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1. The Committee notes with regret that once again no report has been communicated following the detailed observation made in 2002 and the long discussion of this case that took place in the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards in June 2003, and in spite of the observation and direct request adopted by this Committee last year.

2. The Committee recalls that the available information indicates serious problems in the application of the Convention in Paraguay, as outlined in the previous comments, and that communication between the Office and the Government on this situation has been restricted. The Committee notes from the information communicated by the Government during the discussion in the Conference Committee that some measures are being taken, but that a great deal remains to be done.

3. The Committee once again recalls the allegations of forced labour being practised against indigenous peoples received from the World Confederation of Labour in 1997, and regrets that the Government also has not provided a report on the application of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29). In this connection it notes, however, that work has been carried out in the country on forced labour, focusing on indigenous peoples, in the context of the action programme to follow up the global report on the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. The Committee looks forward to receiving detailed information on this work, as well as on other aspects of the Convention’s application, in the Government’s next report.

4. The Committee is therefore repeating its previous direct request, and hopes to receive a detailed report from the Government for its next session.

[The Government is asked to report in detail in 2005.]