2011 Report Committee of Churches for Emergency Aid in Paraguay

by Global Ministries | published on Oct 10, 2014

Read the 2011 Report from the Committee of Churches for Emergency Aid in Paraguay.

CIPAE is an ecumenical expression of Paraguayan churches, including Global Ministries partner church, the Disciples of Christ of Paraguay, which provides assistance to the victims and their families of social, economic, and political human rights violations. CIPAE works primarily with indigenous peoples, helping them to empower themselves to deal with local governments on issues such as land use, employment, and cultural preservation. Currently CIPAE is involved in several projects that include sustainable development, legal rights education, refugee and repatriation assistance, and affordable housing.

During year 2011, given the mission and goals of CIPAE, a series of educational offerings on human rights for strengthening for participatory democracy were developed in the following ways:

Lectures, workshops and trainings on the use of educational materials about human rights issues.
Team meetings to prepare the programs, the themes and methologies.

A workshop was completed with young college students from the city of Coronel Oviedo with 50 young adults participating. Another workshop was conducted on the premises of CIPAE in the capital city of Asuncion for officials of the ombudsman and immigration offices, police officers, lawyers, students, and professionals from the University of Asuncion and the surrounding area. Sixty people participated and discussed: the mechanisms of protection of human rights and human rights agreements ratified by Paraguay. A third workshop was developed with university students and teachers from the University north of the city of Coronel Oviedo. A total of 40 students, and the two teachers who accompanied them, attended.

The workshops help promote the enforcement of human rights in vulnerable populations and to strengthen participatory democracy. Specific objectives for the future include:

Form new trainers for the dissemination of knowledge about human rights and citizenship-building.
Promote compliance with the international legal commitments of Paraguay in the area of human rights.