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Summary: This report summarises hearings on children's rights in Paraguay held by the Inter-American Commission, reports by the Commission's Rapporteur on the Rights of the Child, and cases brought to the Commission and Court.
Paraguay is a member of the Organization of American States (OAS). The Inter-American Commission is an autonomous body of the OAS which monitors Member States' compliance with their obligations under regional human rights conventions. Regional instruments ratified Paraguay ratified the American Convention on Human Rights on 18 August 1989 Search CRIN's ratifications table to find other regional instruments to which Paraguay is a party. _____________________________________________ Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Hearings Children's rights advocates from Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay presented a joint thematic hearing on the situation of children deprived of their liberty in October 2008. The hearing was presented by the Colectivo de Derechos de Infancia y Adolescencia - Argentina / Associação Nacional dos Centros de Defesa da Criança e do Adolescene (ANCED), Brazil / Coordinadora por los Derechos de la Infancia y la Adolescencia (CDIA), Paraguay / Comité de los Derechos del Niño, Uruguay. The Inter-American Commission expressed concern about the limitations of democracies in the Americas in guaranteeing full protection to children in conflict with the law. Read the full report (in Spanish) Country visits by the Commission's Rapporteur on the Rights of the Child A sub-regional consultation on juvenile justice was held in Paraguay in November 2008 in preparation for the Rapporteur's thematic report on juvenile justice in the Americas. Country visit, April 2006: The Rapporteur on the Rights of the Child visited Paraguay in response to reports that children who live and work on the street were being detained illegally by police in Ciudad del Este. Read more Country visit, July 1999: The Commission received complaints about torture of children and young people. Read more. Commission reports on Paraguay Third Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Paraguay 2001: Chapter 7 on the Rights of the Child Response of the State of Paraguay to the Commission's Recommendations on the "Third Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Paraguay" Available in Spanish only (March 2002) Follow-up Report on the Commission's Recommendations on the Third Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Paraguay. Available in Spanish only. Inter-American Commission: cases In a meeting at the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights in November 2009, Paraguay recognised international responsibility for the forced disappearance of two 14 year olds - Marcelino Gómez Paredes y Cristian Ariel Núñez - who were illegally conscripted and disappeared whilst in the care of the army in 1998. State officials signed a friendly settlement with the organisations representing the victims: The Centre for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) and Servicio Paz y Justicia de Paraguay (SERPAJ-PY). In the agreement, the State admitted to violating the children's right to personal freedom, integrity, life, to special protection measures, and to judicial protection and guarantees. Paraguay has agreed to establish a commission to investigate the disappearance of children and to sanction those responsible for violating the human rights of the victims. _____________________________________________ Paraguay accepted the Inter-American Court's contentious jurisdiction on 26 March 93 (what does this mean?). Find cases on children's rights in Paraguay here. _____________________________________________ MERCOSUR MERCOSUR stands for el Mercado Común del Sur (the Common Market of the South). MERCOSUR is an economic and political bloc of South American States similar to the European Union. MERCOSUR was founded by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay in 1991 under the Treaty of Asunción. Niñ@sur is an initiative of MERCOSUR which aims to promote national efforts in Member States to implement the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Niñ@sur focuses mainly on sexual exploitation. MERCOSUR has also been involved in discussions to develop a UN complaints mechanism for children. The presidency of MERCOSUR rotates between the four countries. National coalitions in the sub-region also rotate responsibility for coordinating communications and joint advocacy around MERCOSUR. NGOs have the opportunity to speak at the end of each session and to prepare statements.
Inter-American Court