President Santiago Peña enacted Law No. 7686, which approves the Agreement on the Consular Cooperation Mechanism among the Member States of Mercosur and Associated States. The agreement, signed in Santa Fe, Argentina, on July 17, 2019, was sanctioned by the Paraguayan National Congress on June 23 of this year.
The mechanism aims to strengthen consular assistance and protection for citizens of the bloc's member and associated countries when they are in nations where their country of origin has no diplomatic or consular representation. In Paraguay's case, one example is China, where there is no Paraguayan embassy or consulate.
The agreement was signed by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, as Mercosur member states, and by Bolivia and Chile, as associated states. Paraguay will serve as the depository of the instrument and the respective ratification documents.
The understanding is based on the principles established by the Treaty of Asunción and the Ouro Preto Protocol, continuing a Mercosur decision that instituted a similar consular cooperation mechanism.
The mechanism will operate in situations of emergency, necessity, or high vulnerability; involving children, adolescents, or vulnerable persons; in cases of deprivation of liberty; repatriation due to vulnerability; natural or anthropogenic disasters; and for the exchange of information on document legalization, among other scenarios.
Cooperation actions include locating nationals, providing guidance on rights and duties in the host country, channeling communications, requesting travel documents, protecting the interests of detainees, coordinating repatriations, managing humanitarian assistance, and providing small financial aid.