Costa Rica was one of the nations that approved the Global Pact for Migration, an event that took place on Monday in Morocco, promoted by the United Nations (UN).
The information was confirmed through the press office of the Foreign Ministry of Costa Rica, which also confirmed that Norman Lizano, coordinator of multilateral affairs of the Directorate of Foreign Policy, and Raquel Vargas, Director of Immigration, participated in the event.
The last ratification vote for the Pact will be held on December 19th at the General Assembly of the United Nations. The purpose of the 39-page text is to strengthen international cooperation in the search for a “safe, orderly and regular” migration.
Migration should never be the result of desperation, but when it is, we must cooperate to respond to the needs of migrants who are in situations of vulnerability and take on the corresponding challenges.”
This not-binding pact respects the sovereignty of States, although it recognizes that this phenomenon cannot be solved in isolation. Likewise, it recognizes migrations as multifactorial, therefore, they cannot be approached by a single sector of the governments.
The countries that opposed the pact were the United States, Austria, Australia, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.
A report by the international news agency AFP points out that other nations asked for more time to make internal consultations, specifically: Belgium, Bulgaria, Estonia, Italy, Slovenia and Switzerland.
Independent legislator Jonathan Prendas, on the other hand, feels this generates multiple doubts because, it would imply that the country covers migrants’ needs such as housing or health, just like it would for a Costa Rican who pays taxes. Therefore, he believes that this could cause problems for the public treasury, especially if the situation of public finances is taken into account, and if another heavy migratory flow arrives in the country.