The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights noted on Tuesday in its latest report on Nicaragua that the situation of fundamental guarantees “has continued to seriously deteriorate” and that The Government “has progressively expanded and intensified” the persecution of opponents or those who are perceived as dissenting voices.
“We remain deeply concerned about the continued and widespread decline in the human rights situation in Nicaragua,” said the director of the Office’s Field Operations and Technical Cooperation Division during the presentation of the report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Christian Salazar Volkmann explained that As of July this year, 141 people – 116 men and 25 women – remained victims of arbitrary detention.according to civil society reports.
The annual report notes that there is a “systematic effort” to dismantle civil society organisations, particularly those defending women’s rights, exacerbating the repression of dissenting voices and the restriction of civic space.
Threats to family members and forced exile
In addition to the arbitrary deprivation of liberty, the cruelty of mistreatment and torture, Salazar warned that the harassment has extended to the relatives of the detainees, whom They are prohibited from speaking about the cases, under threat of losing visitation rights or having other family members imprisoned..
“We urge the Government to immediately release all those who are still arbitrarily deprived of their liberty and to guarantee the protection of their rights and those of their families against any persecution,” Salazar said.
Between June 2023 and June of this year, the period covered by the report, At least 62 Nicaraguans were prevented from returning to the country“This forced exile has a devastating impact, as it leaves them in a situation of de facto statelessness, far from their families and without protection of their rights, deepening their vulnerability,” the director added.
Restriction of civic space and religious persecution
During the reporting period, the Government “arbitrarily” cancelled the legal status of 303 civil society organisations. In August of this year, 1,500 were cancelled. Thus, the total number of organizations dissolved since 2018 amounts to more than 5,000.
In this regard, Salazar pointed out that this “progressive dismantling of the country’s social fabric leaves thousands of people without access to essential services and many more without employment, which affects their livelihoods and exacerbates the social and economic crisis in Nicaragua.”
The director also warned of the closure of a total of 1,103 religious organisations since 2018, which would be part of a “religious persecution”.
There was also Arbitrary arrests of religious figures, unfair trials, kidnappings of priests in their parishes, expulsions from the country and confiscation of propertySalazar said.
Recommendations
In the final recommendations of the report, the High Commissioner for Human RightsVolker Türk urged the Government to guarantee and protect the human rights of all Nicaraguans, inside and outside the country, Releasing those arbitrarily detained and ending acts of torture and ill-treatment.
She also called for amendments to criminal legislation relating to persons deprived of liberty to ensure its full compatibility with international human rights law.
Regarding the restriction of civic space, Türk urged the authorities to take all necessary measures to restore civic and democratic spacesincluding the cessation of persecution and the re-establishment of civil society organizations.
The group also called for the repeal or amendment of legislation that is incompatible with the country’s human rights obligations, including Law No. 977 against money laundering and terrorist financing.
Jan-Michael Simon, chair of the group of human rights experts on Nicaragua, addresses a session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva (file).
There is no judicial independence
For its part, the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua* noted in its latest update that power is increasingly concentrated in the hands of the president and vice president and citizens “have no one to turn to for justice and accountability.”
“Nicaragua does not meet even the minimum reasonable standard of judicial independence“, said the Group’s president, Jan-Michael Simon, adding that “continued violations are leaving entire sections of the population in a state of defencelessness.”
The organization also denounced arbitrary arrests and instrumentalization of criminal law to eliminate any oppositionas well as the forced takeover of universities by the State.
On the other hand, indigenous peoples and Afro-descendant communities suffer “continuous serious violations of the rights to self-determination and territorial rights.” “Their leaders and activists are systematically persecuted by the State for defending their rights,” Simon added.
* The Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua is an independent body mandated by the UN Human Rights Council. Established in March 2022, it is tasked with conducting thorough and independent investigations into all alleged human rights violations and abuses committed in Nicaragua since April 2018.
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