The Republic of Paraguay has a bicameral legislature headed by a president who is also head of state. Elections in 2003, which were based on universal suffrage and deemed free and fair, resulted in the leader of the Colorado Party being elected President. There are 14 women in Congress: 6 in the 45-seat Senate and 8 in the 80-seat Chamber of Deputies. 3 women are Cabinet ministers, while 6 other women head secretariats of ministerial rank. 20% of candidates of each party must be women. No indigenous people serve in Congress, and some indigenous communities report intimidation to stop them exercising their rights.

Discrimination on the basis of race, gender, disability, language, social status or ethnic group is prohibited in law but evident in practice.

The judiciary is independent in law, but courts are reported to be corrupt and subject to political influence. Transparency International reports that corruption remains a severe problem.

Police are accused of using torture. Members of the military are said to harass, beat and sometimes kill civilians. Excessive force is cited against protesters. Police forces are poorly funded and trained and are accused of corruption. The Act to Preserve Public Order, enacted to quell a month-long demonstration of campesino (farm-worker) organisations, resulted in violence.

Freedom of speech and of the press are guaranteed and generally respected. Libel law is used by political figures to intimidate journalists who reveal information related to corruption.

People are trafficked from and within the country for sexual exploitation. Underage girls are forced to work in the sex trade and in domestic service. Trafficking of women and children is reported to have increased by 27% in the past 5 years.

Education is compulsory to age 14. Schooling is provided to age 17. The enrolment rate is reported as 89% for children age 6 to 14 and as 50% for ages 15 to 17. Boys and girls have equal educational access, but enrolment of girls is higher than for boys; urban areas have higher rates of enrolment than do rural areas. Some 59% of indigenous children aged 6 to 14 are in school. 48% of children under age 14 live in poverty, and 20% live in extreme poverty. The national literacy rate is 92%.

Education International wrote the government of Paraguay supporting the claim of OTEP, the Paraguayan education union, that a law be annulled that decreed the closing of any school that did not reach a given minimum number of students per class. This posed a serious threat to achieving the UN goals for Education For All because it would make it difficult for rural children to attend school. Concern was also expressed for the employment rights of teachers. The government has said the law will be a serious obstacle to the defence of quality public education in rural and poorer areas. Now, the decision on whether or not to close a school has to be taken with the participation of the local communities.

A 3-year programme begins at age 3. At this level 28% of education is private. The Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) is 30%. Of the 5,423 teachers working at this level, 88% are women. The pupil/teacher ratio (PTR) is 26 : 1.

Education is compulsory for ages 6 to 14. Primary school begins at age 6 and continues for 6 years. At this level 16% of education is private. The NER is 98% (48% female). Of students who enrol in Grade 1, 64% reach the last grade of primary school. 8% of students repeat grades. 35,709 teachers (72% female) work at this level. The PTR is 27 : 1. OTEP is lobbying to have a school meals programme cover the entire country, though mismanagement of funds for such programmes has been reported.

Secondary education begins at age 12 and is completed in 6 years. At this level 26% of education is private. 21% of students in upper secondary education study in technical vocational programmes. The Net Enrolment Rate (NER) is 51%. 1% of students repeat grades. There are 43,835 secondary teachers, 22,463 (62% female) in lower secondary and 21,372 (60% female) in upper secondary school. The PTR is 14 : 1 in lower secondary and 10 : 1 in upper secondary school.

831,345 students (51% female) study in tertiary institutions, giving a GER of 32%. 1,655 Paraguayan students study abroad, such as in Argentina (386), USA (343), France (64) and Chile (49).

Discrimination is illegal against persons with physical and mental disabilities in education or in other state services, yet it is encountered by many disabled persons. The Ministry of Health reports that half of all children with disabilities do not attend school; transportation is not provided, and public buses cannot accommodate them.

The law provides for the granting of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. The government cooperates with the UNHCR to assist refugees and asylum-seekers. Paraguay has passed a new law on refugees, like that in Brazil, to promote a common level of refugee protection in the region as a whole.

An estimated 90,000 indigenous people are marginalised in economic, social, political and cultural life. They are paid low wages for long hours of work. Reports show that wages owed are often not paid. Jobs for indigenous people are insecure and lack social security benefits. The Inter-American Commission of Human Rights notes that the government violated 6 articles of the American Convention on Human Rights by displacing indigenous populations from ancestral lands and denying them the right to land, education, health and judicial protection.

Reports do not cite restrictions or violations of academic freedom.

Women have the same legal rights as men, but gender-related job discrimination is tolerated and widespread. Women are paid less for work of equal value. Sexual and domestic abuse of women is reported as common and serious. Increasing numbers of complaints of violence are filed, but they are often withdrawn because of family pressure. Sexual harassment is prohibited but is reported as a problem in the workplace.

Although the labour code prohibits work by children under age 14, government research shows that 40% of children in primary grades work during school hours. In fact, 5% of the workforce is under age 14, and 13.6 % of children aged 5 to 17 work, many in unsafe conditions. Children aged 14 and 15 are allowed to work in family enterprises or apprenticeships. Minors aged 15 to 18 are allowed to work with parental authorisation, but not in dangerous or unhealthy conditions. In supermarkets boys as young as age 7 receive tips for bagging and carrying groceries.

Thousands of children work in the informal sector in urban areas, many of them younger than 12. Many of the children who work lack access to education. Some 11,500 young girls work as criadas (domestic servants) and are denied access to education. An official was arrested for employing a criada aged 9, who was living in deplorable conditions and not allowed to attend school. Children as young as 10 work with their parents in the fields; 88% of rural children are in the labour force or work at home or with family members, and they work for about 5 hours a day on average.

The conscription of minors is a cause for concern; reported incidents of forced or deceitful recruitment of minors are accompanied by accusations of torture and ill-treatment. Military recruitment of indigenous youths who are exempt from obligatory military service is also noted. The government has established a review of procedures for conscription to prevent enlistment under the legal minimum age of 18.

Both private and public sector workers are allowed to form and join trade unions, except for the armed forces and the police. Collective bargaining is permitted, as is the right to strike. Some 15% of workers are members of 1,600 unions.

Some companies form management-dominated "parallel unions" to compete with independent unions. Some 30 collective bargaining agreements are in place, covering 10% of private sector employees and 60% of public sector workers. The law provides for the right to strike and bans binding arbitration. Numerous strikes have occurred. The labour laws apply in export processing zones (maquilas). Forced or compulsory labour is prohibited.

Compulsory military service for all men is enforced, except conscientious objectors and indigenous persons. Reports show that conscripts are at times forced to work as construction workers for military officers in privately owned businesses.

The minimum salary is adjusted when inflation tops 10%; it is approximately US$180 (1.08 million guaranies) per month, which is reported to be sufficient to maintain a minimal standard of living for a worker and family. There is no public sector minimum wage. It is estimated that 50% of government workers earn less than the minimum wage, as do 48% of private sector workers.

Only 3 out of 7 elected officers of OTEP are entitled to trade union permits, allowing them to continue receiving a salary while working full time for the union. The number of unpaid auxiliary teachers has been reduced from 8,000 to current levels of 5,000 to 6,000 as a result of ongoing action taken by OTEP, supported by EI, to have these teachers properly trained and given regular contractual status.