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 Published Monday, June 29, 2020 Nationality
process to 3,000
Ngäbe indigenous people By the A.M. Costa Rica staff About 3,000 Ngäbe indigenous people living on the border area between Costa Rica and Panama could obtain permanent residence or Costa Rican nationality, after years of living and working in Costa Rica, announced the Ministry of Justice. According to the ministry, this would be possible thanks to the development of talks between representatives of this tribe with Costa Rican authorities, such as the General Directorate of Migration, among other institutions. In Costa Rica, a dialogue process is being carried out to receive information from the indigenous population for the implementation of the law on indigenous people at the borders. Law No. 9710 called "Protection of the Development of the Costa Rican Nationality of the Cross-Border Indigenous Person" enforced in October 2019, has the goal to provide the cross-border indigenous person full access to their right to obtain a Costa Rican nationality. According to the ministry, the meetings with members of the indigenous people began in April. In July, the Ngäbe representatives will hold a session with the Technical Unit for Indigenous Consultation (UTCI) and representatives from other institutions. "Our role is to accompany the process so that the agreements that the parties are building in this dialogue are within the principles of legality and that respect for the rights of indigenous peoples is guaranteed," said Kathy Piedra Corella, representative of UTCI. "It is not that the indigenous people say whether they are approved or not, but rather that it is built on dialogue so that the institutions understand the particular requirements of the indigenous populations." In the case of the members of the Ngäbe tribe of Sixaola, unlike other indigenous peoples in the country, they do not have an indigenous territory, said the ministry. According to data from the National Census of the National Statistics Institute, in 2011 there were 9,543 Ngäbe indigenous people in Costa Rica, of which 3,654 live within one of the five protected indigenous territories destined for this tribe. -------------------------- How should the Panamanian authorities support the nationalization of indigenous tribes living between its border with Costa Rica? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com |
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