Cattle truck in the Chaco

Labour rights and Paraguayan beef exports

In addition to concerns about deforestation, the cattle industry in the Chaco region of Paraguay has been linked to reports, including by the UN Human Rights Council, of slave labour, child labour and encroachment into indigenous land.

1 Jul 2020

Photo credit: Cattle truck in the Chaco, Credit: imageBROKER / Alamy Stock Photo

In addition to concerns about deforestation, the cattle industry in the Chaco region of Paraguay has been linked to reports, including by the UN Human Rights Council, of slave labour, child labour and encroachment into indigenous land. None of the five top exporter groups in 2018 has made any public commitment to eliminate forced labour and child labour from their supply chains, and given that four out of five of these companies have slaughterhouses or headquarters in or close to the area, it is almost certain that they source beef from the Chaco.

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