Costa Rica: UN refugee agency expresses concern over new refugee law

The United Nations refugee agency today expressed concern over the impact a new immigration law moving towards final approval in Costa Rica would have on refugees and asylum-seekers and called on lawmakers to review key elements related to refugee status, forced return and right to work.

“We urge the Costa Rican Government to enact a new law that will effectively deal with the immigration issues the country faces while at the same time respecting the nation's commitment to human rights,” said Jennifer Pagonis, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), at a briefing in Geneva.

UNHCR, she said, recognized and appreciated Costa Rica's long tradition of receiving asylum-seekers and refugees, most importantly during the Central American conflicts of the 1980s, and their current reception of significant numbers of Colombian refugees. The agency also realized there was a need to modernise Costa Rica's legislation to reflect the new realities of migration, including trafficking in persons and the smuggling of migrants as well as the real changes in refugee movements.

“However, we believe that some of the provisions of the proposed legislation are restrictive and contrary to the spirit of the 1951 Convention on Refugees. This could lead to an exacerbation of the already unfriendly climate towards asylum-seekers and refugees in the country,” she said.

She explained that the proposed law does not contain any definition of a refugee as stated in the 1951 Convention, to which Costa Rica is a signatory member and there is no reference to the key principle of non-refoulement, or forced return, although this principle is found in the Costa Rican Constitution.

The proposed law, she said, also creates unjustified reasons for removing refugee status contrary to the 1951 Convention – for example, any sanction leading to the withdrawal of refugee status would automatically apply to other family members without consideration for their individual protection needs.

Finally, she said that the proposed law does not guarantee refugees the right to work, although the right to work is respected in practice by Costa Rican authorities.

UNHCR has advised the Government over the past several years on the elaboration of a new law. “We will continue to do so in the hope that any new legislation on asylum and immigration will protect the right of people whose lives are in danger to seek safety in other countries as stipulated under international refugee law,” she said.