AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2016/17

of expression and of the persecution of
human rights defenders and journalists.
Abortion remained criminalized and child
and teenage pregnancies continued to be
a concern.
BACKGROUND
In October a new Ombudsman was
appointed after a gap of seven years.
INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY
In January, Paraguay’s human rights record
was examined under the UN Universal
Periodic Review (UPR) process. The Human
Rights Council made a number of
recommendations, including urging Paraguay
to approve a bill to eliminate all forms of
discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation and gender identity; to develop
legal systems to prevent and punish violence
against women and girls; to reinforce
protection of the rights of Indigenous
Peoples; to protect the free exercise of
freedom of the press, expression and
opinion; and to address impunity for human
rights violations committed against human
rights defenders and journalists. Paraguay
accepted all the recommendations except
those related to the decriminalization of
abortion.
In October the UN CERD Committee
issued its report and concluding observation
based on Paraguay’s fourth to sixth periodic
reports. It made a number of
recommendations, including urging Paraguay
to take affirmative action to overcome
systemic discrimination against Indigenous
Peoples and Afro-Paraguayans. The
Committee also highlighted weak state
protection of rights to prior consultation and
Indigenous Peoples’ rights over their lands,
territories and resources.
In November, the UN Special Rapporteur
on the right to food visited Paraguay and met
with public authorities and members of civil
society. She was due to present her report on
the visit in 2017.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
In February, the Inter-American Commission
on Human Rights granted precautionary
measures to Ayoreo Totobiegosode
communities living in voluntary isolation,
calling on the Paraguayan government to
protect the communities from third parties
seeking to access their ancestral lands. In
October, the CERD Committee called on
Paraguay to fully abide by these
precautionary measures.
In October, the Yakye Axa community
remained without access to their lands
despite a ruling from the Inter-American
Court of Human Rights ordering the
government to construct an access route.
The CERD Committee called on Paraguay to
intensify efforts to effectively comply with the
Court’s judgment.
The case regarding the ownership of land
expropriated from the Sawhoyamaxa
community was still pending at the end of the
year despite the fact that in June 2015 the
Supreme Court of Justice had rejected the
appeal brought by a livestock company to
stall the effects of a law passed to return the
land to the community.
In October, the CERD Committee urged
Paraguay to take effective measures to
address problems related to access to food,
drinking water, sanitation and child
malnutrition among Indigenous Peoples and
Afro-Paraguayans living in rural areas.
HOUSING RIGHTS – FORCED EVICTIONS
In September, members of the Senate filed a
complaint with the Attorney General over the
forced eviction of 200 families from the
Guahory campesino (peasant farmer)
community and the failure of the government
to investigate the situation. In December,
another eviction took place in this community
during a dialogue process between Guahory
members and representatives of the National
Institute of Rural Development and Land,
aimed at assessing information related to
land tenure in the community.
In September, human rights organizations
reported the forced eviction of the Avá
292 Amnesty International Report 2016/17