Paraguay

As indicated by the Human Rights Coordinator of Paraguay (CODEHUPY), in 2016, during the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), Paraguay was recommended to adopt “legal and public policy measures for the protection of human rights defenders, for the investigation of the attacks and aggressions they suffer and for the dissemination of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders or to recognize and value their work”. According to CODEHUPY’s report in 2020 these measures had still not been fulfilled, despite the State’s commitments in this regard.
In 2017 the protection of women human rights defenders was recommended by the CEDAW Committee.
In 2019 “the Human Rights Committee reinforced the recommendation to the Paraguayan State to guarantee effective protection to human rights defenders through mechanisms that ensure the effective application of precautionary measures in the face of threats and
violence.
There is a bill on the protection of journalists and human rights defenders that proposes the establishment of a national protection mechanism, although “it has not been addressed since 2016”.

On November 16, 2016, the bill on “Freedom of expression, protection of journalists, press workers and human rights defenders” was presented in the Chamber of Deputies. During 2017 the Chamber of Deputies received the approval of the bill by the Chamber’s Human Rights Committee – among others – as well as a negative report from the Legislation and Codification Committee. As of September 2017, no further activity on the bill appears in said House.

In its aforementioned 2020 report, COHUPY includes among its recommendations to the Paraguayan State,
“Publicly recognize the role of human rights defenders, and advance in the realization of a national system for the protection of human rights defenders”.

Updated 06/2021