IACHR Concludes Promotional Visit to Paraguay

April 5, 2023

Washington, D.C. — The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has concluded its promotional visit to the Republic of Paraguay, which took place from March 20 to 22, 2023. The purpose of the visit was to deepen and strengthen collaboration with the State and promote inter-American standards regarding the rights of children and adolescents.

The IACHR delegation was led by Commissioner Esmeralda Arosemena de Troitiño, First Vice President and the Rapporteur on the Rights of the Child, and included technical staff from the Executive Secretariat. The delegation met with authorities from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Children and Adolescents, the Ministry of Social Development, the Ministry of Public Defense, and the Commission on Children, Adolescents, and Youth at the Senate and the Supreme Court of Justice. It also took part in meetings with civil society organizations and with children, adolescents, and young people.

During the visit, the IACHR presented two reports: The Right of Boys and Girls to a Family. Alternative Care. Ending Institutionalization in the Americas, and Towards the Effective Fulfillment of Children's Rights: National Protection Systems. It also visited two child development centers belonging to the Kunu'u National Strategy for Comprehensive Early Childhood Care and provided training for more than 30 people from public institutions and alternative care organizations on inter-American standards regarding the right of children and adolescents to live in a family.

During the visit, the Republic of Paraguay expressed its commitment to continue cooperating with the IACHR, particularly around the implementation of the Children First system in the country. This is a tripartite cooperation initiative between the IACHR, the State, and the NGO Both Ends Believing, which is currently in its pilot phase in institutions that provide care for children and adolescents who are not being looked after by their families.

The IACHR looks forward to continuing to work closely with the State to provide effective protection for human rights in the country. We wish to thank Paraguay for the support it gave the delegation and note its commitment to deepening its dialogue with the Inter-American Human Rights System and strengthening the mechanisms for the protection of children. We also wish to express our gratitude to the civil society organizations for the information they shared with us," said Commissioner Esmeralda Arosemena, Rapporteur on the Rights of the Child.

A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for and to defend human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 057/23

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