Statement on the persistent violation of the rights of Costa Rican indigenous peoples

2010-2020: A decade of violence and impunity

This August 9th, International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, marks 10 years since "La Arrastrada," an event so named by the indigenous protagonists because it eloquently describes what happened that day and in the early morning of the following day in 2010, in the Legislative Assembly, an experience that constitutes a historical event in the memory of indigenous struggles, as an act of violence and a turning point in their relationship with the Costa Rican State.

“The dragging” is a concrete event, laden with both materiality and symbolism, as it occurred within the facilities of the First Power of the Republic, in the Hall of Benefactors of the Fatherland, where a group of indigenous leaders, at the end of an activity related to that date, decided to remain peacefully in the place, requesting the presence of the legislative authorities and demanding the vote of the draft Law of Autonomous Development of Indigenous Peoples, which at that time had been in the legislative current for 17 years without being voted on.

The response from the congressional authorities could not have been more ironic: they ordered their forced eviction and did not vote on the project in that or the following legislature, only to have it finally discarded without clear justification or any alternative, a few months into the current legislative period (2018-2022).

This experience served as a catalyst, leading to a breakdown in trust among indigenous people in public institutions and political authorities. The immediate consequence of this was the decision by several community leaders and their families to initiate actions to reclaim their rights over their own territories through direct action, using what were known as “recoveries”. These actions began shortly afterwards in Salitre, then in Térraba, Cabagra and Curré, in the canton of Buenos Aires in Puntarenas, and continued later in the territory of China Kichá, belonging to Pérez Zeledón, and recently also by the Maleku, in the canton of Guatuso, in the northern part of the country.

The “dragging,” as an act of aggression, and the disregard for the Autonomous Development Bill—despite the extensive process of construction and consultation that this project underwent among indigenous peoples—add to other violating experiences, such as the incursion carried out by the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) with the PH Diquis project in the territory of Térraba, declared by the Arias Sánchez Administration (2008) as “a project of National Convenience and Public Interest,” without carrying out the due consultation process, which is one of the main rights recognized by Convention 169 on the Rights of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries of the International Labour Organization (ILO-1989), ratified by Costa Rica in 1993.

We must also consider the conflicts and divisions within Indigenous territories, caused by the state's imposition of Indigenous Development Associations (ADIs) as local governments, through the Regulations to the Indigenous Law (1977) and Constitutional Chamber Ruling 14545 of September 29, 2006. The ruling argues that these communities lack a self-governing structure, thus justifying the need for these associations. This clearly conflicts with the right to autonomy established in the aforementioned ILO Convention, an instrument that the Constitutional Chamber has interpreted and applied in different ways over the last 25 years, demonstrating in several of its legal arguments the contradictions of a long-standing integrationist vision in the country..

The failure to comply with the Indigenous Law regarding the return of territories to their rightful owners, the lack of control over land grabbing in the territories, as well as the lack of timely and effective attention from government authorities to the conflict raised by the “recoveries”, The vulnerability and lack of protection of Indigenous people has increased. They have suffered the consequences of a violent backlash from non-Indigenous landowners who, with the support or complicity of a significant sector of the press and local authorities, and by intensively using social media and their political influence, have perpetrated numerous attacks, shootings, death threats, intimidation, obstruction of movement, and the burning of homes and crops. The escalation of violence has culminated in the murders of two of their leaders, Sergio Rojas Ortiz, from the Salitre territory, and Jehry Rivera Rivera, from the Térraba territory. This is in addition to constant death threats, the attack against the Bröran leader Pablo Sibar Sibar, and several assassination attempts against the Bribri leader Minor Ortiz Delgado, among other victims. To date, no one has been arrested for any of these acts. This level of impunity encourages an increase in the frequency and virulence of attacks against these people, which continue even in the context of the current Covid-19 pandemic.

All the incidents, breaches of agreements, aggressions, and violations of various kinds have been denounced time and again by the Indigenous people themselves, through all the channels available to them in the bicentennial republic, which are, in reality, few, including the criminal justice system. These events are documented in repeated reports and institutional notes from the Ombudsman's Office, pronouncements from the Bröran and Ditsö Iriria Ajkönuk Wapa Councils of Elders, the National Indigenous Peoples' Front (FRENAPI), the Observatory of Human Rights and Indigenous Autonomy (ODHAIN), and other non-governmental organizations, such as the South-South Struggle Coordinator and the Forest Peoples Programme. They have also been documented by public universities through various studies and statements, and by the United Nations Office in Costa Rica itself. None of this has found any echo or solution from the responsible authorities. Meanwhile, the conflict deepens and spreads.

The commemoration of the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples in 2020 is stained with blood by the murders of community leaders: two in less than a year (March 2019-February 2020). These crimes took place despite the fact that both leaders were supposedly under the protection of the precautionary measures ordered by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) for Costa Rica since 2015, which undoubtedly increases the outrage and the gravity of these events.

This is the first time this has happened in this country, and it is also the first time in history that Costa Rica has received repeated calls for action from United Nations human rights mechanisms and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), demanding that it remedy this situation of violence and impunity suffered by indigenous communities. All of this constitutes a serious anomaly, given that this is a country with a strong rule of law and a self-proclaimed champion of human rights.

From our position in academia and research, it is our obligation to generate rigorous knowledge that is useful for the communities themselves and for the public institutions involved. We strive to provide solid evidence that clarifies historical injustices. In this way, we seek to contribute to overcoming prejudices and to the full exercise of citizenship, within a democratic context that respects cultural diversity and is open to intercultural dialogue.

Therefore, we affirm that the grave situation in indigenous territories is unjust, unsustainable, and demonstrates a systematic violation of fundamental human rights, as well as state inaction and ineffectiveness. All of this entails very serious responsibilities that must be assumed by all of Costa Rican society, but especially by political, technical, legislative, executive, and judicial authorities, to whom we respectfully and vehemently propose the following:

● That the state of the COVID-19 pandemic that the country is experiencing should not be used as an excuse to unduly delay compliance with institutional obligations or the solutions and attention that indigenous peoples demand, including the urgent real protection and effective attention to these populations, given the current situation of health emergency.

● That the recommendations and specific requests of the Ombudsman's Office and international organizations of the United Nations system and the Organization of American States be addressed with energy and decisiveness in relation to compliance with the obligations and commitments of the Costa Rican State in matters of indigenous rights.

● That political and operational content be given to the implementation of all the rights of indigenous peoples, with special attention to territorial and autonomy rights, which have been historically and systematically violated in Costa Rica.

● That the perpetrators, both material and intellectual, of the murders and attempted murders, as well as the aggressors against indigenous rights defenders, be condemned, and that the families of the victims receive appropriate reparations.

● That the political space and legal security necessary for the autonomous development of Costa Rican indigenous peoples be guaranteed.

● That the decision-making bodies of the indigenous peoples be recognized, whose definition and legitimacy derives from the tradition and free will of the indigenous populations in their own territories.

● That the implementation of all existing legal instruments, guidelines, and institutional procedures be guaranteed, in order to resolve, in accordance with indigenous rights, pending complaints, judicial and administrative processes, as well as the definition of mechanisms at the highest political and community level, which contribute to radically reducing response times.

● That the “regularization” of indigenous territories be carried out in the short term by accelerating the corresponding mechanisms without further prelude, taking the necessary decisions and actions on the scope, execution and accountability of the RTI Plan, and any other way or procedure to resolve the possession of indigenous territories.

To see the full text of this statement, please click here.

August
CLACSO Working Group
The Central American Isthmus: Rethinking the centers
Central American Network O Istmo
Center for Research in Culture and Development, State Distance University (UNED), Costa Rica
Project “Territorial and Interethnic Conflicts in Buenos Aires, Costa Rica”. Advanced Studies, University of Costa Rica (UCR)

This statement expresses the position of the Working Group The Central American Isthmus: Rethinking the Centers and not necessarily that of the centers and institutions that make up the CLACSO international network, its Steering Committee or its Executive Secretariat.