A/HRC/55/51/Add.1 collected by it and given the recognition that it gives to the presence of this community as part of the nation of Paraguay. He remains unconvinced by the explanations, which at times, changed. He understands that the Government of Paraguay should instead benefit from the structure and financial resources allocated for the national census to introduce questions on Afrodescendent communities and assesses the situation of such communities along with all Paraguayans. Moreover, undertaking a census exclusively for Afrodescendent communities can be perceived as discriminatory, which also justifies the communities fear of being placed on a “blacklist”. 42. Nevertheless, the Special Rapporteur observes that, in order to reintroduce the questions on Afrodescendent communities into the national census again, the adverse experience of the previous national census, conducted in 2012, should be carefully considered. He recalls that, in the national 2012 census, the category of Afrodescendent was included in the national census for the first time, however, the outcome was considered disastrous. Even though consultations were carried out, the questions proposed by the members of the communities had not been taken into consideration. Some of the remaining questions were deemed inadequate and seemed to caricaturize the identity of Afrodescendent peoples or employed pejorative terms. Moreover, Afrodescendent communities requested that the number of questions be increased, with a view to broadening the topics and better clarifying the communities’ issues; this request was denied with the justification that there were insufficient funds. The 2012 national census, which was aimed at including Afrodescendent communities, was received with a lot of dissatisfaction and resentment by those communities. 43. In the next national census, the Government of Paraguay must therefore immediately commit to including this category and begin to prepare now, in consultation with the interested parties and with the technical and other assistance of international and regional organizations, for the addition of questions relating to Afrodescendent identity in all future censuses. Furthermore, in order to redress the absence of Afrodescendent people and their possible lack of visibility in policymaking processes, it is recommended that an executive body be created, for instance, an office for Afrodescendent policy under the Office of the Presidency, in which an Afrodescendent policy officer would be assigned for each ministry. The National Institute of Statistics should immediately establish a consultative committee of Afrodescendent people, with representatives from all communities, to consult and advise it on the establishment and use of the national registry to address, among other things, the grave privacy and other concerns raised by many members of the community. 44. The exclusion of questions on the Afrodescendent community from the most recent national census contributes to the perpetuation of their invisibility within State institutions and among the greater public. Being kept apart in an unknown and still non-existent national registry does little to recognize and highlight their existence and contributions to Paraguayan society at large. B. Indigenous Peoples, languages and land issues 45. The Special Rapporteur considers that Indigenous Peoples can also, in some countries, constitute ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and therefore a number of Indigenous issues also constitute minority communities which fall under the mandate of the Special Rapporteur. That was the case in Paraguay, where he also observed that the Indigenous communities were very vulnerable, even if the country presented a potent legal framework with respect to Indigenous Peoples. 46. Despite the above-mentioned positive legal and institutional aspects, such as the constitutional and legislative framework, the creation of the Paraguayan Institute for Indigenous Peoples or the 2021 national plan for Indigenous communities, the situation of the Indigenous Peoples in Paraguay remained one of the main concerns of the Special Rapporteur. During his visit, he learned that Indigenous communities were often victims of hate crimes, of hate speech and of direct discrimination in public services, such as in hospitals and schools. Moreover, Indigenous communities still faced daunting challenges in terms of access to basic services, such as clean water, power, sanitation and basic education and health 10 GE.23-23380