8.This report and the report on the initial visit form part of a dialogue between the Subcommittee and Paraguayan
authorities focusing on the prevention of torture and other forms of ill-treatment. The Subcommittee recommends that
the State party make this report public and distribute it to the State agencies to which recommendations are directed.
II.Facilitation of the visit and cooperation
9.The Subcommittee would like to express its gratitude to the Paraguayan authorities for their assistance prior to and during the visit.
With a single regrettable exception (see paragraph 41), prompt, unobstructed access to places of detention was invariably provided,
and the authorities responsible for the facilities in question readily cooperated with the Subcommittee. The Subcommittee would also
like to note that its representatives were given unlimited access to the persons deprived of their liberty with whom they wished to
speak in private.
10.The Subcommittee is deeply grateful for the logistical support supplied by the office of the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) in Paraguay, which played a key role in the successful completion of the visit.
III.Observations and recommendations based on the follow-up visit
A.National preventive mechanism
11.Following its March 2009 visit to the country, the Subcommittee expressed its satisfaction with the process involved in securing
passage of the bill establishing the national preventive mechanism and with the content of that bill. In its report the Subcommittee also,
however, voiced its concern about the fact that the processing of the bill had come to a standstill and recommended that the State
give priority to its passage.
12.During the follow-up visit, the Subcommittee’s representatives met with authorities from the different branches of government,
including legislators, and expressed their deep concern about the absence of progress in moving the bill through the legislature. In the
course of meetings with legislators, the representatives of the Subcommittee were informed that the various Senate committees which
had been considering the bill had approved it. The Subcommittee was also told that the bill had been included in the order of business
for upcoming sessions and was soon to be passed by the Senate.
13.After the follow-up mission had been completed, the Subcommittee learned that the Senate had passed the bill. Pursuant to the
country’s legislative procedure, after the bill’s approval by the originating chamber (the Senate), it is to be submitted to the Chamber
of Deputies, which is to consider it and either pass it or reject it within three months. If no amendments are introduced or the bill is not
considered within that time, it will become law, with the only remaining step being its promulgation by the executive.
14.The Subcommittee is pleased that renewed impetus has been given to the bill, as attested to by its passage by the Senate after
having been under consideration for a period of three years. The Subcommittee is also pleased that the Senate made no substantive
amendments to the bill and that it remains faithful to its original intent, with which the Subcommittee is in accordance. Despite the
efforts made, however, and given the information obtained during the follow-up mission, the Subcommittee is of the view that the
creation of a national preventive mechanism in Paraguay is a matter of urgency.
15.The Subcommittee recalls that Paraguay has assumed an international obligation to create a national preventive mechanism under
article 17 of the Optional Protocol and that this obligation should have been fulfilled within one year, at the latest, of this international
instrument’s entry into force for the State party (i.e., by 2 January 2007). The Subcommittee also recalls that the fulfilment of the
State’s international obligation in this respect is the responsibility of all branches of government. In the view of the Subcommittee,
Paraguay’s failure to establish, designate or maintain a national preventive mechanism in conformity with the Optional Protocol
constitutes a serious instance of non-fulfilment of the international obligations assumed thereunder. The Subcommittee trusts that the
approval by the legislature of a national preventive mechanism and its subsequent implementation will take place within a matter of
months.
16. The Subcommittee therefore recommends that the Paraguayan legislature, and specifically the Chamber of Deputies,
give priority to the consideration and subsequent passage of the bill establishing a national preventive mechanism. The
Subcommittee also recommends that other branches of government urge the legislature to give priority to the bill on the
creation of a national preventive mechanism with a view to its immediate passage. Following this law ’ s passage and
promulgation, the Subcommittee recommends that, as a matter of urgency, the State party take the legislative,
administrative and other steps required to enable the national preventive mechanism to enter into operation as soon as
possible and to carry out its work effectively. The Subcommittee requests that the State party furnish it with information
by 15 January 2011 concerning the progress made by the legislature in processing the bill on a national preventive
mechanism. The Subcommittee requests that, following the law ’ s promulgation, the State party report to it on a regular
basis concerning implementation of the national preventive mechanism.
B.Safeguards against torture and ill-treatment
1.Legal framework
17.The definition of torture as an offence in the Criminal Code. In its earlier report, the Subcommittee referred to shortcomings
in the current definition of the offence of torture as it appears in article 309 of the Criminal Code and the practical difficulties that this
posed. In line with the request made by the Committee against Torture, the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Truth and Justice Commission of Paraguay,
the Subcommittee recommended the early adoption of the legislative measures necessary to align Paraguayan legislation with