Vasilka Sancin, member of the Advisory Committee of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations, expressed his concern about the new measures taken by the Costa Rican government related to migration and which could affect the more than 200,000 Nicaraguans residing in this Central American country.
In an interview with the voice of americaSancin indicated that “no refugee leaves their territory voluntarily” and added that the actions of the Costa Rican government imply “a regression in terms of the treatment of refugees from Nicaragua in Costa Rica up to now.”
Within the new provisions of the Costa Rican government that were announced end of november by President Rodrigo Chaves, it is established that expedited work permits will not be granted to refugee applicants as was the case before, but that they must comply with an internal procedure that will be established by the immigration authorities.
It is very important that all rights corresponding to refugees are respected”
The majority of refugee applicants in Costa Rica are of Nicaraguan origin, according to official data. According to Chaves, many “take advantage” of the benefits of being an asylum seeker when “in reality there are many who are economic migrants.”
With the new provisions, Costa Rica also oriented that the request for political asylum must be submitted within one month from the day of entry into the country of the person.
It also established that refugee applicants may not leave the country for “no reason” while their process is pending.
“These individuals already are, just because they had to leave everything behind and flee to other countries, it is an extremely vulnerable situation,” said Sancin, who was vice president of the United Nations Human Rights Committee at the time of the review. situation of Nicaragua in October 2022. “It is very important that all the rights corresponding to refugees are fully respected in all countries where they are granted asylum.”
The Costa Rican government announced immigration measures on November 30 after having sent a letter to the UN in which he exposed the migratory situation in the country, which has welcomed at least 200,000 Nicaraguans fleeing the sociopolitical crisis in Nicaragua.
Chaves claimed that the international community “is not collaborating with the economic resources” necessary to face massive migration in this country of 5 million inhabitants.
See also the VOA special: The path of the migrant
“That letter alerts the international community that we are taking action,” Chaves said. “You go as far as you can. We are not seeing support from the International Organization for Migration, we are not seeing support from the United Nations and the High Commissioner for Refugees,” he argued.
According to Migration and Immigration of Costa Rica, from 2018 to date, this country has received 222,000 refugee applications, of which 172,000 are pending resolution.
According to the Costa Rican government, at least 80% of refugee applicants “do not qualify” within this definition.
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