Eight Indigenous Peoples live in Costa Rica: the Huetar, Maleku, Bribri, Cabécar, Brunka, Ngäbe, Bröran, and Chorotega, accounting for 2.4% of the population. According to the 2010 National Census, a little over 100,000 people identify as Indigenous.
Although almost 7% of the national territory (3,344 km²) is notionally covered by 24 Indigenous territories, this is simply the area stated in the decrees establishing them as a large proportion have been invaded by non-Indigenous occupants. A total of 52.3% of the Bribri area has been invaded in Kekoldi, 53.1% of the Brunca territory in Boruca, 56.4% of the Teribe people’s territory in Térraba, 58.7% of the Maleku people’s land in Guatuso and 88.4% in Zapatón, Huetar territory.[1]
In a country where nearly 20% of the population lives below the poverty line this percentage reaches alarming levels among the Indigenous Peoples: Cabécar 94.3%; Ngäbe 87%; Bröran 85.0%; Bribri 70.8%; Brunka 60.7%; Maleku 44.3%; Chorotega 35.5% and Huetar 34.2%.[2]
Costa Rica ratified ILO Convention 169 in 1993 and added recognition of its multicultural nature to the Political Constitution of the Republic. Even so, the 2022 report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples indicates that: “Although article 1 of the Constitution, amended in 2015, stipulates that Costa Rica is a multi-ethnic and multicultural State, it does not recognize the existence of the indigenous peoples.” [3]
Indigenous Law 6172 of 1977 recognized the traditional Indigenous organizations and established the legal status of Indigenous Peoples, the mechanisms to prevent appropriation of their land by non-Indigenous persons, and the procedures and funds for expropriation and compensation. This law has, however, never been implemented. On the contrary, the State has tolerated the invasion and dispossession of Indigenous lands by local landowners and politicians. Indigenous organizations have been demanding land titling for decades. The slow pace of the studies and the lack of political will to carry out the titling and evict squatters led to the emergence of a land recovery movement that has been evicting squatters since 2011.
A subsequent regulation imposed a form completely alien to their traditional power structures on the Indigenous Peoples, the “Indigenous Integral Development Association” or ADII, under the supervision of the National Directorate for Community Development, an entity that has the capacity to understand neither Indigenous rights nor an intercultural approach. For the Special Rapporteur, since they are: “imposed State institutions that report to the executive branch, [they] are not suited to guaranteeing representation for indigenous peoples, which have their own system of government”. [4]
Among the Indigenous organizations that enjoy national and regional legitimacy and act in defence of their rights are the Mesa Nacional Indígena de Costa Rica, the Frente Nacional de Pueblos Indígenas (FRENAPI), the Red Indígena Bribri-Cabécar, the Asociación Ngäbe del Pacífico, the Asociación Regional Aborigen del Dikes, the Foro Nacional de Mujeres Indígenas and the Movimiento Indígena Interuniversitario.
The draft Law on the Autonomous Development of Indigenous Peoples was published in the Official Gazette in 1994.[5] The year 2022 therefore marked 28 years during which Parliament has refused to discuss it and the executive branch has failed to give it priority. There is still strong racist reticence and fierce opposition from the private sector and conservative political parties who believe it to be a risk to extractive investments.
Two rulings (29 June and 9 October) of the Constitutional Chamber in 2022 rejected unconstitutionality actions brought against the Indigenous Law[7] and its Article 3 in 2022:
Indigenous reserves are inalienable and imprescriptible, non-transferable and exclusive to the Indigenous communities that inhabit them. Non-Indigenous persons may not rent, lease, purchase or in any other way acquire land or plots within these reserves. Indigenous people may only negotiate their lands with other Indigenous people. Any transfer or negotiation of land or land improvements on Indigenous reservations between Indigenous people and non-Indigenous shall be absolutely null and void, with all the consequences of the case (Article 3).
The Constitutional Chamber indicated that persons who acquired land within Indigenous territories after the Indigenous Law (1977) came into force had acted in bad faith and the acquisition was therefore null and void. With this second ruling:
(...) it is reaffirmed that the action of the peoples who are exercising justice by their own hand, recovering their land in Saka Duwë Senaglo, Seglö Kaskä ä, Kono Jú, San Andrés, Crun Shurin, Yuwi Senaglo and Kelpego is correct. Although the ruling is not the end of this process, it is a concrete sign that the land and the rights of the native peoples, denied for centuries, can be recovered.[8]
The Special Rapporteur presented an insightful report[10] on the situation of the country’s Indigenous Peoples in which he examined the human rights violations that limit their access to justice, security and a dignified life. His main concerns are given in the summary:
It is imperative that the Government give priority to addressing structural problems, in particular by guaranteeing the indigenous peoples’ rights to their lands, territories and natural resources, to respect for their own authorities, to proper operationalization of consultations and to realization of their economic, social and cultural rights. The Special Rapporteur is concerned about the structural racism that pervades the judiciary, especially at the local level, the lack of effective measures to protect human rights defenders and the impunity for crimes committed against land defenders.
The report describes the context of vulnerability in which many Indigenous communities survive: “There is evidence of government initiatives and erratic actions on the part of the Costa Rican state in implementing them.” [11] For example, “Although the Special Rapporteur emphasizes the importance of the inclusion, for the first time, of the ethnic self-identification rubric in the 2011 census, he finds it regrettable that the disaggregated statistical data on indigenous peoples required to set social and economic policies relevant for meeting those peoples’ specific needs are lacking.”[12]
The Rapporteur stated his concern at allegations of serious violations of the rights of Indigenous Peoples on their territories.[13] He deplored the fact that “much indigenous territory remains in the hands of non-Indigenous persons” and that this has contributed to the loss of “their identity, knowledge, language and food sovereignty”.[14] He stressed the State’s ineffectiveness, which has carried out no “effective regularization” of the lands and that[15] “to date no restitution [of lands] has taken place” through the National Plan for the Recovery of Indigenous Lands (2016-2026).[16]
In terms of conservation and protected areas, despite the approval of a consultation mechanism in 2018, there is still a lack of “Indigenous peoples’ […] participation in the drawing up of management plans that affect their collective rights”.[17] Barriers persist for Indigenous people to access traditional ancestral fishing and hunting sites located within protected areas that are superimposed on the Maleku, Bribri, Cabécar and Boruca territories, and access to sacred sites is prohibited.[18] The Rapporteur was also concerned about the climate of violence and intimidation towards people who defend their rights.[19] He denounced the ongoing impunity for murders of territorial defenders, Sergio Rojas and Jehry Rivera, and the fact that “the State has not connected the murder of the two leaders with the conflict over the restitution of indigenous lands and that none of the culprits have been sentenced”.[20] In this regard, the Costa Rican state's decision not to ratify the Escazú Agreement[21] sent a message that impunity is not close to being a thing of the past any time soon in the country.[22]
The United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Ilze Brands Kehris, expressed her concern for the ancestral territories of Indigenous Peoples that are illegally occupied by non-Indigenous persons and urged the Costa Rican government to “accelerate efforts towards full land restitution, in accordance with the recent decision of the Constitutional Court”.[24]
For the Indigenous Peoples of Costa Rica, dispossession of their territory has meant that large population groups have been forced onto the least fertile lands, lands over which they have never had legal security. It has also meant that those who appropriated the Indigenous lands have deforested them and turned them over to cattle ranching and industrial crops, such as banana and pineapple. Half of the territories are in the hands of landowners who have transformed complex forest ecosystems into pastureland. The main cause of ecosystem degradation is livestock farming, which covers some 20% of the country's surface area.[25] The Indigenous Peoples have had to adapt their traditional livelihoods and their relationships with the environment, subsequently losing the balance for which they are well known. The long-term consequences of this are poverty, social exclusion and increased vulnerability to climate change. In Costa Rica, 5,844 km2 of land and sea are protected and well conserved by Indigenous Peoples. Within the Indigenous territories there are 1,728 km2 of forests in protected areas, including refuges, national parks and three UNESCO World Heritage sites.[26]
Action-research on community agency and social mapping in the Maleku territory, carried out in collaboration with elders and leaders, has revealed that only “29% of the territory is in Maleku possession”. It has also highlighted the serious nature of the socio-environmental impact of land grabbing. The sacred site of Tójifa facára, a cosmological reference in Maleku ancestral territoriality, comprises the headwaters and waterfall of the Sol River. “The socio-spatial analysis shows four properties registered by non-Indigenous people and illegally occupying (...) the lands where the springs and the respective areas for protecting the source of the Maleku community aqueduct are located; two properties are even occupied by private companies.” This space, highly sensitive and strategic for the source's water recharge and for Maleku culture, is largely covered by pastureland for the settlers’ cattle ranching activities. This results in environmental degradation and contamination of this sacred Maleku site.[27]
2022 was an important year for the recognition of territorial rights and the Indigenous land recovery movement has applauded the rulings of the Constitutional Chamber, as well as the Rapporteur's report. And yet the absence of dialogue between Rodrigo Chaves’ government and the Indigenous movement since the inauguration of the new government in May is worrying. It is striking that the president has publicly questioned ethnic self-identification and Indigenous rights to self-determination, alleging that landowners and hotel companies located in Indigenous territories may have vested rights and insinuating that Indigenous land recovery campaigns instigate violence.[28] The presidential directive creating a Technical Committee for the attention of the Indigenous population,[29] issued on International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, has been described by the movement as a smokescreen to hide the ineffectiveness of the agrarian institutions. At the first meeting of the Technical Committee in Buenos Aires, the person allegedly responsible for the death of Jehry Rivas appeared, publicly confessed his responsibility and was applauded by the group of participants.[30]
In the meantime, structural issues remain unresolved and land grabbers continue to act with impunity without the State taking any steps to resolve this problem. The trial of Jehry Rivera's alleged killer begins on 23 January 2023.
Anthropologist and geographer Carlos Camacho Nassar passed away suddenly on 13 June 2022.
Carlos was a close friend of IWGIA, with a deep knowledge of human rights and Indigenous land rights. He supported Indigenous governance processes across almost all of Latin America and published some highly important texts on Indigenous Peoples’ right to self-determination and territorial governance. He was for many years also in charge of producing the Costa Rican section of The Indigenous World.
IWGIA would like to pay tribute to our colleague and friend, Carlos, for all that he has left us.
Bettina Durocher is an agricultural engineer with a Master's degree in rural development and a Doctorate in education and pedagogical mediation. She has conducted and published studies on Indigenous agroforestry, socio-environmental conflicts, women's agrarian rights and women's and Indigenous knowledge of food security. She works as a freelance researcher and consultant specializing in climate resilience with gender equality and interculturalism in humanitarian and international development programmes. Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Carlos Camacho Nassar (14 February 1953 - 13 June 2022) was an anthropologist and geographer. He conducted studies on Indigenous rights, particularly territorial issues and their associated conflicts in South America, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. In addition, he produced several publications on the subject.
This article is part of the 37th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. The photo above is of an Indigenous person in Tanzania. This photo was taken by Geneviève Rose, and is the cover of the Indigenous World 2023 where this article is featured. Find the Indigenous World 2023 in full here.
Notes and references
[1] Calí Tzay, Francisco. Report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, José Francisco Calí Tzay, on his visit to Costa Rica in December 2021. Presented at the United Nations General Assembly on 28 September 2022 (p.3). Available at: https://undocs.org/Home/Mobile?FinalSymbol=A%2FHRC%2F51%2F28%2FAdd.1&Language=E&DeviceType=Desktop&LangRequested=False
[2] Calí Tzay, Francisco. End of mission statement by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, Francisco Calí Tzay at the conclusion of his visit to Costa Rica. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 17 December 2021. Available at: https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements/2021/12/end-mission-statement-united-nations-special-rapporteur-rights-indigenous
[3] Calí Tzay, Francisco. 2022. Op. cit., p.3.
[4] Ibidem, p.5.
[5] Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Costa Rica. Law on the Autonomous Development of Indigenous Peoples (File No. 14,352). 2010. Available at: http://proyectos.conare.ac.cr/asamblea/14352%203M137.pdf
[6] Duran Castro, Osvaldo. “Un fallo que honra la vida de Sergio Rojas Ortiz”. Semanario Universidad, 24 October 2022. Available at: https://semanariouniversidad.com/opinion/un-fallo-que-honra-la-vida-de-sergio-rojas-ortiz/
Pomareda García, Fabiola. “Sala IV ratifica nulidad de compra de tierras por personas ajenas a la comunidad si se hizo después de la ley de 1977”. Semanario Universidad, 20 October 2022. Available at: https://semanariouniversidad.com/pais/sala-iv-ratifica-que-compra-de-tierras-indigenas-por-parte-de-no-indigenas-es-nula-si-se-hizo-despues-de-promulgada-la-ley-indigena/#:~:text=Pa%C3%ADs%20Justice-,Sala%20IV%20ratifica%20nulidad%20de%20compraraza%20de%20de%20de%20tierras%20in
[7] Indigenous Law No. 6172. 1977. http://www.asamblea.go.cr/sd/SiteAssets/Lists/Consultas%20Biblioteca/EditForm/Ley%20Ind%C3%ADgena%206172.pdf
[8] Duran Castro, Osvaldo. Op. cit.
[9] United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner. Acting High Commissioner: Addressing the Legacies of Colonialism Can Contribute to Overcoming Inequalities Within and Among States and Sustainable Development Challenges in Twenty-First Century. Press release issued on 28 September 2022. Available at: https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/09/acting-high-commissioner-addressing-legacies-colonialism-can-contribute
[10] Calí Tzay, Francisco. 2022. Op. Cit.
[11] Boeglin, Nicolas. Derechos de los pueblos indígenas: informe del Relator Especial de Naciones Unidas exhibe graves y persistentes lagunas en Costa Rica. 1 October 2022. Available at: https://www.diarioconstitucional.cl/2022/10/01/derecho-de-los-pueblos-indigenas-informe-del-relator-especial-de-naciones-unidas-exhibe-graves-y-persistentes-lagunas-en-costa-rica-por-nicolas-boeglin/
Boeglin, Nicolas. “Los derechos de los pueblos indígenas en Costa Rica a la luz del reciente informe del Relator Especial de Naciones Unidas”. Rule of Law Agenda. 20 December 2022. Available at: https://agendaestadodederecho.com/los-derechos-de-los-pueblos-indigenas-en-costa-rica-a-la-luz-del-reciente-informe-del-relator-especial-de-naciones-unidas/
[12] Calí Tzay, Francisco. 2022. Op. cit., p.3. cited by Boeglin, Nicolas (2022).
[13] See Camacho Nassar, Carlos. “Costa Rica”. In D. Mamo (Ed.), The Indigenous World 2020 (pp. 387-395). Copenhagen. IWGIA, International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs, 2020. Available at: https://iwgia.org/en/costa-rica/3619-iw-2020-costa-rica.html
See also Camacho Nassar, Carlos. “Costa Rica”. In D. Mamo (Ed.), The Indigenous World 2021 (pp. 370-378). Copenhagen. IWGIA, International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs, 2021. Available at: https://iwgia.org/en/costa-rica/4213-iw-2021-costa-rica.html &
Camacho Nassar, Carlos and Durocher, Bettina. “Costa Rica”. In D. Mamo (Ed.), The Indigenous World 2022 (pp. 382-390). Copenhagen. IWGIA, International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs. Available at: https://iwgia.org/en/costa-rica/4666-iw-2022-costa-rica.html
[14] Calí Tzay, Francisco. 2022. Op. cit., p.7.
[15] National Plan for the Recovery of Indigenous Lands 2016-2026.
[16] Calí Tzay, Francisco. 2022. Op. cit., p.7 and Martínez, Alonso. “Autoridades no tienen claridad de cuando finalizara el plan de recuperación de territorios indígenas”. Delfino. 20 April 2022. Available at: https://delfino.cr/2022/04/autoridades-no-tienen-claridad-de-cuando-finalizara-el-plan-de-recuperacion-de-territorios-indigenas
[17] Calí Tzay, Francisco. 2022. Op. cit., p.10.
[18] Ibid.
[19] Calí Tzay, Francisco. 2022. Op. cit., p.10-11. And pers. comm. from Pablo Sibar, Bröran leader, 3 January 2023.
[20] Calí Tzay, Francisco. 2022. Op. cit., p.10
[21] Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean. Available at: https://www.cepal.org/en/escazuagreement
This regional treaty, adopted in Costa Rica in 2018, proposes encouraging States to provide protection mechanisms for environmental defenders.
[22] Brown, Kimberley. “We go in and take indigenous land back from cattle ranchers” Q&A with activist Pablo Sibar”. Mongabay Series: Indigenous Peoples and Conservation, Land Rights and Extractives. Mongabay. 21 November 2022. Available at: https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/we-go-in-and-take-indigenous-land-back-from-cattle-ranchers-qa-with-activist-pablo-sibar/
[23] Statement by Ilze Brands Kehris, United Nations Assistant Secretary- General for Human Rights, at the end of her official visit to Costa Rica (12-12-2022). Available at: https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2022/12/statement-un-assistant-secretary-general-human-rights-ilze-brands
[24] Herrera, Manuel. “Acelerar esfuerzos para restitución de tierras a indígenas insta la ONU a Costa Rica”. AmeliaRueda.com, 12 December 2022. Available at: https://ameliarueda.com/nota/restitucion-tierras-territorios-originarios-ONU-noticias-costa-rica
[25] UNREDD Programme. “Costa Rica. How access to finance supports sustainable cattle ranching." Quoted by Brown, Kimberley. Op. cit. Available at: https://www.un-redd.org/multi-media-stories/how-access-finance-supports-sustainable-cattle-ranching-costa-rica
[26] Calí Tzay, Francisco. 2022. Op. cit., p.10.
[27] Solís Aguilar, David and Gutiérrez Arguedas, Alberto (2022). “Agenciamientos comunitarios por los derechos territoriales Maya Ixil en Guatemala y Maleku en Costa Rica”. 1st ed. City of Buenos Aires, Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO). Available at: https://www.clacso.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/V2-Recuperacion-con-igualdad-de-genero-05-Costa-Rica.pdf
[28] Vecinos de China Kicha. “Esto dice el gobierno...!”. Facebook, 14 December 2022 https://www.facebook.com/100065010503819/posts/pfbid02sD3UktEe5L8ZuKY5wZT7UzKKdcpFTSC4ap3GRteRWieYakbakyrAPa6WLmZGR8rcl/?mibextid=Nif5oz
[29] Guideline No. 003-MJP: Creación y declaración de interés público de mesa técnica interinstitucional para la construcción de ruta de trabajo y la atención de la población indígena 2022-2026. Presidency and Ministry of Justice and Peace. 9 August 2022. https://www.mideplan.go.cr/directrices
[30] Pomareda García, Fabiola. “Presunto asesino de indígena Jerhy Rivera confiesa el asesinato en actividad oficial en Buenos Aires, donde lo aplauden y vitorean”. Semanario Universidad, 18 August 2022. Available at: https://semanariouniversidad.com/pais/presunto-asesino-de-indigena-jerhy-rivera-confiesa-el-asesinato-en-actividad-oficial-en-buenos-aires-donde-lo-aplauden-y-vitorean/
Tags: Global governance, Human rights