Freedom House Members of the local Cuban, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan diaspora, activists and local sympathizers protest on Saturday, September 11, 2021, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. outside the Alberta Legislature building during the 'Freedom for Latin America' demonstration. (Image Credit: Artur Widak/NurPhoto/ Shutterstock) Some Emerging Lessons and Challenges for the Future O verall, the situation for Nicaraguan HRDs and CSOs in Costa Rica is complicated, as exiles struggle to acclimate to a stable and secure life in Costa Rica. Despite the country’s broadly open migration policy for the region and history of Nicaraguan migration in the past, the reality for HRDs in exile is complex and multidimensional. HRDs face long wait times to achieve regularization, which affects their ability to find stable employment, secure housing, and economic stability. This ultimately impacts their ability to continue their work in human rights issues related to their country Nicaragua, which has adverse consequences for the country and the HRD. With the outpouring of CSO and HRDs over the last couple of years and continued persecution of those who work to support these initiatives in Nicaragua, the few remaining human rights workers and pro-democracy CSOs fight to continue their work in an ever-shrinking civil space. This “brain drain” of talented human rights workers represents a dire situation for those who champion human rights in Nicaragua. In conversation with HRDs and CSOs in our focus groups and interviews, one of the most important takeaways was the lack of support mechanisms or specific programming for HRDs. Aid organizations or state agencies tend to prioritize refugee status based on other characteristics such as social groups or level of vulnerability, but not on the condition of being a human rights defender. This approach can ignore certain needs particular to the situation of HRDs and CSOs. In December 2020, Resolution DJPUR-0190-12-2020-JM of the DGME of the Ministry of the Interior and Police was approved, which establishes the Special Temporary Category of Complementary Protection for Venezuelans, Nicaraguans, and Cubans to whom their refugee claim has been denied. This opens a new possibility for people who have been denied refugee status if they meet the new requirements. Until now, it is little known and has not been widely used by Nicaraguans yet, but it may open the door for activists and HRDs. FreedomHouse.org 17