An agreement between the Bar Association of Costa Rica, together with the UN Refugee Agency, will provide legal advice to those who flee their country and arrive in Costa Rica to seek refuge as of August.
According to the institutions, the objective is to improve access to justice for refugees or those who are in the application process. The offices in charge of this service will be the Social Defenders of the Association. For now, the consultations can be done in the Defensorías located in Pavas, Ciudad Neily, and Liberia.
Now we will not only deal with cases of conflict within the national territory such as violence against women, criminal issues and others, but we will be an important part of the process for refugees live in the country. Costa Rica will continue to be at the forefront of humanitarian assistance as always,”
said Juan Luis León, president of the Association.
As part of the actions in the framework of this service, the association created a commission called “Commission of Migrants and Refugees”. In addition, during July, UNHCR and the Association will enter a stage of training in order to learn more about the refugee population.
During the last weeks, the number of people seeking refuge in Costa Rica has grown, because they are persecuted or in danger in their home country. The figure with the highest growth has been that of Nicaragua, due to the internal crisis that is experienced in this country.
According to data from the Directorate of Migration and Immigration (DGME), between January and March this year, 22 people applied for refuge in Costa Rica. In April, the number reached 20, and in May it rose to 88. However, only in the first weeks of June, the DGME received 1,280 of these requests.