VZCZCXYZ0013
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAC #0216/01 0591716
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 281716Z FEB 06
FM AMEMBASSY ASUNCION
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3837
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 3378
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 2362
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID 0117
RUEAWJB/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC

UNCLAS ASUNCION 000216 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
WHA FOR LINDA BROWN 
WHA/PPC FOR MICHAEL PUCCETTI 
G/TIP FOR ANTHONY ETERNO 
G 
DRL 
PRM 
INL 
IWI 
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 
USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN ELAB SMIG ASEC KFRD PREF PA
SUBJECT: PARAGUAY: THE SIXTH ANNUAL ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN 
PERSONS (TIP) REPORT 
 
REF: A. STATE 03836 
     ¶B. 05 ASUNCION 0913 
 
¶1. (SBU) This cable responds to the detailed questions 
regarding Anti-Trafficking in Persons efforts for Paraguay. 
 
OVERVIEW 
 
¶A. Paraguay is a source country for trafficked women and 
children, many of whom are smuggled across Paraguay's borders 
into the neighboring countries of Brazil and Argentina, as 
well as Spain.  The victims are trafficked for sexual 
exploitation and forced labor.  Poor children are also 
trafficked internally from rural to urban areas, specifically 
Asuncion and Ciudad del Este, for sexual exploitation and 
domestic servitude.  Trafficking of Paraguayan and Brazilian 
women and girls, principally for sexual exploitation, remains 
an ongoing problem in the tri-border area, on the 
Brazil-Paraguay-Argentina border. 
 
Anecdotal evidence indicates that several hundred women and 
children are trafficked abroad annually.  There are no 
estimates or statistics available on the extent of 
trafficking within the country.  In 2005, according to the 
GOP, there were 64 confirmed victims of international 
trafficking in persons.  In the last five years, according to 
the International Organization of Migration (IOM), the 
trafficking of women and children in Paraguay has increased 
by 27 percent. 
 
¶B. The Government of Paraguay has made significant efforts to 
combat trafficking, in the last year, but does not fully 
comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of 
trafficking. The government has not provided sufficient 
resources to the responsible agencies to combat trafficking 
in persons.  The will of those within the agencies is strong 
to take concrete steps to combat trafficking but the lack of 
funding undercuts the ability of key agencies to fully 
implement effective policies. 
 
The government successfully prosecuted four trafficking 
cases, extradited a person from Spain, and solicited 
bilateral assistance and international financial institution 
funding to train government officials, continue national 
public awareness campaigns, and establish a shelter to assist 
victims of trafficking.  The government should continue to 
work with NGOs to increase public awareness and improve 
services for victims.  It should also take greater steps to 
identify and prosecute trafficking crimes. 
 
Most victims are women and children (mostly girls) and are 
residents from the rural interior of the country, 
particularly the departments of Alto Parana, Canindeyu, 
Caaguazu and Itapua, which border Argentina and Brazil. 
Recruiters are typically Paraguayan and use false documents 
to move victims. 
 
¶C. The government,s inability to adequately address this 
problem largely stems from insufficient resources.  The 
Secretariat for Repatriations does not have computers for 
 
SIPDIS 
much of its staff.  In addition, resources to provide 
housing, shelter, healthcare, food, and transportation of 
victims back to their home towns were almost non-existent. 
The agencies responsible for border control (Immigration, 
Customs, and the National Police) have not received any 
government training to help prevent trafficking in persons. 
 
¶D. Paraguay presently has no system for tracking cases of 
internal or domestic trafficking.  Transnational trafficking 
cases are tracked independently by individual agencies but 
there is no central source.  Gathering information requires 
an agency to agency collection and assessment.  For example, 
the Secretariat for Repatriations keeps records of those that 
have suffered transnational trafficking, while the Attorney 
General,s Office maintains separate records of the 
transnational criminal cases with the assistance of the 
Secretariat of Women,s Affairs. 
 
SIPDIS 
 
PREVENTION 
 
¶A. The government does acknowledge that the problem exists. 
 
¶B. There are several government agencies involved in 
anti-trafficking efforts, such as the National Police, the 
Secretariat of Women,s Affairs, the Secretariat of 
 
SIPDIS 
Repatriations, the Office of the Attorney General, and the 
Secretariat of Children and Adolescents, to name a few.  The 
 
SIPDIS 
Secretariat of Repatriations takes the lead in assisting 
 
SIPDIS 
Paraguayan victims of transnational trafficking to return to 
Asuncion by identifying non-governmental sources to 
repatriate victims.  Once in Asuncion, the Secretariat of 
Women,s Affairs takes the lead for caring for victim,s 
while they are receiving physical and psychological 
assistance in Asuncion.  This agency is also responsible for 
providing shelter and meals as well as finding ways to 
transport victims back to their home towns. 
 
¶C. The Secretariat of Women,s Affairs, over the past year, 
with the support of the INL funds, has been conducting an 
anti-trafficking in persons public awareness campaign with 
the use of posters and a series of seminars.  The seminars 
were held in the cities of Encarnacion, Itapua; Pedro Juan 
Caballero, Amambay; Villarica, Guaira; Ciudad del Este, Alto 
Parana; and Asuncion, Central.  The seminars, targeting 
potential victims, lasted 5 days and addressed a range of 
issues, including women,s health and education. 
 
¶D. The Government of Paraguay does support other programs to 
prevent trafficking but, again, resources are very limited. 
The Secretariat of Women,s Affairs has several programs 
specifically focused on supporting education and job training 
for women and girls.  The Secretariat for Children and 
Adolescents also sponsors programs to combat child labor, 
including programs to protect street children and other 
children from forced labor, and others that focus on the 
education of children. 
 
¶E. The Government of Paraguay and Non-Governmental 
Organizations (NGOs) generally make an attempt to work 
together on Anti-TIP.  The various entities participate in an 
institutional round-table working group which consists of 
more than 30 different representatives from the Government of 
Paraguay and the NGO community. 
 
¶F. The Government of Paraguay does not monitor immigration 
and emigration patterns for evidence of trafficking.  The law 
enforcement, immigration and customs officers at the ports of 
entry were not equipped with modern technology nor trained in 
modern techniques, in order to screen for potential 
trafficking victims. 
 
¶G. There is no monitoring for evidence of trafficking in 
persons at the borders.  The National Police, Immigration and 
Customs officials do not receive training on anti-TIP 
techniques.  In addition, the borders are very porous and 
there is limited control. 
 
¶H. In Asuncion, there is coordination, on a limited basis, 
between various agencies involved in TIP issues.  There is an 
intergovernmental and NGO roundtable that discusses issues 
specifically related to TIP each month.  However, outside of 
the Asuncion, there is limited coordination among agencies 
and NGOs.  The government does not have a public corruption 
task force however, Paraguay's Steering Committee for a 
National System for Integrity (CISNE) is a public-private 
entity that addresses corruption issues. 
 
¶I. The government does have a National Plan to address 
Trafficking in Persons.  The agencies involved in the plan 
are the Foreign Ministry, Secretariat of Women,s Affairs, 
Secretariat of Repatriations, and the Office of the Attorney 
 
SIPDIS 
General.  Both local and international NGOs were consulted 
regarding this plan, such as the International Organization 
for Migration (IOM) and Grupo Luna Nueva.  The government has 
acted on the National Plan but progress has been limited by 
insufficient budgets for the various agencies involved. 
 
INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS 
 
¶A. Paraguay,s basic anti-trafficking statute and existing 
laws are adequate to address most forms of trafficking and 
sexual exploitation of minors but are not properly enforced. 
 
¶B. Trafficking-related statutes prescribe sentences to a 
maximum of 10 years imprisonment.  The penalties are not 
separated for labor and sexual exploitation. 
 
¶C. The statutes for rape or forcible sexual assault prescribe 
sentences for a maximum of 10 years of imprisonment.  If the 
victim is a minor, the sentences range from 3 to 15 years. 
The penalties for this violation of law are similar to 
trafficking maximum sentences. 
 
¶D. Prostitution is legal for those over the age of 18 and is 
regulated by the municipalities. 
 
¶E. The government identified 20 new international trafficking 
cases and prosecuted 4 traffickers in 2005, but the lack of 
data for previous years makes it unclear whether law 
enforcement efforts have increased or decreased. 
 
¶F. There is no specific information identifying and 
confirming names or groups however it is widely known that 
international organized crime syndicates are involved.  These 
syndicates also control the drug and arms-trafficking 
industries. There is also speculation of political figures 
being involved but these are unconfirmed reports.  It is 
unclear where these funds are being transferred to and for 
what purpose. 
 
¶G. The Attorney General named a prosecutor as the national 
coordinator of trafficking prosecutions.  The Anti-TIP 
prosecutor actively pursues cases in trafficking but staffing 
is limited.  The government only uses reactive, basic 
investigative techniques but a lack of resources and 
personnel hinder effective investigations.  Advanced 
investigative techniques are not being used.  There are no 
laws that prohibit the police from engaging in covert 
operations. 
 
¶H.  The government does not conduct training for the Attorney 
General,s Office, National Police, Military, Immigration nor 
Customs in how to recognize, investigate, and prosecute 
instances of trafficking.  USG assistance and other 
international organizations and governments are the only 
sources of training for anti-TIP. 
 
¶I.  The government cooperates with other governments and 
Interpol in the investigation and prosecution of trafficking 
cases.  In 2005, there are 20 international trafficking cases. 
 
¶J. The government extradites persons who are charged with 
trafficking in other countries.  There was only one person 
extradited back to Paraguay from Spain. There have been no 
Paraguayans extradited to another country under this offense. 
 However, the government does not prohibit extradition. 
 
¶K.  There is no substantiating evidence linking the 
government to trafficking. 
 
¶L.  There is no conclusive or substantiated information 
linking government officials to trafficking. 
 
¶M. There is no identified child sex tourism industry in 
Paraguay.  However, there have been foreign pedophiles 
indicted for activities involving sexual exploitation of 
children.  On January 27, the Child Pornography legislation 
formally became law.  Each article of the legislation speaks 
to the use, commercialization and exhibition of children in 
pornography and issues penalties of 5 to 10 years. 
Paraguay,s child sexual abuse laws do not have 
extraterritorial coverage. 
 
¶N. The Government of Paraguay has signed and ratified ILO 
Convention 182 concerning the elimination of the worst forms 
of child labor; ILO Convention 29 and 105 on forced and 
compulsory labor; the optional protocol to the Convention on 
the Rights of the Child (CRC) on the sale of children, child 
prostitution, and child pornography; and the Protocol to 
Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons. 
 
PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS 
 
¶A. The government provides assistance to victims but the 
assistance is inadequate, due to a lack of resources. 
Victims receive legal, medical and psychological services but 
only for a limited period of time.  Once the victim returns 
to their community outside of Asuncion, the victim is no 
longer provided with assistance or follow-up.  A Catholic 
monastery provides temporary housing for victims.  The 
government does not have a shelter facility or a victim 
health care facility.  Victim care is provided in local 
hospitals in Asuncion. 
 
¶B. The government does not provide funding or other support 
to foreign or domestic NGOs for services to victims.  Foreign 
governments and international NGOs provide funding for 
victims. 
 
¶C. There is some level of government screening and referral 
process in place to transfer victims to NGOs. Local police 
and municipal authorities in Asuncion and Ciudad del Este 
screened (potential) victims and referred them to NGOs. 
 
¶D. Victims are treated with respect and given some support. 
Victims are not treated as criminals. 
 
¶E. The government encourages victims to participate in the 
investigation and prosecution of trafficking perpetrators. 
There are no provisions of law allowing a victim to seek 
civil law suits or restitution against a trafficker. 
 
¶F. The government,s ability to provide protection to victims 
and witnesses is limited but they do make an effort.  The 
government does not have a shelter.  A Catholic monastery 
provides space for victims of trafficking.  The government 
provides legal, medical and psychological services but only 
for a limited time period in Asuncion.  NGOs provide similar 
services in other cities.  Once the victims return to their 
home cities or towns, the government services cease.  There 
is no follow-up by the government.  Child victims receive the 
same services. 
 
¶G. The government does not provide training for the Attorney 
General,s Office, National Police, Military, Immigration or 
Customs in how to recognize trafficking victims or the 
services available to them.  The government does not provide 
training to its embassies and consulates in foreign countries 
on protections and assistance to victims.  The government 
does not urge embassies and consulates to develop 
relationships with NGOs that serve trafficked victims. 
 
¶H.  The government provides legal, medical and psychological 
services to its repatriated citizens but the government does 
not operate a shelter. 
 
¶I. Global Infancia, an international NGO, focuses on legal 
issues on behalf of children.  Grupo Luna Nueva, a local NGO, 
provides a shelter as well as legal and psychological 
services to victims.  The International Organization of 
Migration provides training and participates in anti-TIP and 
victim care efforts.  The Inter-American Development Bank is 
a source of funding for anti-TIP efforts for the government. 
All of the organizations receive cooperation with local 
authorities and are members of the Institutional Roundtable. 
 
¶2. (U) Post does not have a recommendation(s) for Heroes or 
Best Practices. 
CASON