A/HRC/42/12 Introduction 1. The Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review, established in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 5/1, held its thirty-third session from 6 to 17 May 2019. The review of Costa Rica was held at the 11th meeting, on 13 May 2019. The delegation of Costa Rica was headed by the Minister of Communication, Nancy Gabriela Marín Espinoza. At its 17th meeting, held on 16 May 2019, the Working Group adopted the report on Costa Rica. 2. On 15 January 2019, the Human Rights Council selected the following group of rapporteurs (troika) to facilitate the review of Costa Rica: Afghanistan, Chile and Togo. 3. In accordance with paragraph 15 of the annex to Human Rights Council resolution 5/1 and paragraph 5 of the annex to Council resolution 16/21, the following documents were issued for the review of Costa Rica: (a) A national report submitted/written presentation made in accordance with paragraph 15 (a) (A/HRC/WG.6/33/CRI/1); (b) A compilation prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in accordance with paragraph 15 (b) (A/HRC/WG.6/33/CRI/2); (c) A summary prepared by OHCHR in accordance with paragraph 15 (c) (A/HRC/WG.6/33/CRI/3). 4. A list of questions prepared in advance by Belgium, Germany, Portugal, on behalf of Group of Friends on national implementation, reporting and follow-up, Slovenia, Spain, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Uruguay was transmitted to Costa Rica through the troika. These questions are available on the website of the universal periodic review. I. Summary of the proceedings of the review process A. Presentation by the State under review 5. The delegation stated that Costa Rica was honoured to participate in the universal periodic review process. Over the past five years, the country had experienced many positive changes, but a number of challenges remained. The promotion and protection of human rights was at the core of Costa Rican democracy, with a robust institutional structure, strong oversight bodies and an active civil society. Furthermore, international norms related to the protection of those rights had a supra-Constitutional character. 6. Regarding the right to a healthy environment, the country had achieved one of the highest levels of coverage of indoor potable water in Latin America and was investing heavily in improving sanitation. It had managed to reverse the trend in deforestation, reaching forest cover of more than 52 per cent of the national territory. Ninety-five per cent of electricity production was free of carbon emissions and the aim of the National Decarbonization Plan was to reach a zero net emissions economy by the year 2050. In addition, the National Plan for Development and Public Investment 2019–2022, in which citizens had participated in the preparation, included 138 indicators that were linked directly or indirectly to the indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals. 7. The Constitution protected the right to equality and non-discrimination. Costa Rica had made progress in enhancing the human rights of different groups. It had adopted new labour legislation to reduce judicial delays and had prohibited all forms of discrimination in employment based on age, ethnicity, sex, religion, race and other factors. It had also taken important steps to guarantee the rights of elderly persons, including by ratifying the InterAmerican Convention on Protecting the Human Rights of Older Persons. It had established the National Council for Older Persons to coordinate actions for the care of older persons in situations of social vulnerability. 2