regarding the killing of the journalist Santiago INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS Leguizamón in 1991, acknowledging their The state failed to return the ancestral lands responsibility. Deliberations regarding to the Tekoha Sauce community of the Avá reparations continued. Guaraní people. They had been evicted on RIGHT TO HEALTH two occasions in previous years, one of them to allow the construction of a hydroelectric 1 The health system collapsed as the Covid-19 power plant in Itaipú. pandemic intensified and thousands of In October, the UN Human Rights people were unable to access intensive care Committee issued a resolution holding units or receive adequate healthcare. Paraguay responsible for violating the human Implementation of the Covid-19 vaccination rights of the Campo Agua'e Indigenous plan was initially intermittent and slow. There community through contamination by toxic were allegations of corruption and strong agrochemicals on their lands. criticism of mismanagement regarding the LGBTI PEOPLE´S RIGHTS purchase of vaccines. As the vaccination roll- out progressed, the number of deaths and No progress was reported in the criminal infections decreased. cases concerning attacks on LGBTI people Covid-19 claimed the lives of over 14,367 during a Pride march in 2019 in the city of people in 2021, more than six times as many Hernandarias. The Hernandarias municipality as in 2020. The pandemic further exposed had banned the march in part as “contrary to historic underfunding of the health system public morals”. A lawsuit against the and the resulting inadequate access to public municipality´s decision filed by Amnesty healthcare, particularly for those with limited International in October 2019 also remained resources. stalled. TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS No progress was made in investigations into Despite a commitment made during a the alleged torture of 35 people at a naval previous UPR review, the authorities did not base in the city of Ciudad del Este in 2020. identify a mechanism for the protection of By the end of the year, more than 18 months human rights defenders and did not after the incident, no one had been charged disseminate the Declaration on Human in the case. Rights Defenders. ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CHILDREN´S RIGHTS RIGHTS The authorities did not implement sufficient By the end of the year, Paraguay had not and effective measures to prevent, identify ratified the Optional Protocol to the ICESCR and address cases of sexual exploitation and or the Regional Agreement on Access to abuse of children and adolescents. Information, Public Participation and Justice The Ministry for Childhood registered 3,850 in Environmental Matters in Latin America cases of mistreatment and sexual abuse of and the Caribbean (the Escazú Agreement). children between January and October. Of The number of forced evictions increased, these, 1,345 related to sexual abuse and several of them affecting Indigenous exploitation. The Public Prosecutor's Office communities. Many evicted groups had no received 2,284 complaints of child sexual guarantees of effective judicial remedies and abuse in the first 10 months of the year. the evictions were carried out without The authorities did not guarantee the sexual granting them any resettlement alternatives, and reproductive rights of girls. By among other irregularities. September the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare had registered 357 births to 2 girls aged between 10 and 14. However, in Amnesty International Report 2021/22 295