"Costa Rica Pressured by UN to End Impunity in Indigenous Leader Killings", 21 September 2024

...The United Nations (UN) has called on Costa Rica to take immediate action to ensure that this murder does not go unpunished and to prevent further violence against the integrity of indigenous peoples and their territories.

“The UN regrets that, more than four years after the murder of indigenous rights leader Jerhy Rivera, the judicial proceedings have yet to result in the punishment of the perpetrators and masterminds, as well as compensation for the damage caused by this crime, allowing it to remain in a state of impunity,” the statement read...

This pronouncement follows similar concerns expressed last January regarding the acquittal of those suspected of orchestrating the death of indigenous leader Sergio Rojas, in a case where the court cited significant issues with the intercultural approach taken during the investigation...

The State must also allocate sufficient financial and human resources to ensure culturally appropriate services during judicial proceedings involving indigenous persons, including the provision of interpreters free of charge when necessary or requested. Furthermore, indigenous rights and their worldview should be mandatory subjects in public selection processes for positions within the Judiciary and State Security Forces...