33 The witness put together a schedule of visits to various centers where the minors were sent to make a record of the conditions under which they were living. She filed reports with the Supreme Court containing suggestions and recommending certain needed adjustments that could be made to the Ministry of Justice and Labor. While serving on the bench of the court for enforcement of criminal judgments, the judge has received and continues to receive complaints of mistreatment alleged to have occurred at the Center and then later at the Itauguá Education Center. In such cases, the court has summoned those in charge of the centers, as well as the prison guards named in the complaints. The records of the proceedings are then sent to the Public Ministry for investigation of the case and subsequent punishment of the guilty parties. In fact, she has issued summonses for the Minister of Justice and Labor and the Deputy Minister to appear in court, in response to complaints that the court received about abuse, meager rations, a need for mattresses, medical care and the necessity of relocating some inmates to treatment centers. The procedure established under the new criminal justice system is an improvement, as the judge presiding over the preliminaries in a case will no longer be the judge who tries the case. Previously, the proceedings were not public, as they are under the new law. The penal system for juvenile offenders still has problems with certain procedural matters and with application of certain legalities such as, for example, “probation officer, probation, and application of the rule of evidence on opportunity.” The witness has not seen the socio-educational measure provided for in the code, implemented in practice. The assistance that public defenders provide leaves something to be desired. As for her experience with application of the new criminal justice system and the new code of criminal procedure, the witness believes that it is not producing the desired result, particularly with regard to the objective of the punishment, which is rehabilitation of the person convicted. Currently, with recidivism on the rise, work is being done on projects that seek to fill gaps or correct shortcomings. However, the juveniles who have benefited have been rehabilitated and rejoined society. She has also had good success with juveniles who are granted temporary releases to go to jobs. l) Testimony of Maureen Antoinette Herman, PROJOVEN official PROJOVEN, a nongovernmental organization, has been operating in Paraguay since 2000. The witness has been working with high-risk adolescents in conflict with the law since September 1996. PROJOVEN organized training projects for juvenile offenders at the Center and in the cellblock for juveniles at Emboscada (when the minors were transferred there in the wake of the fires at the Panchito López Center) and at the Itauguá Education Center. She also made occasional visits and followed a number of cases of juveniles who claimed they were unable to communicate with their defense counsel and/or families In 2001, PROJOVEN conducted a series of workshops at the Center. During that period, they could almost always rely upon the authorities’ support to gain access to the Center and work with the inmates. However, one problem she had when working at the Center was that it did not have sufficient staff to be present in the patio while they conducted the workshops. Also, of the forty inmates they worked with, most were under the effects of marijuana. “Living conditions at the [Center]