Costa Rica took part in the eleventh session of the Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, held in Doha, Qatar from December 15 to 19, 2025. The country was represented by an inter-institutional delegation that participated in negotiations, bilateral meetings, and both formal and parallel events during the conference.
During the event, Costa Rica reaffirmed its commitment to fully implementing the United Nations Convention against Corruption. The delegation highlighted progress made since the last session in 2023, including measures outlined in the National Integrity and Corruption Prevention Strategy for 2021-2030.
Reported achievements included enacting a law protecting whistleblowers and witnesses of corruption from workplace retaliation and approving a framework law on access to public information that establishes access to information as a human right. Costa Rica also referenced its completion of the first phase of reviewing implementation of the convention and submitted proposals for improvements ahead of the second phase scheduled to begin in 2026.
The national delegation held bilateral meetings with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to prepare activities planned for Costa Rica.
The delegation contributed to negotiations on twelve draft resolutions adopted by consensus at the conference. These included a resolution aimed at strengthening integrity values among children and youth through education, as well as another focused on preventing and combating corruption related to environmental crimes.
According to officials, “The Conference of States Parties is the main decision-making body of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), which is currently the only universal legally binding instrument against corruption.” The convention came into force on December 14, 2005, and now has 192 State Parties. Costa Rica ratified UNCAC on January 9, 2007 by executive decree No. 33540.
Costa Rica’s delegation included representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship—such as staff from its embassy in Qatar—the Permanent Mission in Vienna, members from its Directorate General for Foreign Policy’s Department for Disarmament Affairs, Terrorism and Organized Crime; a representative from the Public Ethics Prosecutor’s Office; and a magistrate coordinating with the Judicial Branch Transparency Commission.
