The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) believes that the people who live in the Temporary Care Center for Migrants (CATEM), located in La Cruz de Guanacaste, live in precarious conditions. This was indicated by the agency in a report after a mission carried out in the country.
Staff of the IACHR visited Costa Rica from October 14th to 18th to observe the situation of Nicaraguans, who had to flee their country due to the repression of Daniel Ortega’s government. This Thursday the first findings of the visit were published, although it is not the official report.
The IACHR was able to verify the existence of deficiencies in the tents for the people living there, people who are permanently exposed to the weather,”
states the document. Exposure to animals such as rodents and snakes, lack of sheets and spaces for their coexistence are also mentioned.
In addition, those who are housed indicated that they are victims of discrimination and xenophobia, as well as insecurity, because they wear a wristband that easily identifies them as residents of the CATEM.
The same document highlights the good conditions in which migrant children and teenagers live in the shelter of the National Board of Children (PANI).
The international team conducted 259 interviews with Nicaraguans who had sought refuge in Costa Rica. The internal crisis in Nicaragua has left between 300 and 500 dead.
Figures from the IACHR, which match those of the General Directorate of Immigration and Foreigners (DGME), indicate that 13,697 Nicaraguans have formalized their refuge application through an interview.
The Director of Immigration, Raquel Vargas, assured that the two authorized centers – one in the north and the other in the south- have the capacity to assist people in health, food, and more. The hierarch highlighted the creation of the National Plan for Attention to Migrant Flows.