The Intercultural Association of Human Rights of Costa Rica (ASIDEHU) is “concerned” by the situation of Nicaraguans seeking refuge outside the offices of the General Directorate of Migration and Immigration in the neighboring country where they are under “inhumane conditions” .
“On January 17, 2023, a complaint was received from journalists, activists, and migrants seeking refuge who, in front of the offices of the Refuge Unit of the Costa Rican Migration General Directorate, of people waiting, in a line, to be attended by the refuge offices, and who made a humanitarian SOS, due to cold and hunger, “says the organization.
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They point out that citizens can last in lines from 3 to 5 days, where, despite receiving respectful treatment from the immigration authorities, they find themselves in inhumane conditions, they do not have access to a public bathroom to cover physiological needs or clean themselves. , there is no food coverage, going hungry during the day and night, they have to be cold, barely covering themselves with the blankets that some charitable people bring them and being treated equally, not immediately giving way to people.
“With our visit we were able to appreciate that children and older adults were going through a very hard situation, as well as verify the fears that they were in inhumane conditions. These lines are that long and lasting, since the refuge unit grants 50 spaces a day to request refuge in the country, therefore, if 80 or 100 people arrive a day, many run out of space, being forced to pass the following nights waiting, and so on consecutively with the people who show up after them,” adds the association.
Recently, the Nicaragua Fighting Coalition explained that the vulnerability of migrants “has increased and become more complex” to enter Costa Rica, Mexico and the United States. In the case of Costa Rica, the new provisions prevent an exiled person from having the right to formal work or to travel outside the country to denounce the situation in Nicaragua.
«As one of the many consequences derived from the Executive Decrees signed by the President of the Republic Rodrigo Chaves on November 30, 2022, where he reforms the refugee regulations and forces migrants to appear before the refuge offices and wait for be cared for The President of the Republic is requested to take the necessary measures in the face of this humanitarian situation and to provide an adequate solution to the migration issue,” ASIDEHU reiterates.
“To the international community, we ask that support for the State of Costa Rica not cease, thus allowing them to maintain their active open-door policies and guarantee due refusal and procedural speed for the rights of refugees,” the organization’s statement concluded. .
