UN Rapporteur calls for urgent action from Costa Rica to eradicate labor slavery

Contemporary forms of slavery are a reality in various sectors of the Costa Rican economy and although the country has made progress to eliminate them, great challenges still persist that must be faced with the greatest urgency.

This was highlighted by Tomoya Obokata, UN special rapporteur* on contemporary forms of slavery, after his official visit to Costa Rica from November 16 to 25, 2022.

Obokata said in his end of mission statement that to eradicate labor slavery, Costa Rica must strengthen its regulatory frameworks, improve labor inspection, guarantee access to justice for victims, and ensure the transition of informal workers to the formal economy.

During the visit, the expert examined cases of labor exploitation, forced or bonded labor in various sectors of the economy such as agriculture, agribusiness, tourism, manufacturing, and domestic work. To do so, he held various meetings in the capital and traveled to remote rural communities.

The rapporteur met and heard from representatives of the government, civil society organizations, communities, unions, the private sector, representatives of the UN and the Inter-American Human Rights System, international organizations, and members of the diplomatic community, among others.

The advances of Costa Rica

The expert highlighted among the positive aspects of Costa Rica, the existence of legal frameworks applicable to contemporary forms of slavery, which incorporate some of the main international instruments on human and labor rights.

Obokata also said that he was able to observe an improvement in assistance and support for victims of contemporary forms of slaveryFor example, Law No. 9095 against Trafficking in Persons obliges the relevant government departments to establish a framework for protection and assistance.

It indicated that in order to effectively monitor the application of laws and policies related to child labor, Costa Rica established the National Steering Committee for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labor and the Protection of Adolescent Workers and that it recently approved the “Vulnerability Index Child Labor” prepared jointly with the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

the rapporteur highlighted Costa Rica’s efforts to eliminate child labor and sexual exploitation. He recognized as positive that the minimum age for work has been set at 15 years, and that the Government periodically updates a list of dangerous jobs that are prohibited for those under 18 years of age.

Also that the age of compulsory education has been raised to 17, which is higher than in other jurisdictions.

The urgent challenges of Costa Rica

The rapporteur made it clear that while the country has made progress, it still must face great challenges to completely eradicate modern forms of slavery.

He pointed out the urgency of strengthening regulatory frameworks with stronger penalties, since the maximum for crimes such as human trafficking and forced labor is 10 years in prison. He also said that the enforcement of existing legislation is weak, and that the rate of prosecution and punishment of perpetrators of contemporary forms of slavery is too short.

Obokata also said he was concerned about the large number of interlocutors who during his mission pointed out that the labor inspection in Costa Rica is ineffective, bureaucratic and lacks transparency, particularly in the informal economy.

He stated that he found out that the fines imposed are not high enough to deter employers. He also highlighted the possible existence of collusion cases in which employers are informed that there will be an inspection so that they can prepare and hide bad practices.

Their report further concluded that there is ample room to improve the identification and protection of victims. He indicated that access to justice and remedies for victims are limited. The lack of allocation of resources by the authorities and the lack of knowledge among the victims about their rights are some of the main reasons for this.

Obokata said that forced labor persists in various productive sectors of the countrysuch as agriculture and domestic work. As an example, he cited that in many plantations, the wages of workers are based on units of production. Although employers generally do not set a minimum daily goal, this encourages workers to work long hours, which can be as long as 12-15 a day.

Wages and long working hours can be seen in other sectors, such as construction, services, transportation, and security.

In its opening statement, Obokata listed more than 30 recommendations for all sectors of the country. Among them are:

• Strengthen legislative frameworks on contemporary forms of slavery and labor law violations
• Improve labor inspection by allocating sufficient human and financial resources and granting additional powers, such as imposing on-site sanctions
• Guarantee access to justice and remedies for all victims without discrimination of any kind
• Strengthen an early warning system to identify children at risk of labor and sexual exploitation in schools
• Ensure that employers contribute to social security by strengthening the monitoring mechanism, and punish them with proportionate sanctions in case of violation
• Guarantee the rights of all migrant workers without discrimination
• Regularize the immigration status of irregular workers so that they can pay adequate taxes and social security contributions and have access to public services without discrimination
• Addressing the root causes of contemporary forms of slavery, such as poverty, inequality and discrimination, through legislative and other means

Obokata thanked the Government of Costa Rica for extending the invitation and cooperation received during the mission, which allowed him to engage in an “open, frank and constructive dialogue during his visit.”

The UN Rapporteur shared his preliminary observations at a press conference at the UN House, Costa Rica and will present his final report to the Human Rights Council in September 2023.

* The special rapporteurs and independent experts are part of 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 for the independent investigative and monitoring mechanisms established by the Council to address specific country situations or thematic issues around the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff