Costa Rica Named Peace Maker

COSTA Rica is one of the top 15peacekeeping countries in the world,according to a study by the Research andInformation Group on Peace and Security(GRIP), an independent research institutionbased in Brussels.Costa Rica ranks 11th on a list of 150countries ranked for their role in maintainingworld peace, Costa Rica’s ambassadorto Paris, Roxana Pinto, announcedin a statement.The list was published in theSeptember edition of the French magazineGeo Un Nouveau Monde: La Terre.The list was topped out by Iceland(1), Denmark (2) and Switzerland (3).Other high-ranked countries in theAmericas were Argentina (20), the UnitedStates (33) and Panama (39).Costa Rica was recognized for theabolition of its army in 1948 and for itssupport of U.N. peace initiatives, themagazine reported. In the security index,Costa Ranked number two, second onlyto Iceland.GRIP has studied questions of securityfor 26 years.