The province of San Jose, holds first place in the number of counties declared free of discrimination.

Eleven of twenty total counties are part of this declaration which is the first step of the local governments to implement measures that do not allow the gender or sexual orientation discrimination.

“Implementing measures to ensure there is no discrimination, monitoring this measures and demanding actions towards eradicating all forms of discrimination and having an inclusive society, is what we aim for” stated the organization Front for Equal Rights (FDI for its Spanish name)

The eleven San Jose counties that are already part of this initiative are: Acosta, Aserri, Curridabat, Dota, Goichoechea, Montes de Oca, Moravia, San Jose, Santa Ana and Vasquez de Coronado.
Heredia comes in second with four out of ten counties participating; while Guanacaste and Puntarenas only have two out of eleven counties each.

The FDI expects that in 2017 the number raises not just in the amount of counties taking part but also in the number of individuals committed to defending the right to equality and non-discrimination.

Just this past December 14 an institutional analysis determined that although Costa Rica has advanced significantly in topics related to human rights, discrimination and inequality are still two areas that require a lot of work.

The analysis was done by representatives of the Ombudsman, members of Congress, representatives of the United Nations, and the Interamerican Institute of Human Rights.

“We must strengthen the efforts to eradicate stereotypes and the discrimination against members of the indigenous populations, African-americans, immigrants, refugees, as well as the population with disabilities, we must accelerate the adoption of a law that prevents and sanctions all forms of discrimination”, stated Ombudsman Montserrat Solano.