Costa Rica: UN human rights expert visits to assess international solidarity

GENEVA (18 February 2022) – The UN Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity, Obiora C. Okafor, will carry out an official visit to Costa Rica from 21 February to 2 March 2022.

“I will assess Costa Rica’s engagement with human rights-based international solidarity, to determine how the State works with other States and civil society around the world to address global challenges such as climate change, response to the COVID pandemic, as well as migration and asylum,” Okafor said.

“The visit presents an opportunity to have an open exchange with the government, the UN and Inter-American systems and other interested parties in Costa Rica for advancing human rights-based international solidarity and show examples of good practices in the region,” Okafor said.

The Independent Expert will hold a press conference to present his preliminary observations on 2 March 2022, at 11:30 a.m. local time at the Intercontinental Hotel San José, Escazu, San José, Costa Rica. Access to the press conference will be limited to accredited journalists.

Okafor will present a report with his conclusions and recommendations of this visit to the Human Rights Council in Geneva in June 2023.

ENDS

Mr. Obiora C. Okafor (Nigeria) was appointed by the Human Rights Council as the Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity in June 2017. He is the Edward B. Burling Chair in International Law and Institutions at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University in Washington, DC, USA. He is also a former Chairperson of the UN Human Rights Council Advisory.

The Independent Experts are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent of any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

UN Human Rights, Country Page — Costa Rica