Dear latheid-ga;
I am reposting amended information here in response to your question.
The capitalization is mine and is intended only to point out certain
pertinent information that warrants additional emphasis and attention:
There seems to be some dissent over the laws in Paraguay with regard
to children and the age of consent. Some people simply do not like the
news therefore they attack the answer. The truth in some third world
countries is a bitter pill to swallow. Nevertheless, it is widely
known that some countries do not share the same cultural or moral
values as those who would do otherwise. Having said that, this is what
we now know (which, by the way isn?t that much different from what I
had posted earlier).
If you are interested in the age of sexual consent, here are the findings:
According to this (obviously reliable) document which outlines an
investigatory report compiled by THE OFFICE OF HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR
HUMAN RIGHTS (OHCHR) UNITED NATIONS:
?PARAGUAY'S NATIONAL LEGISLATION DOES NOT SPECIFY A MINIMUM AGE FOR
CONSENT OR VALIDATION OF CONSENT TO SEXUAL RELATIONS...?
COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD REVIEWS SECOND PERIODIC REPORT OF PARAGUAY
CRC 28th session 8 October 2001
http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/8E95708C638FB78EC1256ADF004F439A?opendocument
If you are interested in the law as it pertains to marital consent,
here are the findings:
?PARAGUAY'S LEGISLATION MAKES NO DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE SEXES WITH
RESPECT TO MARRIAGE AND SEXUAL CONSENT. . . As required by article 2
of the Convention, the Civil Code as partially amended by Act No. 1/92
states:
"PERSONS BETWEEN THE AGES OF 16 AND 20 YEARS SHALL REQUIRE THE CONSENT
OF THEIR PARENTS OR GUARDIANS FOR CONTRACTING MARRIAGE. If one of the
parents is incapacitated, the consent of the other shall suffice. If
both parents are incapacitated or have lost parental authority, the
juvenile guardianship court shall decide".
The Civil Code also stipulates that children aged under 16 may not
marry except by special dispensation in exceptional circumstances from
age 14 by decision of the juvenile guardianship court. The measures
for application of this provision of the Convention are still not
satisfactory in practice, usually owing to ignorance of them but also
for cultural reasons, including extremely authoritarian attitudes
surviving from earlier times, not to mention political, social and
economic factors.?
RIGHT TO EDUCATION
http://www.right-to-education.org/
http://www.right-to-education.org/content/age/table.html
The quote above is taken directly from this document found published
in the UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS TREATY BODIES DATABASE:
?According to Act No. 1/92, the minimum age for contracting marriage
is 16 for both sexes, except for special dispensation in exceptional
cases from the age of 14 at the discretion of the juvenile court
judge. It may be added that full capacity or majority in the sense of
article 36 of the Civil Code now applies from the age of 20, provided
there is no judicial declaration of incapacity.?
UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS TREATY BODIES DATABASE
http://www.unhchr.ch/TBS/doc.nsf/0/e6448ef99de2f2248025654e0042aaf8?OpenDocument
So, in closing, to those who find this new particularly concerning or
perhaps even repulsive, please keep in mind that I am only RESEARCHING
and REPORTING the law in this country; I am not in charge of AUTHORING
it. The fact that I am mentioning it here does not indicate my
agreement or support of such a law nor does it suggest that I condone
the behavior seemingly legalized by it. I am not a Paraguayan attorney
and I am not interpreting the law, rather merely presenting it as
requested. If anyone finds this law (or lack thereof) distasteful they
might consider contacting the President of Paraguay and expressing
their concerns.
Now . . .hopefully, in spite of the unfortunate delays, you will once
again find that my research exceeds your expectations. If you have any
questions about my research please post a clarification request prior
to rating the answer. Otherwise, I welcome your rating and your final
comments and I look forward to working with you again in the near
future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad ? Google Answers Researcher
OTHER INFORMATION SOURCES
I want to be certain to unquestionably identify these most reputible sources:
RIGHT TO EDUCATION
http://www.right-to-education.org/
The Right to Education Project is a reliable source for information as
it is a member of various international networks, including:
OneWorld.net (www.oneworld.net)
Children?s Rights Information Network (CRIN) (www.crin.org)
The Right to Education Project is supported by:
Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency www.sida.se)
Education International (www.ei-ie.org)
Novib (Oxfam Netherlands) www.novib.nl
UNITED NATIONS
http://www.un.org/
SEARCH STRATEGY
SEARCH ENGINES USED:
Google ://www.google.com
SEARCH TERMS USED:
Paraguay
Consent
Age
Act No. 1/92 |
