Clément Voule – UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Peaceful Assembly and of Association: “I call on the government of Nicaragua to guarantee the right to peaceful assembly during the electoral process.”

Clément Voule – UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Peaceful Assembly and of Association: “I call on the government of Nicaragua to guarantee the right to peaceful assembly during the electoral process.”

Washington, D.C., April 21, 2021 – Since the societal eruptions began in April 2018, the government of Nicaragua has restricted the rights to freedom of assembly and peaceful protest in a manner that is unprecedented in the country’s recent history.  Furthermore, it recently enacted the Law on the Regulation of Foreign Agents, which has a direct negative impact on the right to freedom of association and led to the closure of civil society organizations that decided not to submit to it.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Peaceful Assembly and of Association, Clément Voule, has repeatedly expressed his willingness to visit the country to learn first-hand about the situation regarding the freedoms of association, assembly, and peaceful protest.  In addition, together with other United Nations Rapporteurs, he has issued statements regarding the enactment of laws that are contrary to Nicaragua’s international human rights obligations.

In this interview with the International Institute of Race, Equality, and Human Rights (Race and Equality) held against the backdrop of the third anniversary of the outbreak of the Nicaraguan sociopolitical and human rights crisis, Voule discusses why it is so important for him to visit the country following the end of the COVID-19 health emergency, and he declares he will continue to appeal to the government to suspend the application of laws such as the Law on the Regulation of Foreign Agents and Special Cybercrime Law.

You have repeatedly expressed your willingness to visit Nicaragua. How do you think that your visit would contribute to improving the State’s performance with regard to freedom of association and freedom of assembly?

Nicaragua is indeed one of the countries that I would like to visit in the near future, once the restrictions imposed by the current sanitary crisis are lifted.

Country visits are conducted in a spirit of cooperation and dialogue. The objective is for the Special Rapporteur to gain first-hand understanding of issues related to the promotion and protection of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, including efforts made and challenges remaining.

During an official country visit, the Special Rapporteur will meet with national stakeholders involved in promoting and protecting the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, including high ranking government officials, members of the legislative and judiciary, members of security and armed forces, police oversight mechanisms, representatives of the national human rights commission, civil society organizations, academics, along with other relevant parties. The purpose is to examine issues related to the realization of these two rights.

I will offer concrete recommendations to support the government’s efforts in strengthening the exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.

The Nicaraguan government has suppressed the right to peaceful assembly or demonstration. These prohibitions shape the context for the upcoming November elections and limit the possibility for free exercise of rights during these elections. What appeals would you make to the government in this situation?

According to the information that I received, the Nicaraguan Government since September 2018 has continued to ban public demonstrations organized by any group critical of the Government.

These restrictions are undermining the right of peaceful assembly, which is one of the fundamental rights on any meaningful and freely electoral process. I call on the Nicaraguan Government to fully guarantee the right to peaceful assembly in Nicaragua.

Since November 13, 2020, the Special Procedures, including your Rapporteurship, have made pronouncements regarding the Law on Foreign Agents and the Law on Cybercrimes. The Special Procedures have pointed out that both measures raise serious questions of compatibility with Nicaragua’s international human rights obligations. Has the State responded to these communications with any willingness to review the laws or collaborate with your technical assistance? How will the Special procedures continue to insist that these laws be brought into compliance with international human rights standards?

To date, we have not received any reply from the government to the communication OL NIC 3/20201 that was sent last November 2020 on the Law for the Regulation of Foreign Agents and the Special Law on Cyber-crimes. Together with other mandate holders, I detailed a number of concerns about such laws, which they deemed to be in violation of international human rights norms and standards.

One of the most serious concerns is that the Law for the Regulation of Foreign Agents prohibits those labelled as “foreign agent” from ‘intervening in internal political issues, activities or themes’ without defining those terms. This broad prohibition infringes not only the right to freedom of association, but on the rights to political participation, freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and severely limits the ability of civil society organizations, human rights defenders and journalists to raise any policy-related issue or participate in activities deemed political.

The law also includes disproportionate sanctions for non-compliance, as it provides for organizations to be dissolved or their funds sequestered when they fail to comply with minor administrative requirements.

I urge the government of Nicaragua to immediately suspend the application of the law and work with civil society organizations to ensure reforms.

I will continue the engagement with the government on these laws and will continue following closely the situation with the collaboration of local organizations on the ground as well as with OHCHR presence in Panama, who remotely monitors the situation in Nicaragua.

Is it common for your Rapporteurship to face so many obstacles to carrying out an official country visit, as has happened in the case of Nicaragua?

As mentioned earlier, my intention is to visit Nicaragua as soon as the restrictions are lifted and a common agreement with the Government is reached. Allowing and facilitating such visit will also show the government willingness to protect these rights and civic space in the country.

What message would you give to Nicaraguan civil society in a context of escalating reprisals against their work?

I would like to express my admiration to the courage and perseverance of human rights defenders and organisations of civil society in Nicaragua who face countless obstacles in carrying out their work. Since April 2018 my mandate has followed closely the situation in Nicaragua. It is crucial to maintain international attention to the human rights situation in Nicaragua as we are observing serious restrictions of the civic and democratic space, including attacks, harassment and threats to human rights defenders, journalists and social leaders. This is even more relevant in view of guaranteeing free, equal and transparent elections in November 2021. Civil society in Nicaragua have my support and I will continue my engagement with them to address the current crisis. I will also continue to engage with the government to ensure concerns raised by my mandate are addressed and the current situation is reversed.

Antonia Urrejola – President of the IACHR: “We will continue to tirelessly promote human rights in Nicaragua. Impunity and injustice will not perpetuate themselves.”

Washington D.C., April 20, 2021 – To commemorate three years of the grave sociopolitical and human rights crisis in Nicaragua, the International Institute of Race, Equality, and Human Rights (Race and Equality) interviewed the President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Antonia Urrejola, on the role this body has played in the situation that has beset the country since April 2018 and what possible next steps might be taken to achieve truth, justice, reparations, and non-repetition for victims of the violence and repression.

Although to date nothing appears to have changed and the government has employed new strategies to violate and restrict the rights of the populace and persecute civil society, the opposition, human rights defenders, and journalists, Urrejola assesses as a positive the fact that – thanks to the efforts and commitment of various local, regional, and international sectors – the situation in Nicaragua has remained visible and as such, she believes that the impunity will be vanquished and the country will eventually return to a democratic context.

“The efforts in the area of international human rights law tend to not have immediate effects, though it’s also true that history shows that it’s about efforts ultimately producing results,” she affirms.

What role has the IACHR played in the crisis in Nicaragua, and how do you assess the response it has received from the State, the role of civil society, and the victims?

“I believe the role the Commission has played during the human rights crisis – which began with the repression of protests in April 2018 and continues today – has been fundamental.

“To arrive at this conclusion, all it takes is objectively observing the deployment of the IACHR in this context: since the beginning of the crisis, the Commission has issued four country reports, two thematic reports, [and] 102 press releases; hundreds of posts have been published on social media denouncing what is happening in the country; 92 precautionary measures have been granted to protect more than 300 people and their families; [and] more than 1,700 testimonials have been taken regarding the characteristics of the human rights violations that continue occurring in the country.  I should additionally note that the Commission maintains at least three records related to the crisis up-to-date: one of persons have died; one of incarcerated persons; and one containing the testimonials received directly from the victims or their relatives.

“Thanks to these actions, I would hazard to say that an important part of the international narrative about the crisis – that is, of the international organizations themselves, civil society, States in the region, and much of the world about the crisis in Nicaragua – has been marked in a noteworthy manner by the work the IACHR has performed through its Special Monitoring Mechanism for Nicaragua (MESENI) and at one point, by the report produced by the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI).

“Now then, there’s no doubt that the work of civil society has been essential in the exercise of the Inter-American Commission’s conventional mandate in Nicaragua.  You yourselves at Race and Equality, along with other international civil society organizations, for example, have been fundamental actors in denouncing and increasing the international visibility of the state of human rights in the country and utilizing protective mechanisms, such as precautionary measures, to aid persons whose rights are at grave and urgent risk in the country.

“I believe Nicaraguan civil society deserves special attention when we recognize important actors in this crisis.  Due to reasons of security of the organizations themselves and their members, I don’t believe it would be wise to discuss in detail the true dimensions of the wonderful coordination of efforts that have been made by civil society, particularly by the victims and their relatives.  However, I can mention some examples: the exhaustive recording and denunciation of persons who have been imprisoned during the crisis, which wouldn’t be possible without the coordination of civil society, the activism, and the victims and their relatives who have established the Mechanism for Recognizing Political Prisoners.  The silent, courageous, and committed recording work performed by the Asociación de Madres de Abril [Association of the Mothers of April] (AMA), to cite another example, is specific proof of how essential local civil society has been in monitoring the human rights situation in Nicaragua.  Nor would it have been possible to conceive of the prisoner releases that have occurred to date without the intervention of the Catholic Church and Verification and Security Commission.  All of these are initiatives by civil society are immensely valuable in addressing the human rights crisis faced by the country.”

As the Rapporteur for Nicaragua, you have exhibited great interest in the country and repeatedly issued statements regarding the situation there.  Now, as President of the Commission, how will you advocate for the return of the IACHR and MESENI to Nicaragua?

“There are always new developments in this area.  The work performed by the IACHR has achieved the important objective of maintaining international attention on the human rights crisis in Nicaragua in the midst of a context with many developments in the Americas in the area of human rights, in the face of the attempts made by the State to establish a sense or normality, and in the midst of the pandemic.

“But we achieved this objective by adapting to the changing circumstances of the crisis.  In this sense, we already have sufficient evidence that 2021 will be a different year in Nicaragua, and within that context we will keep Nicaragua as an unavoidable issue on the inter-American and worldwide agendas by adapting ourselves to the particular circumstances that are already characterizing this year.

“The efforts in the area of international human rights law tend to not have immediate effects; however, it’s also true that history shows that it’s about efforts ultimately producing results.  Sometimes States, as is occurring with Nicaragua now, appear to be immune to international calls to action, though as I was saying, the experience on our continent shows us that the processes of democratization are produced and impunity is ultimately vanquished by memory and justice.  The IACHR continues and will continue to work every day to fulfill its mandate and will be there, too, to collaborate with Nicaraguan society and the State itself when those processes are produced.”

The country is heading toward general elections without minimum guarantees, and does not give indications that it will enact electoral reforms between now and May of this year, as it was urged to do by the OAS.  How do you believe this failure to enact such reforms in a timely manner will impact on the human rights crisis?

“The OAS General Assembly issued a resolution last year urging Nicaragua to hold ‘free and fair’ elections this year.  This resolution calls on the State to, among other things, reform the regulations governing the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE).

“In early 2018, the Inter-American Commission highlighted the lack of independence and neutrality of the CSE as one of the factors influencing the situation in Nicaragua, wherein one sees a disturbance of the constitutional order that gravely impacts its democratic order.  That lack of neutrality and independence is manifested, as was pointed out by the Commission, in decisions that impact political forces in the opposition.

“The IACHR has not been oblivious to these issues and will be very attentive to this electoral year’s developments, because there are also human rights standards that must be respected vis-à-vis political rights.  That continues to be an area in which the State of Nicaragua must carry out institutional modifications so as to ensure free and fair elections.”

In the midst of an unresolved socio-political and human rights crisis, the government approved laws and reforms, such as reforming Article 37 of the Constitution and the Code of Criminal Procedure, which has merited serious questioning in the area of human rights.  How can the Commission advocate on behalf of the government repealing these laws?

“The Commission and its competent Rapporteurs have already issued specific pronouncements regarding the so-called Law on Foreign Agents, the provisions of the Special Law on Cybercrime, and the Law on the Defense of the People’s Rights, expressing that they do not satisfy international human rights standards and calling for them to be invalidated.  Similarly, it has expressed its concern regarding the possible repressive use that could be made of the reforms to the Constitution, by establishing life sentences, and the Code of Criminal Procedure, by extending incarceration without indictments.  The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has issued similar statements.

“As I noted earlier, these appeals and pronouncements aren’t a direct and immediate guarantee that those laws will be repealed, though they do influence the international agenda, which in turn influences the changes that should occur in Nicaragua.  We will not rest, and I know that civil society itself will not rest in promoting these changes.”

What is your assessment of the difficulties encountered in the State of Nicaragua’s compliance with the precautionary measures, and what opportunities do you see that those measures will be implemented in the current context?  In what stage is the definition of a protocol for its implementation?

“Under the current circumstances, given the complete lack of collaboration and information from the State, the adoption of a protocol for implementing precautionary measures doesn’t appear to be on the horizon, as it would of course require collaboration and willingness on the part of the State.

“Likewise, I can say that the State has not complied with the precautionary measures granted by the IACHR.  Nonetheless, the precautionary measures granted have not been altogether scant in terms of protecting the persons who are their beneficiaries.  To mention just one example, the 17 people who were the beneficiaries of precautionary measures, and for whom the Inter-American Court later issued precautionary measures, were released from prison.  In the midst of the crisis and the suffering that it causes people, these small, though still insufficient, triumphs give us hope.”

What message do you wish to send to Nicaraguan civil society within the context of today’s escalating reprisals against organizations?

“That this will be a predictably difficult year following the laws that were enacted between the end of last year and the beginning of this one.  Within that framework, I would like to communicate to them that we will be keeping our eyes closely on the situation every day and are fully prepared to publicly denounce human rights violations and take protective measures when appropriate.”

What message would you like to send to the victims and their families?

“That following their example, we will continue to tirelessly promote human rights in the country; that impunity and injustice will not perpetuate themselves.  In addition, as we always stress in the Commission, I send them a message of deep appreciation, as their commitment, courage, and work also makes our work possible.”

Civil society organizations in Nicaragua suffer from persecution and grave violations to fundamental freedoms

Three years following the outbreak of the sociopolitical and human rights crisis in Nicaragua, repression persists against the victims of human rights violations and their family members; human rights defenders, including defenders from the LGBTIQ, indigenous, and Afro-descendant communities; journalists; members of the opposition; and civil society.

The State of Nicaragua implements a strategy of hindering the work of human rights defenders through acts of intimidation, threats, systematic campaigns of stigmatization, confiscation of assets, and promulgation of laws that contravene international human rights standards, such as the Law on the Regulation of Foreign Agents and Law on Cybercrime. 

The International Institute of Race, Equality, and Human Rights (Race and Equality) spoke with representatives of three civil society organizations that have experienced reprisals due to their work promoting and defending human rights.  We asked them to share with us their assessments regarding the crisis, a call to action aimed at the international community, and a message for human rights defenders.

Marlin Sierra: Without providing a shred of evidence, the government has accused NGOs of conspiring against the State.

Marlin Sierra, a representative of the Centro Nicaragüense de Derechos Humanos [Nicaraguan Human Rights Center] (CENIDH), denounced the fact that the Nicaraguan government has accused non-governmental organizations of conspiring against the State.  As such, the new legislation has the goal of “creating an extremely restrictive environment for the work of human rights defense, thereby significantly reducing its activities and deepening the existing state of terror in the country,” he stated.

In December 2018, CENIDH’s legal personality was arbitrarily cancelled and its assets seized.  In February 2021, the Ortega government confirmed that it would illegally keep CENIDH’s offices in the cities of Managua and Juigalpa after converting them into agencies of the Ministry of Health (MINSA).

Despite this grave attack against the freedom of association, CENIDH has continued its work in defense of human rights and recognizes the commitment of international human rights bodies to Nicaragua.  “They have not restricted themselves to condemning restrictive laws . . . [but rather,] have emphasized the essential role of defenders, human rights organizations, and civil society in promoting and protecting human rights,” declared Sierra.

Lastly, in his message to human rights defenders, Sierra quoted Dr. Vilma Núñez, the founding President of CENIDH: “Defending human rights entails consciously assuming the risk of confronting the sources of power that violate them,” and emphasized the importance of defining new strategies for continuing to resist and accompanying victims in the pursuit of justice.

Lottie Cunningham: The government has formalized administrative and bureaucratic barriers.

Lottie Cunningham, the founder of the Centro por la Justicia y los Derechos Humanos de la Costa Atlántica de Nicaragua [Center for Justice and Human Rights of the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua] (CEJUDHCAN), declares that the government has established administrative and bureaucratic barriers in order to limit NGO operations, hinder access to foreign funding, and criminalize the work of human rights defenders.

Cunningham noted that, while the cancellation of the [NGOs’] legal personality has been the most visible expression of the violation of the freedom of association, “other negligent provisions and actions have been denounced that have reduced these organizations’ room for operation.”

“[The organizations] have been unable to access the necessary documentation as a result of the unfounded setback by State authorities to enable them to issue the corresponding proof. . . . Later, they impose fines that generate greater expenses for the associations,” denounced the defender.

Cunningham called on the international mechanisms of the IACHR and UN to continue demanding that the government review its laws, create a public space for discussing their content with civil society, actors, and experts in the [respective] fields, and allot additional time for public consideration of legislation, with an eye to guaranteeing that it is aligned with international human rights regulations and standards.

Lottie issued a message of resistance to her colleagues and the Nicaraguan people; “Let’s continue to fight for democracy and the rule of law by using national and international mechanisms, as well as performing acts of civic responsibility.”

Haydeé Castillo: Let us not allow the dream of the April Rebellion to fade.

Haydeé Castillo, the President of the Instituto de Liderazgo de Las Segovias [Las Segovias Leadership Institute] (ILLS), which was also seized by the police in December 2018 and has been converted into a school affiliated with the State’s Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua [National Autonomous University of Nicaragua] (UNAN), believes the sociopolitical crisis in Nicaragua “has worsened,” given that the country is being buffeted by an economic crisis, the deterioration of the social fabric, and the despair of the Nicaraguan people, who “are resisting in a state of total defenselessness in the face of an extremely criminal system.”

Faced with this situation, the defender declares that dictatorships do not understand calls to action and appeals, and that one of the greatest challenges confronted by the Inter-American System and Universal Human Rights System is to “establish binding mechanisms of obligatory compliance for States that have ceased protecting their people.”

Castillo issues this message to her colleagues: “Let’s not permit the dream of the April Rebellion – to establish a system at whose core are human rights and respect for human dignity – to fade.  Let’s continue making history; without our work, the victims will continue being unprotected by the justice system and the people of Nicaragua and the international community won’t be able to prove that we lived under a regime that committed crimes against humanity.”

Three years of impunity in Nicaragua: Race and Equality Demands Truth, Justice, Reparations, and Non-Repetition

Washington, D.C., April 16, 2021 – On this third anniversary of the unleashing of the sociopolitical crisis in Nicaragua – which has left more than 300 people assassinated, hundreds of political prisoners, thousands of exiles, and numerous cases of grave human rights violations – the International Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights (Race and Equality) joins its voice to the appeals for truth, justice, reparations, and non-repetition, and urges the State to cease the repression and guarantee the conditions of freedom and democracy that Nicaraguans yearn for.

Context

A de facto state of emergency exists in Nicaragua that is manifested in the growing restrictions to civic space; grave human rights violations; more than 100 political prisoners continuing to languish in Nicaragua’s jails; the inadequate management of the health crisis and incompliance with the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) and Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO); the situation of the indigenous and Afro-descendant communities on the Caribbean Coast, which has been aggravated by Hurricanes Eta and Iota; and the persecution of the victims of human rights violations, human rights defenders, people in the opposition, journalists, and civil society.

The State of Nicaragua continues its failure to comply with the recommendations of international human rights mechanisms regarding the reestablishment of democratic guarantees and human rights in the country.  In recent months, the National Assembly has enacted regressive and restrictive laws and reforms, such as the Special Cybercrime Law; Law for the Regulation of Foreign Agents; Law on the Rights of the People to Independence, Sovereignty, and Self-Determination for Peace; and a reform of the Code of Criminal Procedure that permits a person to be imprisoned for up to 90 days while an investigation into his/her alleged crime transpires.

And more recently, a bill to reform the Electoral Law that does not follow the recommendations set forth in the resolution approved by the Organization of American States (OAS) General Assembly in October 2020 or the new resolution of the United Nations Human Rights Council, which urges the Nicaraguan government to undertake significant and inclusive negotiations with civil society and the opposition, calling on the government to work with international organizations to enact electoral reforms no later than May 2021.

On the contrary, the reform bill was unilaterally drafted and presented, and restricts the rights to freedom of expression and association.  It prohibits independent electoral observation; considers inhibiting the participation of opposition candidates; [and] transfers the powers of the Consejo Supremo Electoral [Supreme Electoral Council] (CSE) to the National Police, enabling the latter institution to make decisions regarding campaign activities, among other measures that do not guarantee that the general elections scheduled for November 7, 2021 will be held in a free, fair, and transparent manner, in accordance with international standards.

Campaign

Given this context, as a way to commemorate the third anniversary of the April 2018 civil rebellion, Race and Equality will launch a campaign this Monday, April 19th to heighten the visibility of the grave human rights violations in Nicaragua, arduous work of civil society organizations in promoting and defending human rights, demands of the victims of human rights violations and their relatives, and position of the international communities in this profound crisis.

We interviewed five victims of grave human rights violations; three representatives of Nicaraguan civil society organizations; the President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Antonia Urrejola; and United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Peaceful Assembly and of Association Clément Voule.

All campaign materials will be published on our accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, as well as on our website.  We invite the international community, national and international press, and civil society to join our campaign by sharing it and using the hashtags #SOSNicaragua and #Nicaragua3AñosdeImpunidad [Nicaragua Three Years of Impunity] to ensure our call for a halt to the repression and demand for truth, justice, reparations, and non-repetition are heard in Nicaragua and throughout the world.

Before the IACHR: Nicaragua’s colonization policy exposes indigenous peoples to ethnocide

March 19, 2020.- The colonization of indigenous territories on the Nicaraguan Caribbean coast, encouraged by extractive activities on the natural resources necessary for the livelihood of Miskitu and Mayangna communities; the serious violations committed to deprive them of their territory; the resulting forced displacement and the food crisis faced by the communities expose these peoples to a posible ethnocide.

This situation was raised yesterday before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) during the thematic hearing “Impact of colonization in indigenous territories of the Atlantic Coast in Nicaragua”, held within the framework of the 179th Period of Sessions of this organism.

During the hearing, civil society organizations denounced that the cattle ranching, gold mining and forestry industries have promoted the colonization of the Caribbean coast, in complicity with the Nicaraguan State, which has failed to comply with the territorial saneamiento process and to guarantee the consultation and consent of indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples for the installation of extractive projects. They also assured that the Nicaraguan State has participation and interests in these sectors, among others, through the investment promotion agency (ProNicaragua), its four-year human development plan, and the direct participation of state and parastatal companies in the colonization, such as ENMINAS and Alba Forestal.

In this regard, the organizations stated that Nicaragua has the largest livestock industry in Central America, 95% of which is destined for export. Gold mining has also grown under the Ortega government, with approximately 60% of Nicaragua’s land mass going to mining concessions, including exploration in autonomous territories. They also denounced that senior regional and national government officials have approved the illicit land sales and logging permits within communal lands; and raised concerns about the regulation of permitting the extraction of fallen trees following the passage of IOTA and ETA in 2020.

The Nicaraguan State has also promoted private interests and political control in indigenous and Afro-descendant territories through the installation of parallel communal and territorial governments, while refusing to recognize the authorities elected by the population.

As a result of this colonization policy, at least 13 murders, eight people wounded in armed attacks, two kidnappings and the forced displacement of a community were documented in 2020 alone. Thus, in the last decade, between 2011 and 2021, 49 Miskitu indigenous people have been killed, 53 people injured, 46 kidnapped and 4 disappeared. The organizations estimate that violence has forcibly displaced approximately 1,000 Miskitu people in just 12 communities. To date, these acts remain unpunished.

Individuals and organizations that defend the land, territory and human rights of indigenous peoples in this region also face serious risks. According to the organizations, they experience continuous harassment, acts of stigmatization and threats, digital harassment, and administrative and bureaucratic barriers imposed by the government to limit their work. This, without the State fulfilling its obligation to develop protection mechanisms and investigation protocols for cases against human rights defenders, as ordered by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR Court) in 2017.

Against this backdrop, the president of the Inter-American Commission, Antonia Urrejola, reminded the State of Nicaragua of its obligation to comply with the regulation of the territories of the Caribbean coast, as well as the right of indigenous peoples to collective property that contemplates not only the titling of ancestral territories, but the obligation not to grant exploration or exploitation concessions in these territories; and to respect the right of peoples to prior, free and informed consultation.

For its part, the State of Nicaragua, represented by Wendy Morales Urbina, Attorney General of the Republic, committed to receive information from civil society organizations, as well as to inform the IACHR about the situation of indigenous peoples on the Caribbean coast and its measures to respond to the facts presented.

Finally, the civil society organizations made a series of requests to the Commission. Among them, they requested that the IACHR demand that the Nicaraguan State:

  1. Immediately ceases all types of threats and attacks against individuals and communities defending the rights of indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples; and refrain from taking reprisals against the participants in the hearing.
  2. Immediately, exhaustively and impartially investigates the facts denounced, punish those responsible and provide reparations to the victims.
  3. Urgently and immediately implements the precautionary and provisional measures granted to the indigenous communities.
  4. Informs about the plans and concrete measures to implement the remediation of the 23 territories of the Caribbean coast.
  5. Adopt the necessary measures to guarantee the return of displaced families from their communities and guarantee adequate access to basic services.

The organizations that participated in the hearing are the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), the Center for Justice and Human Rights of the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua (CEJUDHCAN), the Center for Legal Assistance to Indigenous Peoples (CALPI), the International Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights, the Oakland Institute, and the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT).

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: Afro-descendants call on States to address COVID-19 through inclusive and effective public policies

Washington, D.C., March 19, 2021.– One year after the arrival of COVID-19 to the Americas, the pandemic continues to impact the region’s Afro-descendant population in distinct and disproportionate ways. As we approach International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (March 21), the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) calls on States across the region to tackle the pandemic with public policies that account for this differential impact and guarantee economic recovery for all.

In our work defending and promoting human rights across Latin America and the Caribbean alongside historically marginalized groups such as Afro-descendants, we have tracked the pandemic’s impact on vulnerable populations and studied government responses across the region. According to the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the region’s 130 million Afro-descendants make up 21% of the total population.

Different conditions, different impacts

COVID-19’s distinct and disproportionate impact on Afro-descendants is rooted in the structural racism, structural discrimination, and exclusion from which Afro-descendants were suffering before the pandemic due to both actions and omissions by regional governments. From the very beginning of the pandemic, this marginalization manifested as a lack of information in Afro-descendant communities about how to prevent infection and serious difficulties in accessing national health systems for those infected. Over the course of the pandemic, a surge of violence in countries such as Brazil and Colombia, perpetrated by both the police and criminal groups, has further threatened Afro-descendants’ rights.

Other than Brazil, no country has issued official statistics on how many Afro-descendants have contracted or died from COVID-19. Civil society organizations, however, have continued to document the inequalities facing Afro-descendants throughout the pandemic. In August 2020, Race and Equality published a report addressing the situation of Afro-descendants during the pandemic. Paola Yáñez, regional coordinators of the Network of Afro-Latina, Afro-Caribbean, and Disapora Women, is quoted in the report as saying, “COVID-19 doesn’t discriminate, but we feel its effects in distinct ways because we don’t live in the same conditions.”

A regional view

Race and Equality’s partner organizations in the region emphasize that Afro-descendants began the pandemic in a situation of particular risk due to the discrimination and exclusion shaping their lives. When the pandemic took hold, government responses were generally inadequate and failed to account for the particular situations of Afro-descendant communities.

In Brazil, where President Jair Bolsonaro continues to deny the severity of the pandemic, Afro-descendants represent 67% of those who rely on the public health system. The majority of Brazilians who suffer from diabetes, tuberculosis, hypertension, and chronic kidney issues, all of which are aggravating factors for COVID-19, are also of African descent. According to the Brazilian Institute on Geography and Population, the COVID mortality rate for Afro-Brazilians has been 92 deaths per 100,000 people, while for the white population it has been 88 per 100,000.

In Colombia, Afro-descendant organizations have raised the alarm regarding their communities’ vulnerability to the pandemic, stemming from poor coverage by the public health and social security systems in majority-Afro-descendant areas. In cities such as Buenaventura (Valle de Cauca department) and Quidbó (Chocó department), the local hospital attends to 400,000 to 500,000 people without sufficient personnel or resources.

The Cuban government has used policies to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as a cover for police actions that prevent human rights defenders from carrying out their work. Members of the Citizens’ Committee for Racial Integration (CIR), for example, have suffered arbitrary detentions, police raids, and attacks throughout their campaign demanding that the government implement its touted National Program Against Racism and Racial Discrimination.

In Nicaragua, the impact of the pandemic is largely unknown due to the government’s refusal to publish thorough and timely statistical reports. Afro-descendant and indigenous populations on the Caribbean coast, however, entered the pandemic in a situation of extreme precarity due to violent land invasions and a lack of health and education services. Their vulnerability to the pandemic has only worsened due to the impact of hurricanes Eta and Iota in November 2020.

In Mexico and Peru, both of which are among the hardest-hit countries in the region and the world, Afro-descendant communities have faced particular challenges. In Mexico, the 2020 census-which, thanks to the efforts of Afro-Mexican activists, was the first to include self-identification of Afro-Mexicans-coincided with the pandemic and was severely limited. In Peru, the official response to the pandemic was hampered by a political crisis stemming from the removal of President Martín Vizcarra.

The Convention against Racism is more important than ever

As we approach International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and in the context of the International Decade for People of African Descent, Race and Equality calls on all States to adopt the necessary measures to fight racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and the intersecting forms of intolerance that afflict people of African descent. These measures include legal reforms, the adoption of international instruments, and the implementation of effective policies.

Race and Equality continues to call upon States to ratify the Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination, and Related Forms of Intolerance. The Convention represents an effective and comprehensive framework for guaranteeing the enjoyment of economic, social, cultural, civil, and political rights of Afro-descendant people. To date, only Antigua and Barbuda, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Uruguay, and Brazil (as of February of this year) have ratified the Convention. Brazilian civil society organizations continue to work to ensure that the Convention is implemented.

Race and Equality calls upon States to:

  • Undertake public policies that combat structural racism and racial discrimination against Afro-descendant people.
  • Improve national health, employment, and educations systems, including by eliminating the gulf between urban and rural areas.
  • Prioritize Afro-descendant and indigenous communities in post-pandemic economic recovery plans.
  • Incorporate particular efforts to address Afro-descendants into emergency response plans. These efforts should respect Afro-descendants’ right to free, prior, and informed consent; account for intersectional human rights issues; and address the needs of vulnerable populations such as children, women, displaced people, migrants, and LGBTI people.
  • Create permanent programs to collect accurate, detailed, and disaggregated data on health, education, employment, and access to justice.

On International Women’s Day, Race and Equality pays tribute to all the women fighting for equality and a better world amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Washington, D.C., March 8, 2021.- On this year’s International Women’s Day, the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) makes a special recognition to all the women who were firm in their commitment for equality over the past year, particularly in light of the increase in violation of their rights during the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, we align with the United Nations’ theme for commemorating March 8: “Women in Leadership: Achieving an Equal Future in a COVID-19 World.”

Race and Equality held talks with seven women from different parts of Latin America and the Caribbean who participated in advocacy spaces to promote the defense of their rights. We asked them to share their message to the nation’s leaders as well as a message of hope and resistance to all the women in the region.

United and Secure

From Colombia, Alicia Quiñonez of the National Conference of Afro-Colombian Organizations (CNOA, in Spanish) asks the Colombian authorities to place their focus on the ethnic Afro-Colombian, Raizal and Palenquero territories; to protect life and to guarantee women the right to a decent life, free to pursue social, political and entrepreneurial work within their territories.

In her message to women, Alicia states: “I invite you all to imagine and to work towards more social, political and economic spaces that will allow us to remain united, lifting our voices each day for organizational processes that allow ethnic territories to demand their rights and to live in peace – because together, we can achieve much more.”

Rights’ Guarantee

Jessenia Casani, director of DEMUS of Peru, stated that authorities must focus their efforts on promoting and achieving gender equality. “We must confront the pandemic with a gender approach in mind. For example, we need to implement preventative strategies to counter sexist violence and, in this context, be able to guarantee sexual and reproductive rights by providing comprehensive sexual education, including access to emergency contraceptives, access to legal and safe abortion services, maternal health, and other services without discrimination and violence.”

Political Participation

Rosa Castro, from the Women’s Association of the Coast of Oaxaca, Mexico stressed the importance that women continue denouncing all forms of violence they experience, as well as demand for spaces of power. “Let us exercise our political rights and continue to organize, empower ourselves and consolidate our political participation in all decision- making spaces, women must have a place at the governance table and be represented in the discussions.”

Resilience in the Midst of Crisis

Juanita Jiménez, Director of the Autonomous Women’s Movement (MAM) in Nicaragua, explained that in the midst of a socio-political crisis and human rights crisis that the country has endured since April 2018 combined with the pandemic, women face an ever-increasing risk of violence and femicide. She assured that “the fight for equality continues on, for historical and present-day discrimination continue and even modernize.”

She emphasized, “We continue to fight for the return of democracy and for the return of all rights, we want to live in a democracy so that our human condition is recognized, so that our bodies are not punished for daring to decide, to think differently, nor be criticized or inspected by authorities; the fight for equality continues so that girls can grow up safe, be valued from birth, have access to technology, science, education, and integral development, and most importantly, that they can live free from violence.”

Perseverance

Lisandra Orraca, a Cuban citizen and member of the Latin American Federation of Rural Women (FLAMUR), made a special call to the authorities so that in Cuba any crimes of femicide be classified and punished as such. She expressed, “I would like to tell the women of my country to stay united in the fight for equality and for the respect of our rights, this is the only way we can achieve a better future, free from abuse and discrimination, together we can achieve it, we can never give up, together we can accomplish whatever we set our minds to.”

From the organization TRANSSA in the Dominican Republic, Agatha Brooks articulated the importance of authorities responding adequately and efficiently to the violence faced by trans women. In the midst of the pandemic, violence is exacerbated by the lack of gender identity legislation and access to health services, not to mention a drastic decrease in financial stability. Brooks remarks, “To women, both cis and trans, I tell them not to stop fighting, that our fight is constant and that, if women in the past had stopped fighting, we would not be where we are today. Although it is believed that there has not been progress, much progress has been made and we still have a long way to go, so we need courage, strength, we can move forward.”

Women in Pandemic: Resistance and Community

The health emergency generated by Covid-19 not only exceeded the capacities of most health systems around the world, but also exposed pre-existing inequalities, violence, and poverty in our societies. Thus, historically marginalized groups like the Afro-descendant populations, LGBTI peoples, and women suffered from the impacts of this pandemic in an extreme and differentiated way. The lack of access to health services, the exclusion of health measures, the exacerbation of gender violence and the increase in the burden of care assumed by women in the home are some only a few of the many emerged situations.

 

And yet, along with all this suffering, we saw how women who fight for the recognition and guarantee of their rights remained firm, including women in public positions, health personnel, and those who head the household. For these reasons and many more, from Race and Equality we hope that on this International Women’s Day, women can re-double their strength and determination to organize, advocate, and take action for their rights. Women’s contribution is essential to have a more just and equitable society.

Throughout this week, we will be sharing videos with the messages of these women on our social networks, under the slogan “Women in Pandemic: Resistance and Collective Action.” We invite you to join this campaign so that your voice can reach more spaces for reflection and advocacy.

Alongside international experts and Latin American civil society leaders, Race and Equality publishes a new report, “CEDAW and its Impact on Women’s Lives: an intersectional approach”

Washington, D.C., March 5, 2021.- In the lead-up to International Women’s Day, the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) held a webinar on Thursday, March 4th to launch the report “CEDAW and its Impact on Women’s Lives: an intersectional approach.” Representatives from organizations that defend the rights of Afro-descendant and LGBT women served as panelists alongside Gladys Acosta, president of the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

Marisa Hutchinson, program official at International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific (IWRAW Asia Pacific); Janaina Oliveira, national director for LGBT issues of the Workers’ Party (PT) in Brazil; Laritza Diversent, director of the Cuban-American NGO Cubalex; María Vélez, coordinator of the Casa Afirmativa project operated by the Colombian organization Caribe Afirmativo; and Wescla Vasconcelos, coordinator of the Rio de Janeiro Forum of Travestis[1] and Transsexual People, all spoke on the panel about the impact of CEDAW and the challenges still facing its work. Cecilia Ramírez, an Afro-Peruvian activist with the Peruvian Center for Black Women’s Development, served as the moderator.

Race and Equality’s executive director, Carlos Quesada, gave the opening remarks. Melissa Monroy, the report’s author and an advisor on women’s rights at Race and Equality, presented the report, which analyzes CEDAW’s impact in Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru.

The report

In her presentation, Monroy explained that the report analyzes the dialogue among state parties, civil society, and the CEDAW committee that results in the committee’s reports and recommendations. The report pays particular attention to the representation and participation of Afro-descendant women, including Afro-descendant LGBT women, in this dialogue.

The analysis drew upon a thorough review of states’ reports to CEDAW and of CEDAW’s recommendations between 2010 and 2020. Monroy also interviewed civil society activists and leaders to understand their place in the CEDAW process and their perspectives on its impact.

“The actions of CEDAW, civil society, and state parties are all interconnected. More participation from diverse Afro-descendant women is needed in all three spheres for their voices to be heard effectively,” she remarked, noting that the report includes recommendations to the Committee, civil society, and states to improve their approach to Afro-descendant women’s rights.

The evolution of CEDAW

 CEDAW president Gladys Acosta acknowledged the lack of representation and participation of Afro-descendant women in the CEDAW process while assuring the audience that since the adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 1979, the Committee has undergone several reforms as society’s understanding of women’s rights has evolved. For example, she explained, the Committee has moved from focusing on “violence against women” to “gender-based violence” as the latter term gains acceptance among experts.

“This is not just a conceptual change, this is a historical evolution brought about by struggle and activism. Struggle comes before advances in laws: first there is a struggle and later on national and international institutions recognize the change. These standards are elastic; they expand as social consciousness expands, so we may have said one thing in 1980, but today things are different. There is a broader understanding of what constitutes a human rights violation,” Acosta explained.

To give another example, Acosta referred to the concept of intersectionality, saying that it has helped to fulfill the Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ affirmation that all people are born free and equal in dignity and rights. “The Declaration establishes all people on equal footing, but for thousands of reasons we have delayed in arriving to this vision,” she stated.

“All this is in motion, it is not static, and the visibility that civil society brings to new issues is noticed – not only by CEDAW, but in all the UN treaty bodies. We are trying to create an understanding of human rights that is comprehensive, more specific, and more suited to protecting vulnerable people,” Acosta added.

An intersectional discussion of discrimination

 The panel’s civil society representatives drew on their experience working to defend and promote women’s rights to discuss how discrimination and violence are manifested in the lives of Afro-descendant and LGBT women.

“When I think about intersectionality, I first think about what it means to be a Black woman. We experience discrimination because of race or sexual orientation, because for a lesbian or trans Black woman, all your life experiences come to one point, which is your racial difference. This has a major impact on our experience with discrimination,” said Marisa Hutchinson, program official at IWRAW Asia Pacific.

Janaina Oliveira, national director for LGBTI issues of the Brazilian Workers’ Party, emphasized that not all public policies supposedly aimed at advancing women’s rights will improve the situation of Afro-descendant or LGBT women, especially in a country like Brazil, where the government of President Jair Bolsonaro denies the extent and impact of racism: “You can see this when we launch campaigns to fight violence against women, and there is a reduction in rates of violence only against non-Black women. State policies in favor of women don’t mean that the policies will reach the most vulnerable groups.”

Laritza Diversent, director of Cubalex, explained that in Cuba, Afro-descendant women suffer constant discrimination and violence at the hands of the authorities, including racial profiling by police who assume that Black women are involved in illegal sex work. “They assume Black women are more sexual and think that we try to go after tourists, so we are constantly being watched by police. During the pandemic, state violence against Black women has worsened,” she said, mentioning that the concept of intersectionality has not been mainstreamed in Cuba’s independent civil society, making it difficult to use an intersectional lens to gather and report data.

María Vélez of Caribe Afirmativo pointed out, “Lesbian, bisexual, and trans Black women experience life in racialized bodies, so we experience discrimination for our sexual orientation or gender identity differently than white LGBT women do. We experience it in an environment where racism against us is ingrained socially, economically, even religiously. Intersectionality requires us to think about racial, gender, and class oppression and how they are interrelated. This is how we can understand the inequality that we experience.”

The panel closed with remarks from Wescla Vasconcelos, coordinator of the Rio de Janeiro Forum of Travestis and Transsexual People, who warned of serious discrimination facing LGBTI people in Brazil. “We are the population that suffers the most hate crimes. This brutality must stop, it must be combatted – the situation must change,” she insisted.

At Race and Equality, we are committed to practicing intersectionality across our programs defending and promoting human rights, including the rights of Afro-descendant and LGBTI people. We hope that this new report will contribute to civil society’s understanding of intersectionality, its role in the fight against discrimination, and how to incorporate it into national, regional, and international policies for human rights.

The Spanish version of the report can be found here. English and Portuguese translations will be available soon.

The recording of the webinar can be found here.

[1] Travesti is a Portuguese term for a person who was assigned male at birth, but who identifies and self-expresses as female, with or without any related medical interventions.

National Journalists’ Day in Nicaragua: no guarantees for freedom of the press

Washington, D.C.; March 1, 2020.- Today, March 1st, Nicaragua celebrates National Journalists’ Day. For Nicaragua’s independent press and for Nicaraguan journalists forced into exile, however, there is little to celebrate. The socio-political crisis that has gripped the country since April 2018 has severely curtailed Nicaraguan journalism. Today, Nicaragua’s independent journalists lack the basic protections that would guarantee their ability to carry out their crucial work.

Race and Equality spoke with three journalists, all of whom have suffered human rights violations since the crisis began, about the critical situation in Nicaragua.

Aníbal Toruño: In Nicaragua, there is total suppression of the right to freedom of the press

 Aníbal Toruño, the director of Radio Darío in the city of León, finds it increasingly difficult to carry out independent journalism due to increasing censorship, threats, violence, and criminalization at the hands of police, government institutions, and paramilitary groups.

“There is total suppression of our constitutional right to freedom of the press. Not only are there constant threats against journalists, the government recently passed a set of laws that seek to censor not only journalism, but the free expression of all Nicaraguans by controlling social networks and the major means of communications,” said Aníbal, referring to the Special Law on Cybercrime, the Law to Regulate Foreign Agents, and the constitutional reform to introduce life imprisonment as a criminal sentence.

Toruño, his family, and the staff of Radio Darío are under constant assault by the police. Since April 2018, the channel’s office has been raided 125 times. Just this year, Toruño’s home has been raided three times, each time without a legal warrant. “We have learned to control our fear, but it is difficult to see police and paramilitaries outside your house that could attack and destroy it at any moment,” said Toruño, recalling that under the administration of President Daniel Ortega, over 20 media outlets and 10 news and opinion programs have shut down. Furthermore, of the 13 free-to-air television channels that once existed in Nicaragua, only two remain that do not adhere to official government line.

According to Toruño, “field journalism is off-limits” due to the persecution that reporters suffer as they attempt to carry out their work. Radio Darío has resorted to asking other colleagues to go out and gather information. “We are surveilled, persecuted, there is very little space to move, and the work is extremely complicated. If the world does not react, you’re going to be seeing the sun set on one of the biggest ongoing fights for freedom of expression,” he added.

Speaking to his fellow independent journalists, however, Toruño closed with a message of hope: “We all have to rally our strength to keep going, because the night has never defeated the dawn and the dawn might be far off, but it always comes. Our conviction that we are fighting for what’s right must renew our struggle and our perseverance every day.”

Kalúa Salazar: Day and night, the police attack me at my home

 Kalúa Salazar, chief press officer for Radio La Conteñísima in Bluefields on the Caribbean coast, told Race and Equality that the minimal conditions to guarantee free and independent journalism no longer exist in Nicaragua. “What we have today are conditions in which only journalists with a political bias can operate. But independent journalists have risen to the challenge, and as result we have what you see today: journalists being charged, imprisoned, and beaten,” she said.

In August 2020, three employees of the city government of El Rama filed a defamation complaint against Kalúa for reporting on corruption in the city government and exposing misuse of public funds. As a consequence, she told Race and Equality, “Since then, the police have come to my house at night and early in the morning, blowing their sirens, sounding the horns of the police cars, making an unbearable noise to prevent me from sleeping.”

The police siege of her home has prevented her from accessing sources to carry out her work, but above all it has disrupted her personal life. “With trucks full of armed police officers outside my house where my daughters are,” she reflected, “the biggest impact is on my personal life, because it affects my most basic concern for my children.”

On March 9th, Kalúa will go to court to challenge the accusations. “I have had to follow every possible legal path to make sure that my case illustrates the ways that my rights as an individual and as a journalist are being violated by this effort to prosecute me for exercising my free expression,” she remarked.

Despite these circumstances, Kalúa intends to continue pursuing journalism in Bluefields and throughout the Southern Caribbean region. For National Journalists’ Day, she shared with Race and Equality the mantra that she uses to motivate herself every morning: “We have a goal – not to bring down the government, but to share truthful information and to be able to criticize any government that violates human rights. We want to be able to go out among the people. We have to be confident and find the strength we need to keep working. They want us to censor ourselves out of fear, but we cannot let that fear overcome us and desist us from our work.”

Lucia Pineda: We keep on resisting. It is our profession, and nobody can stop us

Lucia Pineda, the director of the news channel 100% News, was the victim of one of the most extreme government measures against independent journalism. In December 2018, she was arrested and accused of “proposing, provoking, and conspiring to commit terrorist acts.” Pineda remained in prison until June 2019, when she was released under Nicaragua’s Amnesty Law. She left prison along with 55 other Nicaraguans imprisoned for their participation in the 2018 protests, including the owner of 100% News, Miguel Mora.

“We’re under a red alert – professional journalism is under threat in Nicaragua. There are defamation and calumny trials against journalists, encouraged by pro-government forces, and media outlets are being stolen away,” said Pineda, who left Nicaragua for Costa Rica after being released. From exile, she continues to direct 100% News, which now broadcasts exclusively online. Back in Nicaragua, the channel’s offices were occupied by police in December 2018. They have since been illegally expropriated and converted into a rehabilitation center owned by the Ministry of Health.

As she continues her work, Lucia has become all too familiar with the risks of independent journalism in Nicaragua. “Our team is under constant threat,” she recounted. “They attend a press conference given by an opposition party and the police search them, search their cars, go through their possessions. Our night reporter tells me that the police follow him every day. Sometimes they stop him to question him, and there have been times where they have beaten him.”

“The police see you as an enemy, they attack you to instill fear and try to make you throw in the towel (desist), make you feel that you’re always being watched and that you have to limit what you say,” added Pineda. She shared with Race and Equality that her life has been turned upside-down since her imprisonment. Before her arrest, the 100% News office had been her second home. Today, she must direct 100% News from abroad, and for her own safety cannot return to her life in Nicaragua.

Lucia closed with these comments for her colleagues still working in Nicaragua: “We keep on resisting, fighting for freedom. Someday Nicaragua will thank the press for this work. Around the world, Nicaraguan media is being recognized for their bravery. This is our profession, and nobody can stop us.”

Race and Equality’s Statement

On National Journalists’ Day, Race and Equality salutes Nicaragua’s independent media, who continue to struggle for freedom of the press despite lacking the most basic protections for their work. We call upon the Nicaraguan government to respect the freedom of the press; ensure that journalists can safely carry out their work without attacks, persecution, or threats; and repeal the Law on Cybercrime and the Law to Regulate Foreign Agents, both of which place unacceptable restrictions on the freedom of expression.

High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet calls on the government of Nicaragua to cooperate with international human rights mechanisms and to guarantee free, fair, and transparent elections

Washington, D.C.; February 25th, 2021.- The socio-political crisis that has gripped Nicaragua since April 2018 has been aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic and by the effects of Hurricanes Eta and Iota, reported UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet. Bachelet delivered these remarks during the 46th period of sessions of the UN Human Rights Council, where she presented her report on the situation in Nicaragua. Her report was met with approval by many diplomatic missions and international human rights organizations that participated in a public discussion after the presentation.

“As the elections scheduled for November 2021 draw closer, the rule of law continues to deteriorate in Nicaragua. The adoption of several laws contrary to the freedoms of association, expression, political participation, and the right to due process demonstrate the continual closing of civic and democratic space,” stated Bachelet, whose report covered the period from August 2019 through December 2020.

According to the report, the Office of the High Commissioner documented 117 cases of harassment, intimidation, and threats by police or pro-government groups against students, rural communities, political activists, human rights defenders, women’s groups, and organizations of the victims of rights violations. The report also documented “34 cases of intimidation, threats, criminalization, and smear campaigns against journalists and media outlets perceived as loyal to the political opposition.”

High Commissioner Bachelet emphasized that arbitrary detentions, most of them short-term, persist and called attention to the situation of political prisoners. According to the Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners in Nicaragua, 111 people remain imprisoned for their political beliefs as of February 2021. Bachelet also highlighted that indigenous communities on the Atlantic coast continue to suffer land invasions and violent attacks in addition to the devastation of the two hurricanes. Furthermore, the report found that femicides and underage pregnancy rates have risen.

Human rights violations and impunity

“Impunity has persisted for human rights violations committed during the 2018 protests,” the report states, emphasizing that recommendations previously issued to Nicaragua in the High Commissioner’s reports and in the Bulletin of the Regional Office of the High Commissioner have not been implemented.

“Incorporating a focus on human rights and on participation by the most vulnerable people will contribute significantly to a resolution of the current crisis and to the post-disaster reconstruction efforts. Again, I call on the government to allow my Office access to the country to monitor human rights during the electoral process and provide technical assistance to ensure the exercise of human rights. Electoral reforms must be adopted to ensure free, fair, and transparent elections,” concluded Bachelet.

Nicaragua’s response

On behalf of the State of Nicaragua, the Attorney General, Wendy Carolina Morales expressed, the “absolute rejection and non-recognition” of the report, which she called “unilateral” and “biased.” “The government strongly rejects these interventionist and interfering reports that seek to disqualify and denigrate our national authorities and institutions, such as our legal system,” she said.

International support

The High Commissioner’s report was endorsed by the diplomatic delegations of Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Georgia, Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States, Uruguay and the European Union, as well as by international human rights organizations that participated in a discussion following the presentation of the report, which included the intervention of representatives of Nicaraguan civil society.

The representatives expressed their concern regarding the ongoing repression against civil society, journalists, media outlets, opposition figures, human rights defenders and the recent approval of the Foreign Agents Law, as well as the government’s refusal to take responsibility for the human rights violations committed during the protests of 2018.

The president of the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH), Vilma Núñez was among those who spoke on behalf of Nicaraguan civil society, Race and Equality, the International Service for Human Rights, and the International Federation of Human Rights. She denounced the destruction of several buildings that once housed civil society organizations and independent media outlets, which were expropriated and occupied illegally by the authorities. These buildings are in the process of being converted into Ministry of Health facilities.

Remarks by the Center for Justice and Human Rights of the Atlantic Coast (CEJUDHCAN), the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) and CENIDH emphasized that “throughout 2020, land invasions and violent attacks have increased, with at least 13 indigenous people killed, 8 wounded, 2 kidnapped, the forced displacement of an indigenous community, and 2 attacks on indigenous girls.”

To view the High Commissioner’s presentation, click here.

Read the High Commissioner’s report here.

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