Geneva, September 13, 2024.- “Nicaragua is not only isolating itself; it is testing the limits of the United Nations system,” stated Jan Michael Simon, Chair of the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua (GHREN), during a side event organized by the Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights (Race and Equality), held in the context of the 57th session of the UN Human Rights Council. Simon called for coordinated advocacy from the international community, especially International Financial Institutions.

The event, titled “International Solidarity with Nicaragua: setbacks, progress, and future challenges,” was co-sponsored by CCPR, ISHR, MAM, INANA, and the embassies of Chile, Peru, Paraguay, Ecuador, Canada, Argentina, and Costa Rica in Geneva. The discussion included Nicaraguan human rights defenders, representatives of GHREN, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Special Monitoring Mechanism for Nicaragua (MESENI) of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), and delegates from allied embassies supporting the Nicaraguan people.

In her opening remarks, Chile’s Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Claudia Fuentes-Julio, reminded attendees that the foundation of the UN Human Rights Council and the broader UN system is built on the will to cooperate and work together, and therefore, Nicaragua’s isolation is a threat. “When we have a state like Nicaragua, which cuts off political relations with the outside world while its regime remains in power due to its economic ties, we must question the true priorities of the system we are building,” she warned.

Jan-Michael Simon, Chair of GHREN, pointed out that the only area where Nicaragua is not isolating itself is in multilateral financial bodies, known as International Financial Institutions (IFIs), particularly the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He stressed that advocacy efforts must be directed at these bodies.

“We hope that the countries represented and the respective boards of these IFIs, whether it be the IMF, the Financial Action Task Force, or countries with bilateral relations with Nicaragua, take their commitments to free trade agreements seriously,” concluded the expert.

Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities targeted by the regime
According to GHREN expert Ariela Peralta, political persecution is focused on silencing any autonomous dissident voices that can organize. Peralta explained that the Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities of Nicaragua’s Caribbean Coast are a “target” of the regime’s political persecution “due to their capacity to organize and express opposition… as evidenced in both findings and historical contexts.”

Peralta lamented that among the group of 135 Nicaraguans who were released from prison and exiled to Guatemala, Indigenous leaders Brooklyn Rivera and Nancy Elizabeth Henríquez were not included. Rivera has been in a state of enforced disappearance since September 2023.

Anexa Alfred Cunningham, a Nicaraguan expert on the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and founder of the INANA Indigenous and Afro-descendant Peoples’ Platform, denounced that violence against Indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples is systematic. According to INANA’s records, massacres have been a constant from 2020 to 2023. During this period, three massacres were carried out in the Mayangna Indigenous communities located in the Bosawás Biosphere Reserve, resulting in at least 20 Indigenous people killed, including women and girls who were subjected to sexual violence and torture. Alfred also lamented the recent closure of the Moravian Church, which provided assistance “in the absence of the State in matters of health and education.”

UPR is a crucial opportunity
“The exercise of fundamental rights is criminalized (in Nicaragua). For many years, terms like political advocacy or citizen participation have been punishable offenses. Demanding rights is called ‘terrorism.’ Insisting that officials and authorities comply with the law is labeled ‘undermining national integrity.’ Demanding democracy makes one a ‘coup plotter,’” denounced Azahalia Solís, a Nicaraguan human rights defender and member of the Autonomous Women’s Movement (MAM), who was arbitrarily stripped of her nationality in 2023.

Fiorella Melzi, Coordinator of MESENI, warned that “the repression has continued with even more severe manifestations against civic and democratic spaces. All of this is aimed at eliminating organized civil society and consolidating a regime with concentrated power in the Executive, orchestrated for years, based on a police state.” The Nicaraguan state continues to commit grave and systematic violations against the population, primarily due to political persecution, “or simply for being people deemed as not aligned with the government’s interests.”

Andrés Sánchez, Deputy Representative and Officer in Charge of the OHCHR Regional Office for Central America and the Dominican Republic, agreed, saying, “The situation is extremely alarming… This dismantling of the social fabric leaves thousands of people without access to essential services, exacerbating the country’s social and economic crisis.”

“In this context, I want to emphasize the importance of the upcoming Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The UPR is a crucial opportunity for states to present their recommendations to the Nicaraguan government, urging it to cease these violations and relying on the High Commissioner’s recommendations, which can serve as a solid base or guide,” he concluded.

Statement
The Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) denounces that the Nicaraguan regime continues to use arbitrary detentions as a mechanism to silence dissenting voices. Carlos Quesada, Executive Director of Race and Equality, stated that the regime continues to resort to this practice, “keeping hundreds of people imprisoned, only to later release and exile them.” He recalled that in February 2023, 222 Nicaraguan prisoners were released and exiled, and now the regime has exiled 135 more, sending them to Guatemala. These actions destroy the lives of the affected individuals, leaving them in a state of helplessness.

Furthermore, Race and Equality urgently calls for the implementation of GHREN’s recommendation on the importance of advocating before International Financial Institutions. These institutions must recognize that crimes against humanity are being committed in Nicaragua and, consequently, implement human rights due diligence policies to identify, prevent, address, and remedy the negative impacts associated with their activities in the country.