Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) - Costa Rica (Ratification: 1993)

Articles 8–12 of the Convention. Administration of justice. The Committee notes the coordination, training, and awareness raising activities conducted by the Subcommittee on Indigenous Peoples of the judiciary’s Committee on Access to Justice, including the status of the cases brought by Ngöbes deprived of liberty, the dissemination of the content of the practical rules to facilitate access to justice for indigenous peoples, and the training in indigenous areas of expertise. The Government indicates that 115 indigenous persons are deprived of their liberty and that 39 of them were interviewed in order to review their records and determine the need for administrative and legal action to protect their human rights. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken to give effect to these provisions of the Convention.

Article 15. Natural resources. Participation in benefits. The Government indicates in its report that in the context of an environmental impact assessment, the National Technical Secretariat for the Environment (SETENA) is seeking interactive participation, mainly for projects in whose area of interest there are indigenous communities. SETENA states that no projects underway provide for indigenous consultation of any kind. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the consultations held by SETENA for the authorization of projects which may prejudice the interests of indigenous peoples. It also requests the Government to explain how it ensures the participation of the indigenous peoples concerned in the benefits generated by projects.

Article 19. Agrarian programmes. The Government states that existing public policies aim to support and empower indigenous peoples engaged in agricultural projects for production, by providing them with mechanisms for credit and adequate funding, creating and furthering cooperative-type organizations, and promoting production chains. As part of the Programme for the Sustainable Development of the Binational River Sixaola Basin, projects are underway to diversify production in the indigenous lands of the canton of Talamanca, with technical assistance from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the manner in which agricultural developments and programmes have secured for indigenous peoples the resources they need to develop their lands.

Article 20. Conditions of work. The Government indicates that for indigenous, Afro-descendant and migrant peoples, the Labour Inspection Service has opted for an institutional approach to securing effective supervision of their labour rights. The Committee takes note of the information supplied by the Government on inspections in the cantons with the most indigenous men and women workers (Corredores, Coto Brus, Pococí, Siquirres, Talamanca and Tarrazú). A total of 129 inspection visits were conducted in 2014 and 49 in the first quarter of 2015, which benefited 4,801 workers. The Committee requests the Government to continue to report on the impact of measures taken to ensure appropriate labour inspection to monitor the conditions of employment of workers belonging to indigenous peoples.

Articles 21–23. Vocational training, handicrafts and rural industries. The Committee notes the detailed information sent by the Government on the activities of the National Learning Institute (INA). The Government states that the INA has made significant progress in identifying the training needs of indigenous peoples, in consultation with those concerned. The Committee requests the Government to continue to supply information on the activities of the INA. It asks the Government to explain how it ensures that indigenous peoples participate in devising special programmes for training and for promoting their traditional activities.

Article 28. Indigenous languages. According to the Confederation of Workers Rerum Novarum (CTRN), the indigenous languages still spoken in the country are Bribrí, Buglere, Brunca, Cabécar, Malecu, Ngöbe and Teribe, while Chorotega and Huetar are now deemed to be extinct and Boruca and Térraba, obsolete. The Government indicates that support for the country’s rural areas and their students with indigenous cultures and languages has been made a priority of the Ministry of Public Education. The Ministry of Youth and Culture has likewise focused its efforts on the protection of indigenous languages. The Committee notes the projects underway in the south of the country for the advancement of the Bribrí and Brunca cultures and the teaching of Ngöbe culture. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the educational measures taken to protect indigenous languages and promote bilingual education.

Article 32. Cross-border contacts and cooperation. The Committee notes that cooperation between the Government and Panama, the migratory mobility of the Ngöbe and Bogle is ongoing. The Government’s efforts are focused on updating bilateral agreements on labour migration and on setting up a binational technical committee as a means of directing strategic actions to be implemented in areas through which the migration route passes. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on agreements concluded with Nicaragua and Panama on the subjects covered by the Convention.