13 The witness is very familiar with the process of territorial claims by the Yakye Axa Community before the Instituto Paraguayo del Indígena, as well as the efforts by said institution to directly assist the members of the Community, because she was a member of the Board of the Instituto Paraguayo del Indígena from 1999 to 2003. Said efforts were unsuccessful. At the time, the Instituto Paraguayo del Indígena reached an agreement with the Community to begin the process of recovery of 7,900 hectares; however, said request was rejected by the Paraguayan Parliament. The witness added that the Yakye Axa Community was traditionally established in the region that they claim as their lands. The Community left their land due to circumstances of survival and was moved to the colony at El Estribo. Some time later, due to living conditions in that place, the Community decided to return to their traditional lands. When they learned that there was legislation favorable to the right to recover their lands, the members of that Community “voluntarily returned and began the process of furthering their claim.” f. Statement by Oscar Centurión, witness The witness is the current chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Instituto Paraguayo del Indígena. He explained that the group of families that now constitute the Yakye Axa Indigenous Community originally were part of the Community of El Estribo, from which they separated, regrouping and establishing the Yakye Axa Community, in accordance with the provisions of Law No. 904/81 on the Statute of Indigenous Communities. At that time, the Community began the process of claiming their ancestral lands, which constitute a fully productive cattle ranch. As Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Instituto Paraguayo del Indígena, he contacted all the members of the Yakye Axa Community, to obtain their consent to seek an alternative solution to the claim on their traditional lands. For this, they requested additional budgetary resources to fund the purchase of a property that could satisfy the requirements of the members of the Community, who were open to exploring this option. Unfortunately, despite the efforts made by the Government, the proposal was rejected by the Senate. Another time, they consulted with the members of the Yakye Axa Community the possibility of purchasing 25,000 hectares near the area they claimed; however, the members of the Community rejected this possibility because said area was being claimed by another neighboring indigenous community. However, the Instituto Paraguayo del Indígena plans to continue seeking a solution to the Community’s land claim and funds to purchase land for this purpose. The Instituto Paraguayo del Indígena has established an action plan to provide food and health care to the members of the Community and has provided assistance in accordance with the possibilities of said institution. g. Statement by Pedro Martínez González, expert witness The expert witness is familiar with the Yakye Axa Indigenous Community, its leaders and its legal representatives. Through the Instituto Paraguayo del Indígena he has taken steps to address the healthcare needs of the members of said Community; specifically, he has provided primary medical assistance to them. h. Statement by César Escobar Catebecke, expert witness