Critics say visa rules that are stricter for citizens of poorer nations are a significant factor limiting participation of people from developing countries in major conferences.
LONDON, United Kingdom – When Nigerian lawyer Obioma Adesewa Okonkwo was booked to speak at the RightsCon conference in Costa Rica, she made sure to submit her visa application several months in advance.
Kenyan Nanjala Nyabola, a board member at Access Now, said many Black and brown participants had been picked out and detained by Costa Rican border agents for periods of up to three hours. Some were later deported, she wrote on Twitter. “I really wanted to learn from digital rights advocates from other continents…. I was shut out from participating in those kinds of discussions.”Access Now, a global organization headquartered in New York, said authorities in Costa Rica had agreed to offer visas on arrival in the country for conference attendees, but border authorities did not uphold the arrangement.
“Whenever an individual applies for a US visa, a consular officer reviews the facts of the case and determines whether the applicant is eligible for that visa based on US law,” the spokesperson said in emailed comments.Kobusingye said restricting access of grassroots campaigners meant major decisions could be made without much input from the people who are most affected.
The UN climate change body UNFCCC, which organizes the Bonn and COP summits, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Ouma was ultimately granted entry, and the German health minister later said in a tweet that officials were looking into what had gone wrong at the airport.Campaigners and policy analysts said summit organizers should be mindful of visa policies when selecting host countries.
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