COSTA RICA MEDIA REACTION TO 2005 HUMAN RIGHTS

1. As anticipated, most local news organizations reported on
this week's release of the annual Human Rights Report (HRR).
Several news dailies published brief synopses of the reports
for all Central American countries, and several noted the
HRR's overall positive tone. Accounts of the report
generally reflected the relatively good review given to Costa
Rica, especially when viewed in a regional context. Of the
various areas for improvement noted in the HRR, prison
overpopulation and child sexual exploitation were most
frequently cited by the press. All news outlets appeared to
accept the results equably.



2. Guillermo Arroyo, director of the prison system, and
Rosalia Gil, head of PANI, the national child welfare agency,
gave separate radio interviews for their respective takes on
the HRR. While Arroyo reacted defensively to the mildly
critical review of the prison system, Ms. Gil took the
opportunity to identify programs already underway to combat
child sexual exploitation and child labor.



3. In the only editorial piece related to the HRR, daily
newspaper La Prensa Libre voiced its support for continued
annual human rights reports, and lauded the report's findings
on Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador, specifically
noting that the human rights practices of all four were
appropriately and accurately reported. However, the editors
went on to question the USG's standing to prepare the report,
stating that the USG lacks the requisite moral authority to
prepare an effective criticism. To back up this statement,
the editors cited the Guantanamo Bay prison system and
discussed at length the uncertainty faced by Cuban refugees
who are convicted of crimes in the U.S. The article avers
that the U.S. should take care to abide by the precepts
outlined in the HRR in order to preserve the credibility of
the document.
LANGDALE