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Paraguay launches child protection plan for World Rally Championship
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Sports

Paraguay launches child protection plan for World Rally Championship

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified New plan
  • Paraguay's Ministry of Children and Adolescents (MINNA) launched an operational plan to protect children during the 2026 World Rally Championship in Itapúa.
  • Over 110 MINNA officials will be deployed across 10 districts, with 24-hour centers and protection facilities for vulnerable minors.
  • Last year's operation identified 5,000 cases of rights violations, including 15 sexual abuses and two human trafficking incidents.

Paraguay's Ministry of Children and Adolescents (MINNA) has unveiled a comprehensive operational plan to safeguard children during the upcoming 2026 World Rally Championship in the Itapúa region. Minister Walter Gutiérrez presented the initiative, emphasizing its preventative measures and response protocols for potential rights violations.

The president of the FIA told us that Paraguay was the first country to present an Operational Plan of this type among all the countries organizing the Rally.

— Walter GutiérrezMinister of Children and Adolescents, Walter Gutiérrez, highlighted the success of the previous year's operation and Paraguay's recognition by the FIA for its child protection plan.

More than 110 MINNA officials will be stationed across the 10 affected districts, operating 24-hour attention centers and specialized protection facilities. These centers will provide a safe haven for minors who experience rights violations and require temporary shelter away from their families. The plan involves collaboration with the Public Ministry, National Police, and the Directorate of National Migration.

Gutiérrez highlighted the success of the previous year's operation, noting that Paraguay was recognized by the FIA for its pioneering child protection plan. In 2025, the initiative led to the identification and intervention in 5,000 cases of child rights violations during the WRC event. Of these, approximately 400 were classified as complex cases.

The 2025 operation resulted in 5,000 interventions for the protection of children and adolescents during the WRC days in Itapúa. Of this universe, about 400 cases were treated for being complex or complicated.

— Walter GutiérrezMinister Walter Gutiérrez explained the scope of the child protection interventions during the previous year's event.

The detected violations ranged from children getting lost in crowds and labor exploitation to violence, abuse, and human trafficking. Specifically, 15 cases of sexual abuse and two cases of human trafficking were recorded. The minister noted that individuals were identified for offering minors for sexual exploitation to foreigners, and a significant portion of the sexual abuse cases involved foreign perpetrators.

15 cases of sexual abuse in children and adolescents were consummated. Also a couple of cases of human trafficking.

— Walter GutiérrezMinister Walter Gutiérrez detailed the types of serious violations detected during the previous year's operation.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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