A coalition of international legal organizations has filed a complaint with the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, accusing Costa Rica of unlawfully detaining migrant minors deported from the United States.
The lawsuit, filed on April 17, was led by attorneys from the Global Strategic Litigation Council, the Instituto Internacional de Responsabilidad Social y Derechos Humanos, and the Transnational Disputes Clinic at Cornell Law School. The legal team alleges that Costa Rican authorities have detained over 80 children for more than 50 days, in what they describe as a serious violation of international child protection laws.
“This situation represents a humanitarian failure,” said lead counsel Silvia Serna Román, who urged Costa Rica to release the minors and provide them with adequate shelter and protection, citing their rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which guarantees liberty, access to education, and healthcare.
The children were part of a group of 200 migrants deported from the United States to Costa Rica in February 2025, under a bilateral agreement between the two countries aimed at facilitating the repatriation of undocumented migrants. The minors reportedly originated from various countries across Asia, Africa, and Europe.
Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves Robles stated that the individuals deported under this agreement would be held for up to six weeks before being returned to their countries of origin. However, rights groups argue that this form of prolonged detention, particularly for children, violates international standards and constitutes arbitrary detention.
Following the policy shift in U.S. immigration enforcement earlier this year, Human Rights Watch called on Costa Rica to grant migrants the right to seek asylum, stressing that individuals should not be sent back to countries where they may face persecution.
This complaint is part of a broader legal strategy challenging regional responses to U.S.-driven deportation measures. In February 2025, the Global Strategic Litigation Council also filed a similar case against Panama before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, highlighting what they described as “a growing trend of Latin American states facilitating regressive migration policies imposed from Washington.”
“This is a critical case that could set a precedent,” the group said in a public statement, “on how regional governments should assert their own human rights obligations rather than follow U.S. enforcement priorities.”
As of now, the Costa Rican government has not publicly responded to the allegations submitted to the UN.
Sources:
- Hannah Fang, Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong – Jurist.com
- Public statements by the Global Strategic Litigation Council and Human Rights Watch
- Official remarks by Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves Robles
