Horizontal political dialogue between the state and indigenous women, police training on gender-based violence and the launch of an official platform on environmental statistics. These are just a few examples of the milestones achieved in Paraguay with the support of the European cooperation programme led by the FIIAPP/Spanish Cooperation. Through the work of the programme and the commitment of Paraguayan partner institutions, the country strengthens its public systems and advances in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Among the actions carried out, more than 2,500 civil servants have been trained in areas such as equality, security and climate.

Public policies: indigenous women participate in decision making

For the first time in the country, indigenous women have initiated a political dialogue – led by the Ministry of Women with the support of the National Indigenous Institute – with the public institutions that are part of the Inter-Institutional Roundtable for the Prevention of Violence against Women (PREVIM). The initiative has made it possible to reflect on the effectiveness of existing policies, considering the cultural and social particularities of indigenous women, and the first agreements have been reached to include in their protocols for action.

Minutes have been signed with each of the participating institutions, documenting the history of encounters between indigenous women and the state. These minutes, although they vary in detail depending on the institution, recognise the need to train public personnel on issues such as intercultural justice, the importance of communicating information in the native language of the affected person, as well as the management of myths that act as barriers in dealing with cases of violence, among other critical aspects such as the modification of protocols to incorporate the points suggested by indigenous women.

The working groups were established as nuclei for continuous discussion where each institution collaborates directly with indigenous representatives, which facilitates the creation and reformulation of policies from an intersectional approach. The signing of the first agreements at the end of these roundtables symbolised a tangible commitment to significant structural changes.

Launch of the first Atlas of Environmental Statistics in Paraguay

How many people die from natural disasters in Paraguay, per 100,000 inhabitants?

What is the rate of protected species of flora and fauna? What is the mortality rate attributable to unsafe water?

The National Institute of Statistics (INE) and the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MADES) have launched Paraguay’s first Atlas of Environmental Statistics to provide data on these and other questions related to environmental statistics. This launch, highlighted in President Santiago Peña’s recent management report, marks a significant milestone in the country’s environmental management.

The Atlas of Environmental Statistics of Paraguay is an innovative web platform that brings together essential information from the environmental sector in a dynamic interface, including a wide range of data, metadata, maps and interactive graphics. The tool not only provides access to detailed and up-to-date information on the state of the environment in Paraguay, but also promotes greater transparency and facilitates the understanding of current environmental challenges.

This project has been developed as a key element of the Subsystem of Environmental Statistics, framed within the National Strategy for Statistical Development (ENDE). Its main objective is to centralise and make visible the generation of environmental data by all the entities involved, thus improving the capacity to respond to the sector’s information demands and supporting evidence-based decision-making for the conservation and sustainable management of the environment in Paraguay.

Training for police officers in dealing with victims of gender-based violence

Paraguay has registered 18 femicides so far this year. According to data from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, in the first half of 2024, 18,876 complaints related to gender violence were registered throughout the country. According to the statistics, the figure represents an increase of 16% in relation to the first six months of last year, and 50% in comparison with data from the same period in 2020. (https://www.ultimahora.com/estado-debe-accionar-sobre-el-aumento-de-la-violencia-familiar)

In this context, the project has supported a training programme for police personnel designed to strengthen the institutional response to reports of violence against women. This programme, developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior, the National Police Command and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, has trained more than 500 police officers in the departments of Central, Caaguazú and Alto Paraná, regions with high rates of reported gender-based violence.

This training cycle is carried out in collaboration with the Higher Institute of Police Education (ISEPOL) and is based on a new methodology where the problem of violence against women is not only approached from a regulatory and police responsibility perspective, but also from a comprehensive perspective that appeals to empathy and recognises the value of those who are on the front line in the care of victims.

It is an unprecedented milestone for ISEPOL, which aims to train more than 900 police officers in total, the highest number to date in the training of police officers. Furthermore, this initiative stands out as the first to deliver training through an experiential methodology, developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and the Ministry of Interior. This innovative approach not only broadens the competencies of police officers, but also strengthens inter-ministerial cooperation for more effective and empathetic management within the security forces.

Inter-institutional collaboration: signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic (CGR) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE) consolidated their cooperation through a memorandum of understanding to unify efforts in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This agreement will promote closer collaboration in the monitoring of policies and programmes linked to the SDGs in the country.

Progress and challenges in implementing the SDGs: 2024 Steering Committee meeting

At the Steering Committee meeting, the progress and challenges of the programme until its completion in December 2024 were presented. The highest authorities of our partner institutions and the Delegation of the European Union in the country were present, as well as mayors of the 10 municipalities with which we work.   The importance of having data for planning and decision making with special emphasis on the territorial level was highlighted.

On the same day, a dialogue was held between mayors, with the participation of the head of cooperation of the Delegation of the European Union Matteo Sirtori, the Coordinator of AECID in Paraguay Rafael Ruiperez and the National Director of the National Statistics Institute (INE), Ivan Ojeda. The conversation focused on improving the production and management of data for sustainable development at the municipal level. This exchange identified critical areas where municipalities can increase their autonomy and efficiency in data collection.

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