Faber-Castell, the world's largest pencil manufacturer, has accused Costa Rica of misusing a former factory that it donated for humanitarian purposes by detaining asylum seekers there. The facility, located in southern Costa Rica near the Panamanian border, was closed by the company in 2013 and donated to the Costa Rican government in 2018. A contract between Faber-Castell and the Ministry of Public Security stipulated that the site would be used as a shelter for migrants, providing refuge and humanitarian assistance.
However, last year, the facility was used to detain 200 people deported from the United States under the Trump administration. The deportees, who included more than 70 children, were flown to Costa Rica in chains and held at the centre, named Centro de Atención Temporal para Migrantes (Catem), for at least two months. Faber-Castell said it was unaware of this until contacted by the Guardian last month.
In a statement, representatives of Faber-Castell's Brazilian subsidiary said: 'We agreed and stipulated in the contract that the building was to be transformed into a humanitarian refugee centre, and under no circumstances was it agreed to be used as a prison.' The company expressed deep concern over the alleged misuse of its former site.
Human Rights Watch visited the facility last spring and concluded that migrants were held there for months without legal basis for their detention. The Costa Rican government has denied that the centre was a detention facility, stating that the migrants were granted entry on humanitarian grounds and that their stay was temporary. The Ministry of Public Security said the measures were taken to protect vulnerable individuals from migrant smuggling and human trafficking.
