Could Costa Rica receive Guantanamo detainees? U.S., OAS issue appeal

October 1^st, 2014 (InsideCostaRica.com) The Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Jose Miguel Insulza, issued an appeal this week for member countries, which include Costa Rica, to take in detainees from the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, calling it a chance for member states to address a “serious humanitarian issue.”

Insulza said that the United States government had asked that OAS member countries consider receiving some of the more than 70 prisoners at Guantanamo who have been ruled eligible for release but are unable to leave the prison because they have no country willing to accept them.

“More than half of the prisoners that remain in Guantanamo are in conditions to be freed, but have not been for the lack of a country that will receive them. These are people who have not been judged, nor will they be, for any crime, and the exhaustive evaluations that they have been submitted to by the authorities of the United States have determined that they do not present serious risks to the security of the country, nor to any that receives them,” Insulza said.

“The Government of the United States has requested that the countries of the Hemisphere examine the possibility of receiving these people in their territories. Since 2009, 18 countries have hosted a total of 48 detained people, reducing the list to 149. Of this number, 79 are in conditions to be freed, if some country will receive them. A positive response to receive a reduced number of them, who do not present a risk to security, would contribute to significantly reducing this serious humanitarian case in the territory of the Americas.”

Insulza’s statement did not mention why the United States itself would not consider taking in the detainees, though it is unknown if detainees themselves would want to reside in U.S. territory after years of detention at the hands of the U.S.

A plan to transfer six detainees to Uruguay has been postponed until after that country’s presidential elections.

Costa Rica has not issued a formal statement or response in regards to the OAS’s appeal.  The country, which frequently grants refugee status to those fleeing violence or strife in their home countries, is home to only a small number of Muslims, estimated at around 50 families.  A small mosque and muslim community association exist in San Jose.