The Chamber of Deputies will discuss a bill that endangers the work for human rights in Paraguay. The proposed law includes overly broad and ambiguous wordings that could increase the control over the work of civil society organizations and result in arbitrary restrictions, including their dissolution. The Chamber’s President and Presidents of relevant commissions must immediately stop and withdraw this bill to uphold and protect the right to freedom of association and to defend human rights in the country.
PLEASE TAKE ACTION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE UNTIL: August 22, 2024
take action:
- Write a letter in your own words or using the sample below as a guide to one or both government officials listed. You can also email, fax, call or Tweet them.
- Click here to let us know the actions you took on Urgent Action 69.24. It’s important to report because we share the total number with the officials we are trying to persuade and the people we are trying to help.
contact information:
Mr Raúl Latorre,
President of the Chamber of Deputies
Email: [email protected]
Mr Roberto González Segovia,
President of the Commission on constitutional matters.
Emails: [email protected]
Mr Jorge Ramón Ávalos Mariño,
President of the Commission on legislation and codification.
Emails: [email protected]
Paraguayan Embassy in the United States
Ambassador José Antonio Dos Santos
2209 Massachusetts Ave. N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (202) 483-6960
Salutation: Dear Ambassador José Antonio Dos Santos
sample letter:
Dear Deputies, or Dear Ambassador José Antonio Dos Santos,
I am deeply concerned by the bill “that establishes control, transparency, and accountability of nonprofit organizations” which is under study of the Chamber of Deputies. After all the social progress of human rights defenders and social movements, it is alarming that your legislature is taking such a grave step back. Under the international human rights treaties to which Paraguay is a state party, all State’s authorities have the legal obligation to uphold and ensure respect the right to freedom of association, which is also part of the Paraguayan Constitution. The guarantee of this right includes the possibility of constituting associations, carrying out the statutory activities of an organization, seeking, receiving, and using human, material, and financial resources, among other points. The state must foster an enabling environment for the free and effective exercise of this right.
This bill contains ambiguous provisions that could lead to arbitrary restrictions to civil society work, while the unjustified increase on control over their operation and imposition of sanctions, including the permanent cessation of their activities, without due process of law, are completely contrary to the obligation to respect the right to defend rights.
I call on you to immediately withdraw this bill and promote an enabling environment for all Paraguayans to fulfil their human rights.
Yours sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]
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