Paraguay

By JEAN DE WANDELAER

Conscientious objection is a constitutional right in Paraguay, but the fact that there are now around 600 COs seems to bother the military. On 4 November, 18-year-old objector César Barrios was on his way to Pirapey, 110km from Encarnación, to give a workshop on CO.

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Press Communiqué

On Wednesday, 9 August, a group of 11 women will publicly present themselves as CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS at 8.30am in front of the Human Rights Commission. In Paraguay there are already 8 women who have previously presented themselves as objectors, but this is the first group made up of only women. We would like to therefore express the motives behind our objection:

Brazil

Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world. Under the military government (1964-1985), Brazil also accumulated the largest foreign debt in the world—US $121 billion. A constitutional process began in 1986, culminating in a new Constitution in 1988. Fernando Collor de Mello was elected President in 1990, the first directly-elected president since 1960.

Rodrigo Juan Villagra Carron has become the first "official" CO in LA. He is one of the five Paraguayan COs who did a public presentation last September, and on 15 March, a judge recognised him as CO. The right to CO is recognised in the Paraguayan constitution, but there is no regulatory law detailing what provisions should be made for COs.