Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 2024, publiée 113ème session CIT (2025)

Convention (n° 29) sur le travail forcé, 1930 - Paraguay (Ratification: 1967)

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. 1. Institutional framework for action to combat forced labour. With regard to the results achieved in the implementation of the National Strategy for the Prevention of Forced Labour and the Plan of Action for the Prevention and Eradication of Forced Labour, the Government states in its report that through a broad tripartite consultation process led by the National Commission on Fundamental Labour Rights and the Prevention of Forced Labour (CONTRAFOR), it adopted the Second National Strategy for the Prevention of Forced Labour 2021–24, the general objective of which is to prevent and eradicate forced labour through a system of comprehensive support for victims. This National Strategy has five strategic axes: (i) institutional strengthening; (ii) prevention; (iii) detection; (iv) support for victims; and (v) punishment. The Government provides information on the process of the development of the Second National Strategy, as well as on the activities developed under the Second National Strategy between 2021 and 2023 and, in particular, on the training and awareness-raising workshops carried out, the drafting of proposals for inter-institutional cooperation, and the framework and specific inter-administrative agreements between the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security (MTESS) and other administrative bodies in order to prevent and eradicate forced labour, such as Specific Agreement No. 1 (31 May 2023) between the MTESS and the Paraguayan Association of Mennonite Communities (ACOMEPA).

Furthermore, the Committee notes that the Government has not provided information on the roles assigned to the institutions responsible for the implementation of the National Strategy, or on the regional plans or the annual report by the Monitoring and Evaluation Commission. The Committee therefore requests the Government to intensify its efforts to combat forced labour and to provide detailed information on the measures taken under the strategic axes of the National Strategy and on the results of the monitoring and evaluation of its implementation.The Committee also hopes that regional plans will be adopted to ensure coordinated and systematic action to combat forced labour at the national and regional levels and requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard.

2. Exploitation of the labour of indigenous workers in the Chaco. In its previous comments, the Committee requested information on the action taken by the labour inspectorate and cooperation between the Ministry of Labour, the Paraguayan Indigenous Institute (INDI), the Office of the Public Prosecutor and the police for the investigation of cases of forced labour in the Chaco and the protection of victims. In response, the Government reports that thorough inspections in livestock undertakings in the departments of Boquerón and Alto Paraguay have been established by MTESS Resolution No. 1212/2021, and that efforts have been intensified to facilitate the access of indigenous workers to administrative and judicial procedures to report possible cases of forced labour. In this regard, it indicates that there are Ombuds Offices in the departments of Alto Paraguay (Fuerte Olimpo and Puerto Casado), Presidente Hayes (Villa Hayes) and Boquerón (Filadelfia), which provide free assistance and representation to parties interested in initiating proceedings or filing a complaint with the respective jurisdictional authorities. It adds that the Regional Office of Indigenous Peoples frequently participates in the tripartite meetings of CONTRAFOR that are held in the city of Asunción.

The Committee notes that, according to the information provided for 2021, labour inspections were conducted in 13 undertakings in the western region (Chaco Paraguayo), 2 of which were conducted in the livestock sector. Of the 13 inspections conducted, 8 were closed, while the remaining 5 identified labour legislation violations, affecting more than 170 workers, and for which violation reports were prepared to initiate the administrative summary proceeding. The Committee also notes the report of the Office of the Labour Department for Indigenous Peoples of Boquerón (of 23 March 2023), which provides statistical information on the persons counselled, the settlements made, the mediation hearings held and the agreements signed by the parties between 2020 and 2022. The Government indicates that the indigenous communities have participated and that awareness-raising activities, such as meetings and workshops, have been carried out, which have allowed some cases of non-compliance to be resolved and others to be escalated to judicial bodies.

The Committee also notes that under the Okakuaa project, awareness-raising activities on labour rights have been carried out, with a special focus on indigenous populations in the department of Boquerón, and that under the ATLAS Project (2019–22), awareness-raising and training has been held for labour inspectors and materials for the training and dissemination of labour rights have been developed.

While noting these measures, the Committee notes the lack of information on the number of inspections undertaken specifically in the Chaco region, the complaints received, and the administrative and criminal penalties imposed. In this regard, the Committee observes that, while examining the application of the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), in June 2024, the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards noted with concern various issues relating to the effective functioning of the labour inspection system in the country, including a lack of human and material resources, the instability of employment of labour inspectors, and the absence of means to function effectively and independently through the unrestricted access of labour inspectors to workplaces without prior authorization.

The Committee urges the Government to continue implementing measures to facilitate the access of indigenous workers to administrative and judicial procedures to report situations of forced labour, taking into account their geographical location, linguistic and cultural situation, and educational level.In this regard, the Committee urges the Government to continue intensifying its efforts to ensure the presence of labour inspectors in the most remote areas of the Chaco, where indigenous workers are present, and to provide information on the frequency with which inspections are carried out, the current number of inspectors covering this region, the violations detected, as well as the administrative and criminal penalties imposed.Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which the MTESS, the Office of the Public Prosecutor and the police coordinate the detection and investigation of cases of exploitation that could constitute forced labour, as well as the coordination between the MTESS and INDI to address the problems affecting the indigenous peoples of the Chaco.

Article 2(2)(c). Obligation to work imposed on non-convicted detainees. The Committee recalls that, in its previous comments, it emphasized the need to amend the Act on the prison system (Act No. 210 of 1970), under the terms of which prison labour shall be compulsory for persons subject to security measures in a prison (section 10 in conjunction with section 39). The Government reports that the Ministry of Justice, by Note MJ/VPC/061/22 of 2022, issued a legal concept according to which Act No. 5162 of 2014 implicitly or tacitly repeals section 39 of Act No. 210 of 1970, concluding that there are no legal impediments to continuing the process of express repeal and that the formalization of the repeal is only to make it explicitly clear. The Committee urges the Government to continue taking the necessary measures for the prompt approval of the draft legislation repealing section 39 of Act No. 210 of 1970 on the prison system, so that, in accordance with Article 2(2)(c) of the Convention, compulsory labour can only be imposed on persons deprived of their liberty who have been sentenced by a court decision, which is not the case of persons subject to security measures.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.