Costa Rica - The Governments of Costa Rica and Panama last week (17/09) signed in San Jose a ground-breaking agreement to protect the labor rights for migrants, including indigenous populations.

The Costa Rican and Panamanian Labour Ministers who signed the agreement, Víctor Morales and Ernesto Carles, both thanked the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for facilitating the agreement, notably through the dialogue that is part of the Joint Program to Improve the Human Security of Ngöbe and Buglé Temporary Migrants.

This agreement aims to enhance collaboration between the two governments on dignified, orderly, humane and safe labor migration management, including through monitoring working conditions and ensuring access to services such as health, education and social security. The approach builds on existing national legislation and international agreements.

A bilateral technical committee will be established to implement the agreement by developing policies, projects and information exchange to fight human trafficking and to ensure the appropriate treatment of labour migrants, with special attention to those in irregular conditions.

The agreement was signed at the well-attended opening of the Ordinary Meeting of the Council of Labor Ministers from Central America and the Dominican Republic, at which IOM’s Marcelo Pisani, Regional Director for Central America, North America and the Caribbean, gave key note remarks congratulating the ministers and emphasizing the importance of safeguarding migrants’ rights through integrated migration management.  Representatives from the indigenous Ngäbe and Buglé community were in attendance, as was Manuel Salazar, Regional Director of the International Labour Organization.

IOM’s work to facilitate the agreement, noted by the Panamanian and Costa Rican Labor Ministers, has been part of IOM’s regional strategy to strengthen institutional capacity in promoting effective migration governance, including protection frameworks.

For further information please contact: Roeland de Wilde, IOM Costa Rica, Email: rdewilde@iom.int