Costa Rica has issued a forceful appeal to the international community to respond more swiftly and collaboratively to humanitarian emergencies across the globe, citing past failures in Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Haiti as cautionary examples.
Speaking before the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, Costa Rican Foreign Minister Arnoldo André criticized the international community for acting too late in regions wracked by instability, warning that the cost of inaction is human suffering and regional insecurity.
“Costa Rica calls on the international community to recognize that humanitarian security requires a multidimensional response and a comprehensive regional architecture,” André declared. “It requires real-time information-sharing mechanisms, harmonized regulatory frameworks, institutional capacity-building, shared responsibility, and coordinated action to preserve the stability that our peoples deserve.”
André said the world is currently facing “the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time,” citing more than 300 million people in urgent need of aid. He pointed to Sudan, Gaza, and Ukraine as clear examples of the human cost of ongoing conflicts.
Turning his attention to Latin America and the Caribbean, André warned that regional crises are increasingly tied to global insecurity. He described how migration corridors are being overtaken by organized crime and drug trafficking, exploiting vulnerable populations seeking asylum.
“In Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Haiti, we see the consequences of arriving late,” he said. “We could have acted in time; we could have prevented the repeated and systematic violation of human rights and the exodus of millions of people who today seek refuge and other forms of international protection—and we did not.”
Rather than a lack of financial resources, André blamed a “lack of will” for the continued failure to respond effectively to crises. He called humanitarian aid “the price we pay for not having taken timely preventive action.”
He also underscored how democracy, security, and development remain fragile in Latin America and the Caribbean, stating that the most vulnerable populations consistently suffer the most severe consequences.
In addition to regional issues, the Costa Rican foreign minister called for global cooperation on disarmament and climate action. He urged the “complete, verifiable, and irreversible elimination” of nuclear weapons, warning that “the risk of nuclear conflict is the greatest in decades.”
André concluded with a call to address what he termed the “triple planetary crisis” — climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss — stressing that no single country can solve these issues alone. He advocated for progress on energy transformation, ocean protection, and finalizing an international treaty on plastics.
