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Article

18 Sep 2018

Author:
Jo Griffin, The Guardian

Forced labour in Paraguay: the darkness at the bottom of the global supply chain

Experts believe that action is urgently needed to expose horrifying labour conditions across Paraguay’s Chaco region...the darker side of the Chaco region is coming into focus, with reports of illegal deforestation and slave labour among the indigenous population.

In November 2016...government inspectors found 35 people working and living in inhumane conditions on a farm in the department of Boquerón...Sleeping on mattresses on the ground and protected from the sun only by plastic tarpaulins, the group did not have enough drinking water to quench their thirst...The workers were also in debt to pay for food from the recruiters. 

A joint investigation by Repórter Brasil and the Guardian uncovered potential links between [the farm] and some of the world’s largest car firms, including BMW, Citroën, Peugeot and Renault. All four have been supplied with leather either directly or indirectly...BMW said it was unaware of the conviction...but confirmed that one of its leather suppliers purchased materials from Cencoprod. “In cases like this, we conduct an investigation with our direct supplier to check the facts,” the company said. “The BMW Group definitively does not tolerate any kind of violation of human rights in its production chains.”