Open letter to Costa Rica authorities regarding increased aggression towards indigenous Bribri and Brörán

Ladies and Gentlemen

President of the Republic, Carlos Alvarado Quesada

Attorney General of the Republic, Emilia Navas Aparicio

Magistrates, Supreme Court Plenary

Members of Parliament, Special Permanent Commission on Human Rights

Costa Rica has seen an increase in violence against indigenous communities. The Bribri peoples of Salitre and Brörán peoples of Térraba have repeatedly denounced these attacks to national and international bodies, and both peoples were granted Precautionary Measures in 2015, which remain unfulfilled. In light of this, Forest Peoples Programme once again condemns the recent acts of violence and threats against the members of these indigenous communities.

In the last week, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been reports of new attacks and threats against indigenous people. On 21 July 2020, the indigenous Bribri José Enrique Ortiz was threatened by Rodrigo Figueroa Uva, a known aggressor of his family, who has threatened and attempted to kill him on previous occasions. José Enrique said that, “Rodrigo and his brother Eliodoro Figueroa Uva are known trespassers and aggressors of indigenous people in Salitre, who on three occasions have tried to kill my brother-in-law – the indigenous leader, Minor Ortiz – and me. As a result, Minor now lives with a bullet embedded in each leg. In that attack, the aggressors failed to hit me with a bullet.” The same attackers previously burned Minor's chest with a hot cattle prod.

The brothers, who enjoy absolute impunity, along with their father Heleodoro Figueroa Díaz, have on several occasions set fire to indigenous plots of land, stolen the community’s crops and destroyed their homes. For years, the family has violently attacked the Bribri, and as a result, Heleodoro and his son Eliodoro have open legal proceedings in the agrarian and criminal courts. Despite the seriousness of the incidents reported, Eliodoro is still only in the initial stages of investigation.

In addition, no judge has ordered preventive detention, even though the aggressor has violated the alternative protective measures imposed on him, which include not disturbing or intimidating his victims. Given this sustained impunity and certainty of repetition, it is no surprise that the aggressors continue to attack the Bribri. The State's inability – or lack of political will – to promptly and effectively punish the members of the Figueroa Díaz/Uva family, make it complicit in the violation of the life and physical integrity of the Bribri people in Salitre.

Just days after José Enrique was threatened, on July 27, there were reports of a violent invasion by Hilda Granados, her partner and daughter, who brought heavy machinery into recovered land in Crun Shurín (Tierra de Venados), in Térraba. The invaders brought in a tractor, destroyed the vegetation and removed the soil. They also cut down several trees and other vegetation on the banks of the Rio Grande in Térraba, clearing approximately half a hectare – which could be described as an environmental disaster. The land directly affected is that of the Brörán Vinicio Navas Nájera; the invasion and deforestation occurred in the section adjacent to the Térraba River, 50 metres north of the bridge over the Escuadra River.

The claimants from the Brörán community of Crun Shurín (beneficiaries of the IACHR's Precautionary Measures, and some of the Petitioners in Case 14.026 against Costa Rica) were present in the invaded ancestral land, and they risked their health and lives by claiming their rights and protecting the territory during the pandemic. Upon arrival at the site, they were again attacked and threatened by the trespassers. Once again, the indigenous rights defender, Pablo Sibar, received violent death threats by one of the trespassers who, between insults and acts of violence, told Pablo that he was going to kill him, and that for doing so he was guaranteed a reward.

On this occasion, as in all violent invasions suffered by the indigenous people, the Brörán had to run the risk of entering the land, contacting the security agents and government authorities, and requesting the removal of the invaders. Finally, and without making any arrests despite the many flagrant crimes committed (including environmental crimes), the local police simply negotiated the departure of the trespassers, and have so far refused to release the Police Report to the indigenous defenders, thus preventing them from identifying the aggressor. We would like to highlight the existence of threats and damage to property and the environment, all crimes that were not recognised in their seriousness by the police authorities when they facilitated the aggressors' exit with impunity.

Finally, there have been constant reports of aggressions against the Maleku people of Guatuso and the Cabécar people of China Kichá. Last week, the trespassers made threats there stating that "in 10 days, there will be an incident."

These indigenous communities, beneficiaries since 2015 of unfulfilled Precautionary Measure MC 321/12, have faced increasing violence, including the murder of two of their leaders, Sergio Rojas and Jehry Rivera. Many community members – including women and children – have suffered threats, attacks, injuries; have survived murder attempts; and have suffered the terror of having their lands burned.

On July 8, the Bribri of Salitre and the Brörán of Térraba, accompanied by their legal representatives, participated in a working meeting with the IACHR and the Costa Rican State. Given the increase in threats and violence, they reiterated the need for the IACHR to pronounce itself on the request made in 2018 so that those beneficiaries, who are currently at profound risk, may have the protection of Provisional Measures granted by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

Forest Peoples Programme condemns all acts of violence against members of indigenous communities, and calls for the following:

• The State and the International Community to condemn these acts.
• The State authorities to fulfil their duty to initiate, ex officio and without delay, a serious, impartial, independent and effective investigation into the incidents reported here.
• The adoption of measures to address the underlying causes of this violence, including: the adoption by the State of strategies to prevent new incursions (such as the aforementioned invasion of Crun Shurín), and rapid and effective eviction strategies that involve ensuring the integrity of the people who have benefited from the violence, as well as their ancestral property.
• The State to proceed with and execute the recuperation/titling of all the territories recovered by the indigenous people, according to the commitment by the State following the assassination of the leader and beneficiary Jehry Rivera.
• The State to guarantee the supply of water and electricity to the beneficiaries in such properties, in accordance with their previous requests.
• The State of Costa Rica to meet its obligation to guarantee the life, integrity and rights of the Indigenous Peoples. In particular, it should comply with the measures deriving from MC 321/12.

Cordially,

James Whitehead

Director, Forest Peoples Programme

CC:

UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders

UN Special Rapporteur on Racism

UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights