Paraguay - OPCAT Situation
Paraguay ratified the OPCAT in December 2005 and conducted wide consultations with national, regional and international actors interested in torture prevention. A consensus was reached at the national level to establish a new and specialised institution to perform the NPM mandate. The law establishing the new NPM was finally adopted in April 2011 and the selecting committee entered into functions in August 2012. The appointment of the six NPM members was finalised in December 2012 and the members started their operations early 2013.
Furthermore, Paraguay received two visits of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture: one regular visit in March 2009 and a follow-up visit in September 2010. Paraguay demonstrated a spirit of transparency as it made public the two visit reports as well as its replies.
The SPT member Maria Margarida E. Pressburger is the SPT Focal Point for Paraguay.