by Fabiana Machado

07 January 2000

BONN: Costa Rica is one of the most stable democracies in the region with high social indicators. Together with other Central American countries, Costa Rica -- in 1990 -- ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and has started adapting national legislation to fall in line with the CRC.

Seven UN Volunteers work in Costa Rica in the areas of children rights and poverty alleviation. Most of these volunteers work under the auspices of the regional project titled, "UNV Support to the Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Central America and the Dominican Republic". Since April 1999, UN Volunteers have been working in collaboration with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations. Costa Rica's team comprises two national UN Volunteers -- Adriana Flores and Kryssia Jimenez -- and international specialist Edgardo Richards of Argentina. Maria Luisa Campos and Mayte Andreu of Spain are UN Volunteers attached to other agencies who also provide support to the CRC initiatives.

The project's main objective is to guarantee compliance with the commitments undertaken by government's when they ratified the CRC. In this respect volunteer activities range from technical expertise in the drafting and implementation of national codes on children, promotion of interagency coordination and exchange of experience, to the establishment of training courses and workshops and information dissemination campaigns.

But UNVs are likewise helping improve living conditions of poor people. This work has been carried out jointly with the Integration and Development Fund (F.I.D. -- Fondo de Integración y Desarrollo), which is responsible for granting loans and services to stimulate production activities. In February 2000, 13 disadvantaged women were granted a certificate in business studies after completing a small-scale enterprise management course taught by Paulino Isidoro, an international UNV specialist from Spain.

In addition to his contribution as an Integration and Development consultant, Paulino Isidoro has played an important role in national plans for the International Year of Volunteer 2001 IYV2001). In May 2000, he attended the "International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE) Regional Conference for Latin America" in Bolivia for the promotion of volunteerism.

In the near future the number of volunteers working in Costa Rica is expected to rise to fulfill the demands of the newly launched "Local Resources Facilities in Honduras and Costa Rica" project. It aims to provide these countries with such facilities as advisory services to local business, promotion of local products and job information. UNV will not only establish and manage these activities but help create conditions to sustain them after the completion of the project.