In 2020, Paraguay made moderate advancement in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. The Ministry of Labor launched virtual training curricula for inspectors and created a labor complaint hotline. Local Defense Councils for the Rights of Children were also involved in child labor investigations, and in December 2020, the government approved a National Plan to Counter Trafficking in Persons. However, children in Paraguay are subjected to the worst forms of child labor, including in domestic servitude, sometimes as a result of human trafficking, as well as debt bondage in cattle raising, on dairy farms, and in charcoal factories. Children from rural and indigenous communities also face difficulties accessing and completing their education, including language barriers and inadequate facilities and staff at schools. In addition, limited funding for law enforcement agencies and social programs hampered the government’s ability to fully address the worst forms of child labor, particularly in rural areas. Paraguay's criminal law enforcement agencies also lack resources to sufficiently identify, investigate, and prosecute cases of the worst forms of child labor, especially in remote areas.
Children in Paraguay are subjected to the worst forms of child labor, including in domestic servitude, sometimes as a result of human trafficking, as well as debt bondage in cattle raising, on dairy farms, and in charcoal factories. (1-4) The 2011 National Survey of Child and Adolescent Activities found that 21 percent of all Paraguayan children were engaged in hazardous work. (5) The 2015 Survey of Activities of Rural Area Children and Adolescents, published in 2016, identified 384,677 children ages 5 to 17 engaged in child labor in agriculture. (6) Table 1 provides key indicators on children’s work and education in Paraguay.
|
Children |
Age |
Percent |
|---|---|---|
|
Working (% and population) |
10 to 14 |
7.4 (49,956) |
|
Working children by sector |
10 to 14 |
|
|
Agriculture |
43.3 |
|
|
Industry |
11.9 |
|
|
Services |
44.9 |
|
|
Attending School (%) |
5 to 14 |
96.4 |
|
Combining Work and School (%) |
10 to 14 |
6.4 |
|
Primary Completion Rate (%) |
88.0 |
Source for primary completion rate: Data from 2012, published by UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2021. (7)
Source for all other data: International Labor Organization’s analysis of statistics from Encuesta Permanente de Hogares (EPH), 2018. (8)
Based on a review of available information, Table 2 provides an overview of children's work by sector and activity.
|
Sector/Industry |
Activity |
|---|---|
|
Agriculture |
Production of manioc/cassava, corn, beans, peanuts, peppers, sesame, sugarcane, tomatoes, lettuce, melons, sweet potato, onions, carrots, cabbages, yerba mate (stimulant plant), and charcoal (6,9-11) |
|
Raising poultry, hogs, cattle,† sheep, and goats and milk production (5,11) |
|
|
Fishing, including using hooks and harpoons,† preparing bait, and cleaning fish† (6) |
|
|
Industry |
Construction, including handling heavily loads, machinery or equipment,† and production of bricks (1-5,9,10) |
|
Limestone quarrying† and gold mining† (1,2,5,9,10,12) |
|
|
Services |
Domestic work† (1-5,13-19) |
|
Street work,† including vending, shoe shining, and begging (1,3,5,9,10,18-20) |
|
|
Horse jockeying (9,19) |
|
|
Garbage dump scavenging† (5) |
|
|
Categorical Worst Forms of Child Labor‡ |
Debt bondage in cattle raising, dairy farms, and charcoal factories (1-4) |
|
Commercial sexual exploitation and domestic servitude, each sometimes as a result of human trafficking (1,3,13,20,21) |
|
|
Use in the production of child pornography (1-3,9,10,18,22) |
|
|
Use in illicit activities, including drug smuggling and drug trafficking (1-3,18) |
† Determined by national law or regulation as hazardous and, as such, relevant to Article 3(d) of ILO C. 182.
‡ Child labor understood as the worst forms of child labor per se under Article 3(a)–(c) of ILO C. 182.
Criadazgo, a practice in which middle-class and wealthy families informally employ and house child domestic workers from impoverished families, is pervasive in Paraguay. The 2011 National Survey of Child and Adolescent Activities estimated that more than 46,000 children were engaged in criadazgo. (1,3,21) Many of these children are in situations of domestic servitude, subjected to violence and abuse, and highly vulnerable to sex trafficking. (1,5,16,19,20) Lack of political will continues to prevent Congress from considering draft legislation criminalizing or regulating criadazgo. (1,3)
Children are subjected to commercial sexual exploitation in Ciudad del Este; in the Tri-Border area between Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil; and along commercial shipping routes on the Paraguay River. (1,3,23) The government has indicated it is investigating allegations that children are recruited by the Paraguayan People's Army for use in armed conflict against security forces, as well as investigating claims that children are used as forced labor in the production of marijuana in the department of Amambay. (1) Children work alongside their parents in debt bondage on cattle ranches, dairy farms, and charcoal factories in the remote Chaco region. (1-3,9,19)
Children from rural and indigenous communities face difficulties accessing and completing their education, including language barriers and inadequate facilities and staff. (1,2,24,25) A study released in 2019 by the Coordinator for the Rights of Infancy and Adolescence of Paraguay estimated that half of all children in indigenous communities do not attend school. (26) The 2011 National Survey of Child and Adolescent Activities indicated that children who speak Guaraní exclusively are more likely to be involved in child labor and have higher rates of school absence compared to other working children; poverty is pervasive in rural Paraguay, where Guaraní is the predominant language. (5,27) Public transportation is limited in rural areas and school infrastructure and staff are often lacking in rural and indigenous communities. (1,3) The government has noted that girls from rural areas leave school at an earlier age than boys, and has estimated that more than 50 percent of children with disabilities could not attend school due to lack of access to public transportation. (9,10) Such challenges may leave these children more vulnerable to child labor. Approximately 13 percent of children engaged in child labor in agriculture do not attend school. (6)
Paraguay has ratified all key international conventions concerning child labor (Table 3).
|
Convention |
Ratification |
|---|---|
|
ILO C. 138, Minimum Age |
✓ |
|
ILO C. 182, Worst Forms of Child Labor |
✓ |
|
UN CRC |
✓ |
|
UN CRC Optional Protocol on Armed Conflict |
✓ |
|
UN CRC Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography |
✓ |
|
Palermo Protocol on Trafficking in Persons |
✓ |
The government has established laws and regulations related to child labor (Table 4). However, gaps exist in Paraguay’s legal framework to adequately protect children from the worst forms of child labor, including the lack of prohibition of child recruitment by non-state armed groups.
|
Standard |
Meets International Standards |
Age |
Legislation |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Minimum Age for Work |
Yes |
14 |
Article 1 of Law No. 2332; Article 58 of the Childhood and Adolescence Code (28,29) |
|
Minimum Age for Hazardous Work |
Yes |
18 |
Article 54 of the Childhood and Adolescence Code; Article 3 of Decree No. 4951; Articles 122 and 125 of the Labor Code; Article 15 of the First Employment Law; Article 5 of Law No. 5407 on Domestic Work (28-34) |
|
Identification of Hazardous Occupations or Activities Prohibited for Children |
Yes |
Article 54 of the Childhood and Adolescence Code; Article 2 of Decree No. 4951; Article 15 of the First Employment Law; Articles 122, 125, and 389 of the Labor Code; Article 5 of Law No. 5407 on Domestic Work (28-34) |
|
|
Prohibition of Forced Labor |
Yes |
Articles 5-7 of the Comprehensive Law Against Trafficking in Persons; Articles 125, 129, 223, and 320 of the Penal Code; Articles 10 and 54 of the Constitution (35-38) |
|
|
Prohibition of Child Trafficking |
Yes |
Articles 6 and 7 of the Comprehensive Law Against Trafficking in Persons; Articles 125, 129, and 223 of the Penal Code; Article 54 of the Constitution (35-38) |
|
|
Prohibition of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children |
Yes |
Articles 135 and 223 of the Penal Code; Article 2.19 of Decree No. 4951; Article 31 of the Childhood and Adolescence Code (28,30,36,38) |
|
|
Prohibition of Using Children in Illicit Activities |
Yes |
Article 1 of Law No. 1657; Article 32 of the Childhood and Adolescence Code (28,39) |
|
|
Minimum Age for Voluntary State Military Recruitment |
Yes |
18 |
Articles 3 and 5 of the Obligatory Military Service Law (40,41) |
|
Prohibition of Compulsory Recruitment of Children by (State) Military |
Yes |
Articles 3 and 5 of the Obligatory Military Service Law (40,41) |
|
|
Prohibition of Military Recruitment by Non-state Armed Groups |
No |
||
|
Compulsory Education Age |
Yes |
17 |
Article 2 of Law No. 4088; Article 32 of the General Education Law No. 1264; Decree 6162 (42-44) |
|
Free Public Education |
Yes |
Article 76 of the Constitution; Article 32 of the General Education Law No. 1264 (35,42) |
As the minimum age for work is lower than the compulsory education age, children may be encouraged to leave school before the completion of compulsory education. (28,29,42-44)
The government has established institutional mechanisms for the enforcement of laws and regulations on child labor (Table 5). However, gaps exist within the operations of enforcement agencies that may hinder adequate enforcement of their child labor laws.
|
Organization/Agency |
Role |
|---|---|
|
Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security (MTESS) |
Enforces laws related to child labor, inspects workplaces for child labor, and recommends penalties or fines for companies found in violation of labor laws. Refers cases involving criminal violations of child labor to the Ministry of Adolescents and Children (MINNA). (2,3,11) |
|
Paraguayan National Police |
Maintains a special unit of 40 police officers known as the Anti‐Trafficking in Persons Unit, which handles trafficking in persons complaints, including in relation to children. Maintains offices in 5 cities across the country. (2,11,45) |
|
Public Ministry (Attorney General) |
Responsible for the investigation and prosecution of criminal laws against forced child labor, child trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation, the recruitment and use of child soldiers, and use of children in illicit activities. (1) Provides support to local prosecutors throughout Paraguay. Maintains the Specialized Unit to Combat Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents (ATU). (2) Comprises 5 specialized prosecutors based in Asunción and 44 assistants. (2,11,17,45) |
|
Ministry of Adolescents and Children (MINNA) |
Maintains a unit dedicated to fighting child trafficking and a hotline to report cases of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children. Provides social services to victims referred by law enforcement agencies and refers cases of sexual exploitation and child labor to the Public Ministry's ATU. (1-3) |
The Ministry of Women's Affairs also provides social services to female victims of human trafficking, half of whom are estimated to be children. The Ministry houses an office staffed with five personnel dedicated to combating trafficking of children. (2,11)
Labor Law Enforcement
In 2020, labor law enforcement agencies in Paraguay took actions to combat child labor (Table 6). However, gaps exist within the operations of the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security (MTESS) that may hinder adequate labor law enforcement, including financial resource allocation.
|
Overview of Labor Law Enforcement |
2019 |
2020 |
|---|---|---|
|
Labor Inspectorate Funding |
$1.8 million (3) |
$366,762 (1) |
|
Number of Labor Inspectors |
25 (3) |
21 (1) |
|
Inspectorate Authorized to Assess Penalties |
No (3,46) |
No (1) |
|
Initial Training for New Labor Inspectors |
N/A (3) |
N/A (1) |
|
Training on New Laws Related to Child Labor |
N/A (3) |
N/A (1) |
|
Refresher Courses Provided |
Yes (3) |
Yes (1) |
|
Number of Labor Inspections Conducted |
1,591 (3) |
9,710 (1,47) |
|
Number Conducted at Worksite |
341 (3) |
99 (1) |
|
Number of Child Labor Violations Found |
3 (3) |
8 (1) |
|
Number of Child Labor Violations for Which Penalties Were Imposed |
9 (3) |
7 (1) |
|
Number of Child Labor Penalties Imposed that Were Collected |
5 (3) |
6 (1) |
|
Routine Inspections Conducted |
Yes (3) |
Yes (1) |
|
Routine Inspections Targeted |
Yes (3) |
Yes (1) |
|
Unannounced Inspections Permitted |
Yes (3) |
Yes (1) |
|
Unannounced Inspections Conducted |
Yes (3) |
Yes (45) |
|
Complaint Mechanism Exists |
Yes (3) |
Yes (1) |
|
Reciprocal Referral Mechanism Exists Between Labor Authorities and Social Services |
Yes (3) |
Yes (1) |
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government of Paraguay declared a national state of emergency and redirected sources of funding, which resulted in the significant decrease in the inspectorate's budget in 2020 compared to 2019. (1) Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, all inspectors received regular training on child labor issues during the reporting period. Furthermore, the MTESS launched virtual training curricula that included child labor, and noted that participation in these courses was higher than in other years. (1)
Also in response to the pandemic, between January and November of 2020, the MTESS's Occupational Safety and Health Directorate conducted 9,246 "verifications" of workplace sanitary conditions as a condition of reopening after lockdown. These "verifications" were in fact workplace inspections that did look for evidence of child labor violations. (1,47) These inspections were not conducted in previous reporting periods and explains the large discrepancy between 2019 and 2020 Paraguayan inspection figures. (47)
During the reporting period, the MTESS launched its own labor complaint hotline, which received over 1,500 calls in 2020, including 6 child labor related complaints. (1)
Although Paraguay has ratified ILO C. 81, its labor inspectors are contractors rather than public officials, and due to the instability of contract employment, the authority and training of these labor inspectors may be called into question. (1-3,48) The number of labor inspectors is likely insufficient for the size of Paraguay’s workforce, which includes over 3 million workers. According to the ILO’s technical advice of a ratio approaching 1 inspector for every 15,000 workers in developing economies, Paraguay would employ about 229 inspectors. (1,49) Government agencies, international organizations, NGOs, and labor organizations agree that inadequate funding and the insufficient number of labor inspectors hamper the labor inspectorate’s capacity to enforce child labor laws, especially in the informal sector, including in agriculture and domestic work, and particularly in rural areas like the Chaco region. (1-3,9) With reduced ability to travel and access workplaces due to the pandemic, the MTESS attempted to make better use of its computer databases to identify labor violations, but noted limited success with this approach. (1) The MTESS, other government agencies, and NGOs agree that labor inspectors receive useful and necessary training, but that inspectors could benefit from more training specific to child labor. (1,3)
An additional constraint to labor law enforcement is the lack of efficient and timely cooperation by judicial authorities in granting workplace inspection search warrants to the Public Ministry and MTESS when an employer does not permit an inspector to enter a workplace to conduct an inspection. The system is paper-based and orders routinely take more than 3 months to arrive. (1-3,50) Research was unable to determine whether the government has implemented a 2016 agreement with judicial and law enforcement authorities that would accelerate the authorization of search warrants.
Criminal Law Enforcement
In 2020, criminal law enforcement agencies in Paraguay took actions to combat child labor (Table 7). However, gaps exist within the operations of the criminal enforcement agencies that may hinder adequate criminal law enforcement, including a lack resources to sufficiently identify, investigate, and prosecute cases of the worst forms of child labor.
|
Overview of Criminal Law Enforcement |
2019 |
2020 |
|---|---|---|
|
Initial Training for New Criminal Investigators |
Yes (3) |
N/A (1) |
|
Training on New Laws Related to the Worst Forms of Child Labor |
N/A (3) |
N/A (1) |
|
Refresher Courses Provided |
Yes (3) |
Yes (51) |
|
Number of Investigations |
211† (3) |
160‡ (1) |
|
Number of Violations Found |
107 (3) |
Unknown (1) |
|
Number of Prosecutions Initiated |
32 (3) |
25 (1) |
|
Number of Convictions |
13 (3) |
6 (1) |
|
Imposed Penalties for Violations Related to the Worst Forms of Child Labor |
Yes (3) |
Yes (1) |
|
Reciprocal Referral Mechanism Exists Between Criminal Authorities and Social Services |
Yes (3) |
Yes (1) |
† Number of investigations conducted between January and November 2019.
‡ Number of Investigations conducted between January and November of 2020.
The anti-trafficking unit (ATU) investigated 160 child labor cases during the reporting period, including 8 that involved commercial sexual exploitation of children, 50 child labor trafficking cases, and 21 cases of the use of children in the production of pornography. The government reported removing 46 children from exploitative situations and referring them to appropriate social services. (1) The ATU also collaborated with the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation to conduct 20 virtual training sessions on trafficking in persons for approximately 400 government officials, including prosecutors, investigators, judges, migration officials, police officers, and inspectors. (18)
However, the government did not provide information on the number of violations found during the reporting period. (1) Government agencies, international organizations, NGOs, and labor organizations have also observed a need for more specialized prosecutors to support local prosecutors nationwide and increase the Public Ministry’s ability to investigate and prosecute cases involving human trafficking. (10,14) Overall, Paraguay’s criminal law enforcement agencies lack resources to sufficiently identify, investigate, and prosecute cases of the worst forms of child labor, especially in remote areas. Additionally, inconsistent application of fines and criminal penalties remain significant challenges in the elimination of the worst forms of child labor. (1)
The government has established mechanisms to coordinate its efforts to address child labor (Table 8). However, gaps exist that hinder the effective coordination of efforts to address child labor, including insufficient financial and human resources.
|
Coordinating Body |
Role & Description |
|---|---|
|
National Commission to Prevent and Eradicate Child Labor and Protect Adolescent Labor (CONAETI) |
Leads government efforts against child labor and includes representatives from MTESS, the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, MINNA, and other government agencies, and labor union representatives, industry associations, and NGOs. (2) Met five times during the reporting period. (1) |
|
Inter-Institutional Working Group on Preventing and Combating Human Trafficking |
Coordinates inter-agency efforts to combat all forms of trafficking in persons, including child trafficking, and collects and reports statistics on those efforts. (1,3) Headed by the Ministry of Foreign Relations. (2) Held 14 regular meetings in 2020, developing the National Plan for the Prevention and Combat of Trafficking in Persons. (1,52) |
|
Defense Councils for the Rights of Children and Adolescents (CODENIs) |
Coordinate efforts to protect children’s rights at the municipal level, including by maintaining a registry of adolescent workers and coordinating with vocational training programs for adolescents. (28) In many municipalities, staff from CODENIs were informally involved in child labor investigations and supported judges in civil cases involving children during the reporting period. (1) |
While the Inter-Institutional Working Group on Preventing and Combating Human Trafficking was effective in fostering dialogue and coordination among government agencies on anti-trafficking in persons efforts, it faced challenges in collecting and reporting statistics and a lack of participation from all relevant government agencies. (21) Coordination between the MTESS and the ministries of Education and Health remains insufficient to combat the worst forms of child labor. In addition, the Defense Councils for the Rights of Children and Adolescents require additional financial and human resources to fulfill their mission to address child labor. (2,10,11,17,21,53)
The government has established policies related to child labor (Table 9). However, policy gaps exist that hinder efforts to address child labor, including implementation.
|
Policy |
Description |
|---|---|
|
National Strategy for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labor and Protection of Working Adolescents (2019–2024) |
Aims to raise awareness and strengthen enforcement of child labor laws. Provides child laborers with access to free quality education and offers livelihood alternatives for their families. (2,10,54) The government continued to implement this strategy during the reporting period through the reintegration of victims of child labor, public awareness campaigns, including one specifically on criadazgo, and trainings for government officials, among other efforts. (1,55) |
|
National Strategy to Prevent Forced Labor (2016–2020) |
Aimed to prevent and eradicate forced labor and care for victims. (53) Under this strategy in 2020, the Government of Paraguay worked with Paraguay Okukauua to host a virtual 2-day symposium on child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking. MTESS also signed an inter-institutional agreement with the local NGO Global Infancia to address forced child labor. (55) |
|
National Plan for Development (2010–2020) |
Aimed to reduce social exclusion and poverty, including by preventing and eliminating child labor. (56) The government did not provide information on activities undertaken to implement this policy in 2020 for inclusion in this report. |
|
National Plan on Human Rights |
Promotes human rights, including the prevention and elimination of child labor and forced labor. (57) The government did not provide information on activities undertaken to implement this policy in 2020 for inclusion in this report. |
|
National Plan for the Prevention and Combat of Trafficking in Persons (2020–2024)† |
Approved in December 2020, aims to guide government prevention, response, and protection actions and establish prosecution and penalty guidelines. Also prioritizes institutional capacity building and coordination.(1,58,59) |
† Policy was approved during the reporting period.
The government developed a National Plan for Childhood and Adolescence 2020–2024 that was finalized in December 2020 and included general provisions addressing child labor. However, public controversy over language pertaining to gender equality and sex education resulted in the Ministry of Adolescents and Children moving to redraft the plan. (1)
In 2020, the government funded and participated in programs that include the goal of eliminating or preventing child labor (Table 10). However, gaps exist in these social programs, including coverage and funding to fully address the problem in all sectors.
|
Program |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Immediate Response Network† |
Program created to provide support to street children. Under the "Dispositivo de Respuesta Inmediata," MINNA employees with a range of specializations, including psychologists and social workers, respond to tips from the MINNA hotline for reporting mistreatment, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, and negligence of children, as well as information from roving street patrols in high-risk areas. (3) In 2020, MINNA established an offshoot of this program to cater specifically to street children, "DRI-Calle" or "DRI-Street". The establishment of DRI-Street allowed the original DRI Program, now called DRI Network, to focus on broader issues of children’s rights. DRI-Street works closely with the ongoing Embrace Program. (1) |
|
Embrace Program (Programa Abrazo)† |
MINNA program to assist children engaged in exploitative work by providing them and their families with health and education services, food deliveries, and cash transfers conditioned on children’s school attendance and withdrawal from work. (2,62) In 2020, MINNA worked with local institutions to both open new Embrace Program attention centers for street children and to strengthen services at existing centers. MINNA collaborated with the Diocese of Encarnacion to bring online the Open Protection Center Añua-San Cristobal and worked with Villeta Municipality to run Embrace Program services from the Villeta Community Center for the first time. (1) Although the pandemic forced MINNA to suspend in-person program services in March and April, the program adjusted by providing home deliveries of food assistance to vulnerable families and these deliveries continued even after in-person services resumed. The program also began providing "micro-social insurance" monetary assistance to vulnerable families who experience illness, accidents, or deaths to help relieve economic strain. (1) |
|
Well-Being Conditional Cash Transfer Program (Tekoporã)† |
Government-administered program through the Secretariat for Social Action. Provides conditional cash transfers to families in rural communities. (11) Incorporates aspects of the Embrace Program, such as the family monitoring methodology, to ensure participant children do not engage in child labor. (64) The program continued to assist families during the reporting period. (51) |
|
USDOL-Funded Projects |
USDOL projects that aim to eliminate child labor, including its worst forms, through research, improved monitoring and enforcement, policy development, and awareness raising. These projects include Attaining Lasting Change (ATLAS), a $7.5 million project that aims to build the capacity of host governments to more adequately combat child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking; and Paraguay Okakuaa (Paraguay Progresses), a $7.5 million project implemented by Partners of the Americas. (60,61) In 2020, MTESS worked with the Okakuaa program to hold a series of 6 workshops on forced labor for 124 public and private sector stakeholders. These workshops offered information on institutional strengthening and trafficking in persons prevention. (1,52) In June 2020, Okakuaa also held a social media awareness campaign for World Day Against Child Labor, encouraging community members to call their local CONAETI to report instances of child labor. (52) For additional information, please see our website. |
† Program is funded by the Government of Paraguay.
‡ The government had other social programs that may have included the goal of eliminating or preventing child labor. (2,3,62,65,66)
The 2012 Law Against Trafficking in Persons requires the Ministry of Women’s Affairs to provide compensation and financial assistance to victims of sexual and labor trafficking, including minors, but NGO and government officials report that compensation takes too long to be helpful. (11,14,23,37) Although Paraguay has programs that target child labor, the coverage and funding of these programs is insufficient to fully address the extent of the problem, and programs are limited by the absence of government funding in education and health services in rural areas. Additional programs are needed to reach the large numbers of working children, especially in agriculture, including cattle herding, and domestic work. (1,9,14)
Based on the reporting above, suggested actions are identified that would advance the elimination of child labor in Paraguay (Table 11).
|
Area |
Suggested Action |
Year(s) Suggested |
|---|---|---|
|
Legal Framework |
Ensure that the law criminally prohibits the recruitment of children under age 18 by non-state armed groups. |
2016 – 2020 |
|
Raise the minimum age for work to the age of completion of compulsory education. |
2018 – 2020 |
|
|
Protect children from the abuse of the criadazgo system by ensuring that working conditions meet international standards. |
2019 – 2020 |
|
|
Enforcement |
Strengthen the labor inspectorate by authorizing inspectors to determine and assess penalties for child labor violations. |
2016 – 2020 |
|
Strengthen the labor inspectorate by making labor inspectors public officials rather than contractors and ensuring that they receive more training specific to child labor. |
2017 – 2020 |
|
|
Increase the number of labor inspectors to meet the ILO’s technical advice. |
2009 – 2020 |
|
|
Increase the funding and resources available to the labor inspectorate, specifically in the Chaco region, to build enforcement capacity to address child labor in the informal sector, including in agriculture, and domestic work. |
2009 – 2020 |
|
|
Implement the 2016 agreement to accelerate authorization of workplace inspection search warrants to improve the cooperation mechanisms among judicial authorities and labor enforcement officials. |
2013 – 2020 |
|
|
Publish information on how many violations of child labor were found through criminal investigations. |
2020 |
|
|
Increase efforts to prosecute crimes related to the worst forms of child labor, including by hiring and training more specialized criminal investigators and prosecutors, and by increasing penalties for crimes. |
2012 – 2020 |
|
|
Provide resources to enable more criminal investigations in remote areas. |
2012 – 2020 |
|
|
Ensure that fines and penalties for the worst forms of child labor are consistently applied. |
2019 – 2020 |
|
|
Coordination |
Ensure that the Inter-Institutional Working Group on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Persons fulfills its mandate, including in collecting and reporting statistics. |
2018 – 2020 |
|
Strengthen inter-agency coordinating mechanisms, with particular focus on the communication between the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security and the ministries of Education and Health, to combat child labor, including its worst forms. |
2013 – 2020 |
|
|
Provide additional financial and human resources to the Defense Councils for the Rights of Children and Adolescents to strengthen their ability to address child labor at the municipal level. |
2017 – 2020 |
|
|
Government Policies |
Publish information on activities taken under all key policies related to child labor during the reporting period. |
2020 |
|
Social Programs |
Further expand government programs to assist more families and children affected by child labor in agriculture in rural areas, including cattle herding, and domestic work. |
2010 – 2020 |
|
Increase access to education for children vulnerable to child labor, particularly children with disabilities, children living in rural and indigenous communities with language barriers, and girls who leave school early. Address the lack of infrastructure, staff, and transportation to improve access to education for all children. |
2014 – 2020 |
|
|
Ensure that financial assistance programs for child trafficking and forced labor victims are properly funded. |
2018 – 2020 |
- U.S. Embassy- Asunción. Reporting. January 14, 2021.
- U.S. Embassy- Asunción. Reporting. February 8, 2019.
- U.S. Embassy- Asunción. Reporting. January 15, 2020.
- Partners of the Americas official. E-mail communication to USDOL official. April 14, 2020.
- ILO and Dirección General de Estadística, Encuestas y Censos del Paraguay. Magnitud y características del trabajo infantil y adolescente en el Paraguay. 2018. Source on file.
- ILO and Dirección General de Estadística, Encuestas y Censos del Paraguay. Trabajo infantil y adolescente en el sector rural agrícola, pecuario, forestal y de pesca y piscicultura en Paraguay - Encuesta de actividades de niños, niñas y adolescentes - EANA RURAL 2015. Geneva: Organización Internacional del Trabajo; Servicio de principios y derechos fundamentales en el trabajo (FUNDAMENTALS), 2016.
http://www.ilo.org/santiago/sala-de-prensa/WCMS_533723/lang--es/index.htm - UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Gross intake ratio to the last grade of primary education, both sexes (%). Accessed March 2021. For more information, please see "Children's Work and Education Statistics: Sources and Definitions" in the Reference Materials section of this report. http://data.uis.unesco.org/
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