A resolution requesting information on the Republic of Costa Rica's human rights practices pursuant to section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.
S. Res. 353 is a Senate resolution introduced in the 119th Congress that requests information under section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. The resolution directs the Secretary of State to prepare and submit, within 30 days of adoption, a joint statement (with the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and the Department of State’s Office of the Legal Adviser) to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The statement would assess Costa Rica’s human rights practices and how U.S. policies and security assistance intersect with those practices. It requires a comprehensive compilation of credible information about alleged Costa Rican government human rights violations, the steps the U.S. has taken to promote rights and deter violations, and a broad set of U.S.-related actions and analyses concerning individuals not citizens of Costa Rica who have been removed to Costa Rica by U.S. authorities (including renditions, removals, or trafficking). In short, the resolution seeks a tightly scoped, U.S.-coordinated briefing for Congress that evaluates Costa Rica’s human rights situation and the role of U.S. actions and assistance in that context, with a detailed focus on non-citizens affected by U.S. government removals and related processes.
Key Points
- 1Under section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act, the Secretary of State must provide a formal statement to Congress within 30 days of adoption, prepared in collaboration with two State Department offices (Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; and the Office of the Legal Adviser).
- 2The statement must cover:
- 3- Credible information about alleged violations by the Government of Costa Rica of internationally recognized human rights, including: arbitrary arrests/detention, due process concerns, torture or cruel treatment (including of non-citizens removed to Costa Rica by the U.S.), disappearances/extra-judicial killings, trafficking, and the treatment and legal status of non-citizens in Costa Rica who were brought there by the U.S.
- 4- Steps the United States has taken to promote human rights in Costa Rica, discourage violations, publicly or privately disassociate from problematic practices, and assess how Costa Rica would treat non-citizens prior to removal (including offering meaningful opportunities to demonstrate potential persecution and ensuring humane immigration status if they stay).
- 5The report must include extensive “other information,” such as:
- 6- An assessment of whether U.S. security assistance could be used to support rights-violating activities by Costa Rican officials.
- 7- Analyses of conditions faced by non-citizens in Costa Rica before any rendition/removal and the detention centers’ conditions.
- 8- Actions to ensure Costa Rica returns individuals as required by U.S. court orders and to address risks of detention, torture, or disappearances.
- 9- Protections for non-citizens within the U.S. jurisdiction from unlawful removal to Costa Rica.
- 10- Information on any U.S.–Costa Rica agreements, financial transactions, and details about individuals sent to Costa Rica in 2025.
- 11- Assurances sought or received by the U.S. regarding treatment of these individuals and potential further removals.
- 12- A summary of all 2025 meetings between Costa Rican officials and Washington-based U.S. officials.
- 13The purpose is oversight and transparency, to determine how U.S. security aid relates to human rights in Costa Rica and to inform congressional decision-making.