Costa Rica rejects gender terminology at the UN, limiting “gender” to two sexes.

2026 July 8

At a session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Costa Rica’s delegation formally rejected the terms “reproductive violence”, “patriarchal masculinity” and “intersectionality”, arguing that these concepts have no definition or agreement in binding international treaties. The position was read by Gustavo Corella Cordero, counsellor of Costa Rica’s Permanent Mission to the UN.

The delegation also stated that Costa Rica will accept no definition of gender other than the one contained in article 7.3 of the Rome Statute, which refers to “the two sexes, masculine and feminine, in the context of society”. That definition excludes trans, nonbinary and gender-diverse people from the state’s understanding of gender in international human rights fora.

Legislator Kattya Mora said she had arranged the position and that President Laura Fernández approved it, thanking her for the actions taken so that the Costa Rican delegation would reaffirm this stance. The delegation further argued that concepts such as “bodily autonomy” and “sexual and reproductive rights” cannot be interpreted in ways that disregard the right to life.

News articles in Spanish:

• Costa Rica rechaza ante la ONU términos “violencia reproductiva” y “masculinidad patriarcal” - CR Hoy
• Laura Fernández avaló postura sobre términos de género en la ONU, asegura diputada - CR Hoy
• Gobierno de Costa Rica refuta los términos ‘violencia reproductiva’ y ‘masculinidad patriarcal’ en la ONU - La Nación