A/HRC/13/15 have been increased by 14 percent, representing over 25 percent of the total budget for the executive power and 6.9 percent of the country’s GDP. 8. The 1949 Constitution is the regulatory basis guaranteeing full respect for the human rights of all the country's inhabitants. Under the Constitution, human rights provisions are directly applicable and take precedence over any regulation that would contradict or restrict them. The Constitutional Chamber, established in 1989, was given the power to annul laws and other enactments impinging upon the rights and provisions in the Constitution, as well as those recognized by the international treaties ratified by Costa Rica. This judicial body is one of the pillars of democracy and justice, guaranteeing human rights in the country. Since 1992, constitutional justice stipulates that international human rights instruments take precedence over the Constitution itself, insofar as they offer individuals greater rights or guarantees. In addition, in national tribunals, United Nations conventions are directly applicable and justiciable, as are other regional and international human rights instruments adopted by Costa Rica. 9. Electoral democracy and respect to political and civil rights are guaranteed by the Supreme Tribunal of Elections (Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones) that oversees the electoral processes ensuring their normality. 10. The Ombudsman's Office (‘Defensoría de los Habitantes’) was established in 1992 in accordance with the Paris Principles. It defends human rights against State actions or omissions, channelling people's complaints against the public sector and protecting community interests. Furthermore, in 2006, the Legislative Assembly established the Special Committee on Human Rights (CEDH), whose duties include taking cognizance of, studying and reporting cases relating to human rights violations, considering and expressing opinions on relevant bills, and following up on the recommendations of the Ombudsman's Office and related bodies. 11. In addition, Costa Rica has a set of specialized public institutions providing a solid base to promote, address and respect human rights. Many of them are directly devoted to responding to the specific needs of particular or vulnerable groups. 12. Costa Rica highlighted that one of its main development objectives is the fight against poverty. The national poverty rate was reduced, for the first time in history, to under 20 per cent of the population in 2006, and has since remained below that figure; it reached 16.5 percent before the world financial crisis and now stands at 18.5 percent. In that same period, extreme poverty has declined from 5.6 to 4.2 percent of the population. 13. The “State of the Nation” report, providing an independent analysis of the overall situation in the country, noted in its 15th edition that the timely allocation of additional resources to social programmes managed to curb the impact of the current economic crisis on the incidence of poverty and inequality. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) arrived at a similar conclusion in 2009. 14. The delegation noted that, historically, Costa Rica has been a country of asylum and refuge. This tradition is ongoing and over 12 500 persons have taken refuge in the country, all of them with full access to social security benefits and the right to work. 15. In addition, Costa Rica is one of the countries in the world with the highest rate of reception of migratory flows: 600 thousand foreign persons live in Costa Rica with differing legal migratory status, as well as between 250 and 350 thousand persons in an irregular situation. The Costa Rican State funds the access to public services for the migrant population that cannot afford them. In this endeavour, the country lacks international assistance, as it is classified as a middle-income country. It is nevertheless its status as a middle-income country, in an impoverished regional context with stark inequalities in living standards, that makes Costa Rica a destination for important South-South migratory 4