Information on Salvadorean refugees in Costa Rica and whether they are repatriating; information on Salvadorean guerrillas in Costa Rica
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 May 1990 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SLV5495 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Information on Salvadorean refugees in Costa Rica and whether they are repatriating; information on Salvadorean guerrillas in Costa Rica, 1 May 1990, SLV5495, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab34ac.html [accessed 20 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Please find attached a number of reports on the situation of Salvadorean refugees in Costa Rica. Although some include references to Salvadorean refugees returning to their homes, there is no indication that such cases have occurred in a forced and/or organized manner. The attached documents include, in chronological order of publication:
-Los refugiados centroamericanos, (Costa Rica: Universidad para la Paz, 1987), pp. 148-150;
-from Refugees (UNHCR, Geneva): "Costa Rica", Special Issue of December 1988, p. 38; "An end to the means", March 1989, pp. 22-26;
-Costa Rica: A Country Guide, (New Mexico: Inter-Hemispherical Education Resource Center, 1989), pp. 70-71;
-World Refugee Report, (Washington, D.C.: Bureau for Refugee Programs of the Department of State, September 1989), pp. 66-67.
The UNHCR office in Ottawa does not have any news of an organized repatriation, whether forcible or voluntary, of Salvadorean refugees from Costa Rica. The source explained that this does not mean one may be taking place at this moment without the UNHCR's knowledge, because the Canada branch of the UNHCR is usually informed the moment one is completed. A UNHCR officer with particular knowledge of the refugee situation in the region will be returning to Ottawa soon. Should any news on the subject come to our knowledge soon, we will forward the information to you.
Please find attached a copy of pages 89-90 of the Yearbook on International Communist Affairs 1989 (Stanford: Hoover Institution Press, 1989), which reports the international activities of the Salvadorean guerrilla organization FMLN in different countries, including Costa Rica. These activities, according to the report, appear to be of a diplomatic rather than military nature.
Other corroborating information on the subject could not be found among the sources currently available to the IRBDC.
