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The ILO promotes Convention No. 169 in Paraguay

Paraguay (ILO News). Forced labour and implementation of Convention No. 169 in Paraguay were the main subjects of a series of events that took place recently in Paraguay to promote detailed knowledge of this Convention and the main implications of applying it in the country. On 12 May the seminar “Forced labour and Convention No. 169: implementation for members of parliament” was held in the National Congress bicameral hall. It was organized by the Network against all Forms of Discrimination, with support from the ILO, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Members of parliament from the various parties were present at the event, which had the following main goals: promote knowledge of the resolutions of Convention No. 169 and experiences from applying it in other countries in the region and explore the possibility to create a parliamentary action plan that would contribute to carrying out popular consultations prior to considering bills that would affect the country’s indigenous peoples.

On the following day, 13 May, a seminar on this subject was held in Chaco, for the first time in Paraguay’s history. The Minister of Justice and Labour, Humberto Blasco, and the Deputy Minister of Labour, Raúl Mongelós attended the meeting, as well as two experts from the ILO, Guillermo Pérez, International Expert at the ILO Subregional Office for the South Cone of Latin America and Christian Ramos, expert in international standards at the ILO office in Brasilia, and the Paraguayan Director of Labour, Filemón del Valle. It should be highlighted that indigenous leaders and representatives of the private and public sectors and civil society were also present, and took part in the discussions of the subject.

In the seminar, the report on forced labour published recently by the ILO was discussed, and specific actions taken by the Government in response to the ILO’s observations were pointed out. The actions include creating a national programme for indigenous peoples and establishing a commission on basic work rights and prevention of forced labour, which received ILO support in its establishment.

Finally, on 14 May, a seminar organized by the ILO and the Paraguayan national commission on basic rights and forced labour took place in Asunción, focusing on the recently published ILO report “The cost of coercion” and analysis of the experiences of Brazil in order to design a project plan. Among the participants of the seminar were the Paraguayan Minister of Justice and Labour, Humberto Blasco, Guillermo Pérez, international expert at the ILO Subregional Office for the South Cone of Latin America and Luis Machado, the ILO official in charge of the project on forced labour in Brazil.  

Source: ILO Subregional Office for the South Cone of Latin America.

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06.07.2010