range of details, notably on the National Programme for Indigenous Peoples (PRONAPI) and the inspection visits during which, as the Government representative confirmed, no instances of forced labour had been found, the fact remained that fines had been imposed and that the country’s labour legislation had been infringed. A report by an external source that was noted by the ILO had found clear evidence of forced labour in Paraguay. Furthermore, although the Government’s latest report contained fairly detailed information, there were still points on which the Committee of Experts’ comment sought additional explanations. Regarding sanctions, the Employers felt that further adjustments needed to be made to the administrative and penal procedures and to the bill on the prison system currently before Congress. They noted, however, that the Government was making a genuine effort to comply with the Committee of Experts’ requests and to bring its legislation into line with the spirit and substance of the Convention. That said, there were still a number of observations that needed clarification, for which the answer might well be the offered ILO technical assistance in implementing the programmes currently being carried out.

The Worker members indicated that, since 1997, the Committee of Experts had regularly made comments concerning debt bondage among the indigenous communities of the Chaco. During its examination of the case in 2008, this Committee had highlighted the unmanageable situation of landless peasants and their particular vulnerability to begging and prostitution when they were obliged to leave their lands and move to cities as a result of the intensive cultivation of soya. The Committee had also highlighted the situation of children carrying out hazardous work, such as in brickworks, quicklime factories, quarries and certain sectors of the informal economy, and violence carried out against the National Peasants’ Organization (ONAC). The Committee had expressed the firm hope that constructive measures would be taken urgently, and the Government had requested technical assistance from the Office. The election of a new President, who had announced agrarian, education and health reforms and the development of production to put an end to poverty and forced migration, had served to kindle the hope that legislation would be brought into line with ILO standards. A policy of transparent foreign investments had also been announced. However, the situation had not progressed favourably: violations had been identified that could fall under the Convention, Convention No. 169 or even the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), along with other Conventions, given that discrimination was also involved. Emphasizing the specific nature of migration in Paraguay, the Worker members referred to the report of the United Nations Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (April 2012), which cited numerous violations, and that of the Committee Against Torture (November 2011), which continued to express its concern at the fact that indigenous peoples living in Paraguay were still being exploited for work. Moreover, the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues had concluded, at the end of a mission to Paraguay in 2009, that a system of forced labour existed in the Chaco region and had made recommendations concerning, in particular, debt bondage and the issue of restoring land rights, which was at the root of the impoverishment and indebtedness of indigenous communities. Members of indigenous communities had lost their land to large agricultural enterprises and the ecosystem that characterized their ancestral lands had almost disappeared.

The Worker members pointed out, however, that the Constitution of Paraguay recognized the rights of indigenous peoples to have their own political, social, economic, cultural and religious systems and that indigenous languages were protected. In addition, a national policy on indigenous peoples had been adopted and the Chaco Indigenous Peoples Institute had been created. The speaker described the labour system that members of indigenous communities were subjected to in practice: transport to workplaces far from their home communities, no documents setting out working conditions, threats of reprisals if complaints were made, no wages in certain cases, etc. With regard to the comment made by the Committee of Experts, the Worker members recalled the comments of the CUT–A and the National Confederation of Workers (CNT) concerning forced labour in agricultural ranches and factories in the Chaco and the lack of measures by the Government to end the practice, and emphasized that imposing effective penalties was an essential element in the fight against forced labour. With regard to prison work, the Worker members underlined the fact that the Government had undertaken to amend the Act on the prison system (Act No. 210 of 1970), under the terms of which work in prison was compulsory for persons subjected to security measures in a prison establishment, within the framework of the adoption of a Prison Code, then through the adoption of a new Code of Penal Procedure. However, the Government had provided no information on the state of the reform process. Simple technical assistance would not suffice to overcome the mistrust that had built up between the peoples of the Chaco and the Government; action would need to be taken involving all those on the ground. Severe measures should be contemplated.

A Worker member of Paraguay stated that the Paraguayan authorities were perfectly aware that the Conventions on forced labour and on indigenous peoples were being violated. He explained that 95 per cent of the land in Paraguay belonged to big haciendas and that the extension of the development model based on cattle-raising in recent years had been at the expense of the indigenous peoples. The Government had provided little or no information on the debt bondage of indigenous communities. He drew attention to the Government’s lack of political will to take any effective steps to eliminate forced labour. The most serious problems were the expulsion of the indigenous peoples from the Chaco and the debts incurred by workers to feed themselves, as it was the employers who fixed the prices for food. He stressed the particularly grave situation of women in domestic employment and the general state of extreme poverty and destitution in the country, especially among ethnic groups in the Chaco, and urged that an agreement be reached to eliminate forced labour.

The Employer member of Paraguay highlighted that the Employer delegation agreed with the statement made by the Government representative and stressed his group’s commitment in helping to eradicate the problem of forced labour once and for all. The problem affected the Paraguayan Chaco, a large and sparsely populated area that was difficult to access, where inspections and monitoring were scarce owing to lack of budgetary and human resources. The employers in the country were supporting the Bill to create a Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security with the aim of tackling such problems and it had participated in tripartite work on the basis of Act No. 4788 (Comprehensive Act against Trafficking in Persons) of December 2012. The 78 inspections carried out had identified no cases of forced labour and the role of ILO technical capacity building in working towards complete eradication of the practice was important. He referred to the progress that it had been possible to make in applying public policies thanks to the creation of a regional labour office in the Chaco locality of Irala Fernández, although even more offices should be established. He highlighted the awareness-raising work on labour laws and social security issues carried out by the Federation of Production, Industry and Commerce and drew attention to programmes to fight child labour in sugar cane plantations and construction material plants undertaken by the Paraguayan Industrial Union (UIP) – a member of the Federation – along with its participation in a forum for equal opportunities for women in the workplace, supported by the Ministry of Justice and Labour. He underlined the social responsibility programmes run by many enterprises and the judicial safety that prevailed in the country, and urged the members of the Committee of Experts to examine the reality in the country for themselves. He reiterated the will of the employers in the country to work with the trade unions and national authorities to achieve full respect for fundamental rights.

The Government member of Colombia, speaking on behalf of the Government members of the Committee which were members of the Group of Latin American and Caribbean Countries (GRULAC), highlighted that the Committee of Experts had taken note of the adoption by the Government of various measures designed to prevent forced labour, notably the creation in 2009 of a Commission on Fundamental Rights at Work and the Prevention of Forced Labour which had drawn up an action plan comprising awareness-raising measures, training for labour inspectors and the establishment of an office of the Department of Labour in central Chaco. She reiterated the commitment of the GRULAC countries to eradicating forced labour throughout the region and they encouraged the Government to keep up its efforts in that regard. They hoped that the ILO would continue its collaboration with a view to giving effect to the Convention.

The Worker member of Brazil recalled that the problem of forced labour in Paraguay was not a recent one. The Committee of Experts had been commenting on debt bondage in the Chaco region since 1998. The majority of indigenous peoples working in the Chaco region had only temporary jobs, were hired by intermediaries, and transported to the workplace far from their communities. Their work contracts were conducted orally, so that in the event of a breach of contract, the indigenous workers had no proper recourse and could not defend their rights. Among the most serious cases were situations on cattle farms where workers had worked a lifetime without remuneration except food. Such farms also employed women as domestic workers, whose remuneration did not cover the cost of transportation from their communities. Child labour was also present on these farms. The lack of land was at the centre of the vulnerability of these indigenous peoples, as 82 per cent of the country’s land was owned by 2 per cent of landowners. The Government had adopted awareness-raising measures, but it was necessary to take measures to combat the forced labour and provide protection to the victims.

The Worker member of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela highlighted that her country watched what was happening to the indigenous peoples of the Paraguayan Chaco with great concern, as getting a person into debt so that they could then be coerced into working against their will, was not only a violation of the Convention but also of the most basic human rights. The case under discussion was that much more serious because it involved indigenous peoples of the American continent, and it represented a great step backwards in the social justice enshrined in the preamble to the ILO Constitution. What difference was there between slavery in the colonial era and the inhumane practices suffered by workers in the Chaco and their families, who in many cases worked for no more than bed and board? Concentrating land into large ranches increased the vulnerability of the area’s indigenous groups and corruption prevented the public authorities from discharging their duties appropriately, as well as preventing the restitution of ancestral lands, which encouraged violations of the Convention. Politicians had tended to favour landowners and ranchers, a situation that had been aggravated by the coup d’état and affected indigenous people, peasant farmers, workers, and poor and vulnerable families in particular. She urged this Committee to take the appropriate steps to restore the rights of the indigenous peoples of the Chaco who were subjected to inhuman working conditions.

The Worker member of the United States underlined that the interviews conducted by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in Paraguay in 2012, pointed to the involvement of large landowners in cases of forced labour, particularly the Mennonite community. This had been verified by reports from the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. The Mennonite community was one of the major agribusiness entrepreneurs, and had purchased a large amount of land in central Chaco. This had forced the indigenous populations to live in increasingly restricted areas, leaving only the option to work as labourers on ranches owned by Mennonites. These workers were subjected to conditions of forced labour, including women and children. The Government had indicated to the ILO that situations of forced labour had not been identified in the inspections carried out in ranches or major agricultural undertakings. However, the Government had never provided statistics on the number of cases where infringements of the Labour Code had been detected, the number of fines that had been imposed on employers or the compensation that had been granted to workers. State institutions were not present in several of the areas of central Chaco, including both labour inspection and health services. Despite several recommendations that the Government adopt a regional plan of action to combat forced labour, no action had been taken in this regard. Such a plan had to include the involvement of the Mennonite community. International support was also required for Paraguayan civil society and the Government.

Another Worker member of Paraguay indicated that the workers’ situation in Paraguay had been the constant subject of the Committee of Experts’ observations, and this was one of the worst forms of labour and exploitation. The Central Confederation of Workers (CUT) fully supported workers who were subjected to forced labour and urged the Government to take drastic and effective measures to ensure that the services of the Ministry of Justice and Labour reached the most isolated areas of the country, where both nationals and foreigners were liable to fall victim to forced labour. He requested the business sector’s support in drawing up a tripartite roadmap to prevent and eradicate forced labour in Paraguay, and emphasized the importance of the cooperation of the social partners and the ILO. Forced labour affected not only the indigenous peoples of the Chaco but also the populations of Caaguazú, Alto Paraná and Canindeyú.

The Government representative stated that establishing a Ministry of Labour and Social Security was one of its top 100 priorities. The Ministry should transcend the temporary nature of a government, particularly as the Committee of Experts and the trade union federations had both recommended that it be established. A department of indigenous labour and a special team of inspectors to identify forced labour should also be set up within the Ministry of Justice and Labour, with free, prior and informed consultation of indigenous peoples. Several developments had taken place in the fight against forced labour, in collaboration with the local ILO Office in Paraguay: (i) a study of the existing legislation on forced labour, linking it to the legislation on child labour; (ii) regional workshops to gather information, in preparation for the national strategy on the prevention of forced labour, focusing on prior consultation with indigenous peoples, so that they could set out the most appropriate and coherent roadmap with which to tackle that issue and consultations would be carried out in central Chaco, in the Department of Itapúa, in the locality of Juan Caballero and in the capital. Specific workshops would also be organized with representatives from indigenous organizations, entrepreneurs, trade unions and civil society; and (iii) meetings with the Director of the ILO International Labour Standards Department and the Office specialists on forced labour and indigenous and tribal peoples. The speaker highlighted some of her Government’s achievements, such as the adoption by the Executive of the National Human Rights Plan, with the involvement of civil society and the cooperation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Several training and professional education courses had been organized to enable participation, especially young people of working age and members of the native communities of the Chaco and the eastern region to acquire abilities and skills that would give them access to decent work. Furthermore, restructuring had taken place within the Committee responsible for giving effect to the judgments of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the recommendations of the Executive Inter-Institutional Commission for Compliance with International Judgements (CICSI). It would be in charge of adapting domestic legislation in an effort to find an effective solution to the devolution of ancestral lands to indigenous communities. Existing domestic legislation did not provide for any procedural remedies that enabled those lands to be devolved. In addition to those plans, the Government had a long history of defending workers’ rights and preventing forced labour, such as Act No. 4788 (Comprehensive Act against Trafficking in Persons) of 2012 against trafficking in persons, and the ratification of the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189). Reaffirming her Government’s commitment to fighting forced labour, in close collaboration with the social partners and the ILO, she urged the ILO to set up a permanent office in Paraguay, with the aim of making solid progress in the struggle to improve working conditions.

The Employer members took note of the Government’s goodwill to overcome the present difficulties, in particular the recent adoption of measures to prevent trafficking in persons, the continuation of the tripartite programme to prevent forced labour, awareness-raising workshops for civil servants and indigenous people and training for workers in the fishing and domestic service sectors. They also took note of the strengthening of labour inspection in the Chaco region, especially in the locality of Teniente Irala Fernández, and of the legislation that would shortly be adopted to create a Ministry of Labour and Social Security, which would have a special division for indigenous peoples. The Employer members also took note of the Paraguayan workers’ request that further measures be taken to prevent forced labour and that support be given to indigenous communities, particularly in the sugar industry, domestic work and cattle rearing. The Government should implement a regional action plan to strengthen institutions and should work with the social partners to provide opportunities to indigenous peoples with a view to preventing forced labour and child labour. The Employer members considered that the recently elected Government should continue receiving ILO technical assistance in order to bring national legislation and practice fully into line with the Convention and expressed the hope that, in its next report, the Government would be able to comment on its progress. They also asked the Office to include information on Paraguay in its general report on technical cooperation worldwide.

The Worker members underlined that, for them, there were two major issues: the question of debt bondage and more general problems relating to the rights of the indigenous peoples of Chaco; and the question of prison labour and the conformity of Act No. 210 with the Convention. With regard to those two issues, they deplored the repeated failure to comply with the provisions of the Convention and the continuing inertia of the Government. The Worker members asked for technical assistance to be strengthened and expanded to encompass all interested parties, including the indigenous peoples, who formed an alliance with the trade unions. The technical assistance might usefully focus on the following four components: drawing up a tripartite regional action plan to reinforce actions that had already been taken, but were still insufficient in terms of the prevention and elimination of forced labour and the protection of victims of forced labour and debt bondage; increasing labour inspection resources, especially in relation to work on ranches; allocating sufficient material and human resources to the competent authorities for receiving workers’ complaints and reports of forced labour; and ensuring, in connection with the application of Convention No. 169, consultations with indigenous peoples on administrative and legislative measures affecting them, particularly with respect to territorial and social security issues. The Worker members expressed their agreement with the Employer members to request the Government to prepare a report on the application of the Convention and send it as soon as possible.

Conclusions

The Committee took note of the statement by the Government representative and the discussion that followed. The Committee recalled that it had discussed this case in 2008 and in particular the situation of the Paraguayan Chaco indigenous workers who were trapped in debt bondage. The Committee noted that the outstanding issues concerned the need to take measures to strengthen the action of the different entities involved in the fight against debt bondage in the Chaco region.

The Committee noted the comprehensive information provided by the Government representative outlining the various measures taken to combat debt bondage in the Chaco region, in particular the formulation of a national strategy for the prevention of forced labour as well as the carrying out of awareness raising and training activities. Concerning the situation of vulnerability faced by indigenous workers, the Committee noted the information provided by the Government representative in relation to the measures taken to combat poverty, including training and professional education courses and the civil registration programme. Finally, the Committee noted that the Government would make an effort to find an effective solution to the devolution of ancestral land to indigenous communities.

The Committee also noted the deep concern expressed by several speakers regarding the persistence of the economic exploitation faced by indigenous workers in certain sectors, particularly the agricultural sector. The Committee therefore expressed the firm hope that the Government would take immediate and effective measures in the framework of a coordinated and systematic action to protect indigenous communities in the Chaco from the imposition of forced labour. The Committee stressed the importance of adopting a tripartite regional action plan, which would define priorities and specific goals, with regard to the prevention and protection of victims, and would identify the entities responsible for the implementation of such measures.

    While it considered that the measures adopted to combat poverty were important, the Committee hoped that the Government would take into account the fact that the programmes implemented needed to have the objective of ensuring the economic independence of those who were victims of debt bondage and to include support and reintegration measures for victims. The Committee requested the Government to take measures to improve the economic situation of the most vulnerable categories of the population so that they could escape from the vicious circle of dependence.

With regard to the issue of the prosecution of those who exact forced labour, the Committee expressed its serious concern at the lack of information on cases brought to justice. The Committee urged the Government to take appropriate measures to ensure that in practice victims were in a position to turn to the competent judicial authorities. In this regard, the Committee recalled the importance of having sufficiently specific provisions in national legislation to allow competent authorities to prosecute and punish the perpetrators of such practices. Furthermore, the Committee urged the Government to take measures to strengthen the capacity of the relevant public authorities, in particular the labour inspection, so as to enable them to deal effectively with the complaints received, to identify victims and restore their rights in order to prevent them from being trapped again in situations of forced labour. In this regard, the Committee underlined the importance, given the geographical particularities of the Chaco region, to ensure that the labour inspectorate had adequate resources to access workers in remote areas.

Regarding the need to bring the Act on the prison system (Act No. 210 of 1970) into conformity with the Convention, by ensuring that prisoners awaiting judgment and persons detained without being convicted were not subject to the obligation to perform prison work, the Committee expressed the firm hope that the Government would take the necessary measures in order to ensure that, in the framework of the adoption of the new Penal Code of Procedure, national legislation would be brought into conformity with the Convention.

Noting that the Government had reaffirmed its commitment to put an end to bonded labour in the indigenous communities of the Paraguayan Chaco as well as in other parts of the country that may be affected, the Committee hoped that the Committee of Experts would be able to note tangible progress in its next examination of the case in 2013. It also requested the Office to provide strengthened and expanded technical assistance to encompass all interested parties, including the indigenous peoples.