The information that follows adds to that provided in CRI37992.E of 26 April 2002, CRI37558.E of 31 July 2001 and earlier Responses.

Please find attached a 31 August 2001 article published in the Gay & Lesbian Review, which provides a general overview of the situation of gays and lesbians in Costa Rica. The article is authored by Richard Stern, the director of the Agua Buena Human Rights Association, an organization based in San Jose which advocates the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS and "work[s] for the betterment of the gay/lesbian/transgendered community in Costa Rica and throughout Central America" (Agua Buena n.d.). Both Agua Buena and its director are also cited in earlier Responses.

Various Internet sites provide information on "gay/lesbian-friendly" businesses or businesses that specifically cater to sexual minorities, including night clubs and spas. Some provide information in English; these include, but are not limited to: the San Jose-based GayCostaRica (http://www.gaycostarica.com/), the Bloomington/Indiana University-based Arenal (http://www.indiana.edu/~arenal/C.R.H.html), and the Gay & Lesbian Guide to Costa Rica (http://hometown.aol.com/GayCRica/guide.html). Information on specific places or institutions can be researched upon request (see, for example, CRI37992.E of 26 April 2002).

The Gay & Lesbian Guide to Costa Rica states that a "LesBiGay Business Group, ACES [Asociación Creativa de EmpresarioS], has on-going projects to promote Costa Rica as the wonderful gay/lesbian tourist destination that it is, as well as projects that support the well being of the local gay communities in Costa Rica" (13 Apr. 2002). GayCostaRica lists and describes a variety of businesses, and refers to two regular publications for the non-heterosexual community, Gente 10 and Adonis (n.d.a).

On 29 March 2002 the San Jose-based Tico Times reported on a "study, titled 'Costa Rican Faith and Beliefs,' [which] measured everything from honesty in the workplace to government corruption ... to social tolerance of homosexuality" and compared the results to those of a similar study made in 1996. According to the report, Costa Ricans "are more tolerant about individual liberties such as contraception, abortion and homosexuality," adding that "in 1996, 93 percent of those polled said they were against same-sex marriages. In the current study-conducted in November 2001-that number dropped to 86 percent" (ibid.).

The Ombudsman of Costa Rica (Defensoría de los Habitantes) includes persons with a "distinct sexual preference" (con distintas preferencias sexuales) as one of the various vulnerable groups that face or could face a violation of their rights (10 Apr. 2002). The Ombudsman reports that its Special Protection Directorate, with a team of eight lawyers, assists vulnerable groups to achieve full enjoyment of their rights before state institutions and within society (ibid.).

The latest report on the "lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual (LGTB) population" of the Special Protection Directorate available to the Research Directorate indicates that a complaint raised by the owner of a hotel taking part in an international gay and lesbian festival, regarding the "discriminatory attitudes" (actitud discriminatoria) of local government officials, was "favourably resolved" (se había ... resuelto favorablemente) by the office of the Ombudsman (ibid. 10 Aug. 2000). Other issues related to this specific group or groups include a complaint raised in 1998 by the Movimiento Gay-Lesbico 5 de Abril, regarding a statement by the President of Costa Rica to the effect that homosexuals should not be granted permits to hold public activities; this prompted the Ombudsman to issue a recommendation to the President, asking him to act according to his constitutional mandate and ensure that all state institutions practice tolerance towards alternative lifestyles and respect the fundamental rights of all persons without exception (ibid.).

The Ombudsman addressed a complaint made in 1999 by a resident of Alajuela province, who reported police abuse in the form of arbitrary detention, as well as verbal and physical abuse; as a result, the Ombudsman issued a recommendation to the Public Security Ministry asking for: disciplinary action against the police officers involved in such abuse, addition of sensitivity training at the National School of Police, and a special effort involving the Alajuela police command and other institutions under the Ministry's jurisdiction for more inclusive practices (ibid.). The Ombudsman also reported on the ongoing investigation of two complaints against the National Psychiatric Hospital, for alleged discriminatory attitudes from medical staff against an HIV/AIDS patient, and for a medical certificate which reportedly listed "egodistonic homosexuality" (homosexualismo egodistónico) as one of the person's conditions (ibid.).

The Internet site GayCostaRica, which describes itself as "an independent organization [supported] by the GLBT community in Costa Rica and other partnerships with other sites around the world," provides a summary of where the law and the courts stand in regards to the "GLBT" community:

[translation]

The law in Costa Rica took a while to adapt and allow gays and lesbians to enjoy all the rights that heterosexuals enjoy. One of the first steps towards full equality was taken in 1971, with the enactment of a new Penal Code which did not include homosexuality as a crime. Since then, there have been many advances, not so much in legislation as in jurisprudence, particularly from the Constitutional Court since 1989. This court has helped the GLBT community many times to defend its rights against police arbitrariness, the beliefs of some mayor or the decisions of some governor. Nevertheless, not all the court's rulings have been favourable to the GLBT ... Legislation still has a number of things that need to be changed; despite a great leap forward with the approval of the HIV/AIDS General Law which punishes discrimination based on sexual orientation, many struggles such as that related to marriage have not been won yet (n.d.b).

The same source states that there are various organizations in Costa Rica that fight for the rights of sexual minorities, some of them focusing on specific subjects and some of them dealing with more general matters (ibid. n.d.c). The source lists some of these government institutions and non-government organizations: in government, although a number of bodies can help protect rights if these are threatened, the most prominent ones are the Ombudsman and the Constitutional Court; among the non-government organizations, the most prominent ones are the Centre for Research and Promotion of Human Rights in Central America (Centro de Investigación y Promoción para América Central de Derechos Humanos, CIPAC), Agua Buena, Movimiento 5 de Abril, and the Latin American Institute of Health Education and Prevention (Instituto Latinoamericano de Prevención y Educación en Salud, ILPES) (ibid.).

CIPAC publishes news of interest to the GLBT community, including information on meetings, support groups and public activities (CIPAC 2002). It has ongoing activities, such as workshops on the protection of lesbians' rights, workshops on political action for non-government organizations, networking of groups whose work relates to AIDS and of groups that work against all forms of discrimination, research on the situation of the gay and lesbian population, coalition building, and public information, awareness and education projects (ibid.).

The following is a summarized translation of an essay written by one of CIPAC's members on the situation of gays and lesbians in Costa Rica:

The Catholic church has historically repressed homosexuality, and has openly criticized public events of gays and lesbians as recently as 1998.

Persons have lost their jobs due to their sexual orientation; although the Labour Code does not specifically protect gays or lesbians, contracts are often broken under the argument of "staff reorganization" (reorganización de personal). Court challenges to such practices have not been successful to victims, due to lack of evidence.

Although immigrants are viewed as responsible for the deterioration of the economy of the country and its health system, gays and lesbians are viewed by conservative groups as responsible for decaying morality, and according to a 1998 newspaper report, they were allegedly viewed as the most hated of the various minority groups.

Private events and parties of homosexuals in Costa Rica, without a political purpose, are known to have taken place at least since 1950. Since the 1970s until the beginning of the 1990s the police started appearing at bars that catered to the gay and lesbian population. The appearance of the first cases of AIDS in Costa Rica in the 1980s contributed to homophobic attitudes in government and the Catholic Church.

As owners of bars that catered to the gay and lesbian population began to organize in the 1980s and 1990s for political action against repression of their clientele, various groups with political goals and concern for HIV/AIDS emerged. Among them, the Asociacion de Lucha Contra el SIDA-later known as ILPES, Las Entendidas, Movimiento 5 de Abril, GAYPOA-later known as Triangulo Rosa, and the Asociacion por el Respeto a la Diversidad Sexual. Most of these do not currently exist; CIPAC was formed immediately after Triangulo Rosa disappeared in 1999.

Some of the achievements of these groups include: having police raids declared unconstitutional, participating in the drafting of the HIV/AIDS General Law, the Constitutional Court ruling requiring provision of medicines to persons with AIDS, achieving legal status for gay and lesbian organizations, and increasing visibility of gays and lesbians in the media, among others.

The years of repression (late 1980s to early 1990s) motivated many persons to organize politically; this interest has waned since the last years of the past century, and participation in various causes has not been significant. Financial support from businesses for gay and lesbian organizations has been limited; meanwhile, lack of financial transparency and internal conflicts in some groups have resulted in the self-destruction of some groups and/or the alienation of their supporters.

Some gays and lesbians are resigned to discrimination and prefer not to participate in visible struggles for fear of creating more problems. Many limit their openness to bars, discotheques and other safe places where they can at least temporarily enjoy being open about their sexual orientation.

Contrary to the view held by many in the community, activism and organizational work is mostly done by volunteers. A largely-held view that AIDS is no longer an issue warranting activism in Costa Rica, and a selfish attitude that is as common among the GLBT community as in the Costa Rican community at large, have limited the pool of volunteers. Persons who join these organizations expecting to earn money desert soon after joining.

There is no gay or lesbian neighbourhood, and homosexual couples can be found holding hands or kissing only in the late hours of the night, after parties and drinks; it is rare to see such intimacy in a central location in broad daylight.

Perhaps the main legal hurdle for CIPAC at present is the Family Code, which excludes same-sex marriages or common-law partnerships. Some in the gay and lesbian community do not consider this an important issue, but others are concerned about the issue as a matter of principle, as well as for matters related to adoption, custody, property, financial and employment benefit considerations (ibid. n.d.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Agua Buena Human Rights Association, San Jose. n.d. "Objectives." http://www.aguabuena.org/ingles/objetivo.html [Accessed 4 June 2002]

Centro de Investigación y Promoción para América Central de Derechos Humanos (CIPAC), San Jose. 2002. "¡Bienvenidos a nuestro sitio!" http://www.cipacdh.org/logros.html [Accessed 4 June 2002]

_____. n.d. Francisco Madrigal. "Los gays y las lesbianas en Costa Rica." http://www.cipacdh.org/azul/gltbcr.html [Accessed 4 June 2002]

Defensoría de los Habitantes, San Jose. 10 April 2002. "Dirección de Protección Especial." http://www.crnet.cr/~defensor/dhr706.html [Accessed 5 June 2002]

_____. 10 August 2000. "Población lésbica, gay, transgenérica y bisexual (LGTB)." http://www.crnet.cr/~defensor/dhr706_7.html [Accessed 5 June 2002]

The Gay & Lesbian Guide to Costa Rica. 13 April 2002. San Jose: Don Chapman, Jorge Vargas & Associates. http://hometown.aol.com/GayCRica/guide.html [Accessed 3 June 2002]

GayCostaRica [San Jose]. n.d.a. "The Official Wesite for the Gay & Lesbian Community in Costa Rica." http://www.gaycostarica.com/index2.html [Accessed 3 June 2002]

_____. n.d.b. "La Ley y las Cortes." http://www.gaycostarica.com/gaymocracia/ley.html [Accessed 3 June 2002]

_____. n.d.c. "Instituciones y Organizaciones." http://www.gaycostarica.com/gaymocracia/instorg.html [Accessed 3 June 2002]

The Tico Times [San Jose]. 29 March 2002. David Boddiger. "Study: Ticos Lack Role Models." http://www.ticotimes.net/archive/03_29_02_4.htm [Accessed 4 June 2002]

Attachment

The Gay & Lesbian Review [Boston]. 31 August 2001. Richard Stern. "Costa Rica: Political Progress, Cultural Lag." (NEXIS)