Costa Rica - A mother feels the anguish of not being able to feed her children; a person lives in fear of physical abuse from their partner; a worker does not know his rights and feels vulnerable at the workplace.   These are just a few of the real life situations encountered on a daily basis by migrants who think they cannot reach out to Costa Rica’s justice system, because they lack the proper documents due to their irregular status in the country.

Working with the Costa Rican justice system and the National Commission for Improved Justice Management (CONAMAJ by its Spanish acronym), IOM Costa Rica has produced a radio information campaign to advise migrants of their right to come forward and seek protection from the authorities, regardless of their migratory status.

The messages created for the radio campaign spell out the guidelines adopted by the Superior Council of the Judiciary whereby any person living in Costa Rica, regardless of their migratory status, has the right to seek protection from the judicial authorities.

The guidelines refer to the most frequently reported violations, which include non-payment of child support; domestic violence; protection for victims of crimes and witnesses; filing formal complaints for all types of crimes; and violations in the workplace.

“There is large segment of the migrant and refugee population in the country that does not report crimes or reach out to the authorities for protection, either due to fear or simply for lack of knowledge about their rights,” said IOM Costa Rica project coordinator Marcela Martino.

The campaign’s messages will air daily for the next two months on private and public radio stations and will include a free hotline number (800-800-3000) where people can call to discuss issues and file formal complaints with the authorities.

“We are hoping that the campaign will put an end to any fears that migrants and refugees may have when they need to reach out to the judicial authorities,” notes Martino.

According to official figures, 8.97 per cent (385,899 people) of Costa Rica’s population is foreign born.  The vast majority (75 per cent) are from neighboring Nicaragua.   Other large groups include 4 per cent from Colombia, 4 per cent from the United States, and 3 per cent from Panama.

Some 18 per cent of migrants are employed in agriculture, cattle breeding, forestry and fishing; 16.5 per cent are employed in the service sector; and 11 per cent are employed in manufacturing and construction.  Women make up the vast majority of migrants working in domestic service.

The radio campaign is part of a regional project IOM Protection and Assistance to Vulnerable Migrants in Mesoamerica, funded by the US State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM).

For more information, please contact

Carolina Urcuyo
IOM Costa Rica
Email: curcuyo@iom.int
Tel: 506 2212 5308