U.S. Department of State 2004 Trafficking in Persons Report - Paraguay

Paraguay (Tier 2 Watch List)

Paraguay is a source country for women and children trafficked to Argentina and Spain for sexual exploitation and forced labor. Paraguayans, often poor children, are trafficked internally, from rural to urban areas. Paraguay is also a destination country for girls trafficked from neighboring countries for sexual exploitation. Trafficking in the three-border region around Ciudad del Este is an ongoing problem. Unofficial government estimates indicate over 1,000 Paraguayans are victims of trafficking internally and abroad. As more complete information on trafficking has become available, pointing to a significant number of victims, Paraguay is being included in this report for the first time.

The Government of Paraguay does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The government should be commended for recognizing trafficking as a problem, but concentrated national efforts are required to prosecute traffickers and maintain law enforcement data. Paraguay should renew its cooperative efforts with Spain and Argentina to close down trafficking rings. The government should take positive steps to warn potential victims of trafficking dangers. Given the pledges of senior government officials to do more, Paraguay is placed on Tier 2 Watch List.

Prosecution

The government has no strategy to carry out law enforcement against traffickers, although individual cases have been pursued. Paraguay has a basic anti-trafficking statute, but that and other laws that could be used against traffickers are not adequately enforced. The government does not collect data on arrests and convictions of traffickers, but has pledged to begin doing so. In a positive development in February 2004, police arrested two Taiwanese traffickers operating in the three-border area.

Protection

Government efforts to assist Paraguayan victims outside the country are limited by resource constraints. The Secretariat for Repatriations takes the lead in helping victims abroad and works with the Foreign Ministry to assist their return to Paraguay. Overall, few social services are pro-vided for Paraguayan victims of internal trafficking. Government funds help support an NGO in the three-border region that runs a hotline and a shelter for victims. The government works with the International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC) to address exploitation in the domestic work of children in Asunción and the sexual exploitation of children on the country's border with Argentina and Brazil.

Prevention

The government does little to prevent trafficking. Although the Secretariat for Women has programs to promote women's economic decision-making, the government does not warn women about the dangers of being trafficked for sexual exploitation to Europe or Argentina. The government has recently adopted a comprehensive national plan to protect children from internal trafficking, but is only at the beginning stages of implementing it. Paraguay does not adequately monitor its borders.