07/14/2023 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/14/2023 04:04
Re. Addressing human rights crisis in Nicaragua during the EU-CELAC Summit
We, the undersigned victims of the Nicaraguan government, and national and international non-governmental organizations working on the country, are writing to urge you to prioritize initiatives to address the situation in Nicaragua on the occasion of the forthcoming European Union (EU) - Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) summit scheduled for July 17th and 18th in Brussels. Particularly, we urge you to propose, during the summit or on its margins, the establishment of a "Group of Friends of the Nicaragua People" to ensure an effective, cross-regional, and high-level response to the ongoing human rights crisis in Nicaragua.
We hope that the Summit will be an opportunity to discuss pressing human rights challenges in countries in Europe and in the Latin America and the Caribbean region, such as democratic backsliding, escalating violence and insecurity, and abuses against migrants and asylum seekers.
In recent years, few countries in the region have witnessed the consolidation of authoritarian rule and systematic assaults on independent media and the dismantling of civil societyto the extent observed in Nicaragua.
A damning report released in early March by the United Nations Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua found reasonable grounds to conclude that the authorities have committed crimes against humanity, including murder, imprisonment, torture, sexual violence, forced deportation, and persecution on political grounds.[1]
Sixty-four people remain arbitrarily detained in Nicaragua, according to local rights groups, and the government has recently stripped 317 critics of their nationality and confiscated their assets.[2] It has also dramatically restricted civic space, including by canceling the legal status of over 3,500 nongovernmental organizations since 2018.[3] The government has intensified its attacks against the Catholic Church, its priests and bishops, including Bishop Rolando Alvarez, who was arbitrarily sentenced to 26 years in prison. Additionally, no international monitors have been allowed to enter the country since the government expelled the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in late 2018.[4]
We welcome the recent statements from governments in Latin America and the European External Action Service (EEAS) publicly condemning these abuses.[5] However, we regret that the international community's response has so far lacked the necessary coordination to effectively ensure steps towards a rights-respecting democracy and justice for victims.
We urge governments in Latin America, the EU and its member states, to establish a "Group of Friends for the Nicaraguan People" made up of governments across the political spectrum, to contribute to a transition toward democracy. The Group should conduct high-level meetings to design, in consultation with Nicaraguan civil society groups and other relevant stakeholders, a strategy of concerted peaceful, private and public actions to provide pathways for the release of political prisoners and accountability, and to push for the realization of free and fair elections as soon as possible.
While we welcome the existence of a Working Group on Nicaragua within the Organization of American States (OAS), we believe that the gravity of this crisis requires higher-level action. We also believe that these efforts could benefit from the participation of the EEAS or EU member states.
We hope that your government can consider these recommendations as part of your broader effort to promote human rights in Nicaragua.
For more information about this proposal and its relevance to the human rights situation in Nicaragua, please contact [email protected].
We thank you for your attention to these pressing issues.
Sincerely,
List of signatories:
*13 others signed the letter anonymously due to security concerns
Nicaraguan human rights organizations:
Regional and International human rights organizations:
[1] United Nations Human Rights Council, Report by the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/52/63, March 2, 2023, https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/03/nicaragua-crimes-against-humanity-being-committed-against-civilians (accessed May 26, 2023).
[2] Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners, "Monthly List of Political Prisoners" ("Lista Mensual de Personas Presas y Presos Políticos Nicaragua"), May 2023, https://presasypresospoliticosnicaragua.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/e76cc688-8966-44b2-a906-7e77ebad6496.pdf (accessed June 22, 2023); Nicaraguan Judiciary, "Special broadcast from the Judicial Complex of Managua" ("Transmisión especial desde el Complejo Judicial de Managua"), February 8, 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWHLqIJbWQA (accessed May 26, 2023); Nicaragua Judiciary, "Presiding Magistrate to the Appeals Tribunal in Managua announces resolutions regarding 94 traitors to the homeland" ("Magistrado presidente del TAM da a conocer resoluciones referentes a 94 traidores a la Patria"), February 16, 2023, https://www.poderjudicial.gob.ni/prensa/notas_prensa_detalle.asp?id_noticia=12272 (accessed May 26, 2023);
[3] "Nicaragua: Ortega's regime sweeps away civil society" ("Nicaragua: el régimen de Ortega arrasa con la sociedad civil"), DW, May 23, 2023, https://www.dw.com/es/nicaragua-el-r%C3%A9gimen-de-ortega-arrasa-con-la-sociedad-civil/a-65702755 (accessed May 26, 2023).
[4] Organization of American States, "OAS General Secretariat Rejects Expulsion of GIEI and MESENI from Nicaragua," December 19, 2018, https://www.oas.org/en/media_center/press_release.asp?sCodigo=E-082/18 (accessed May 26, 2023).
[5] See, e.g., UN Human Rights Council, "Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in Nicaragua," UN Doc. A/HRC/RES/52/2, April 3, 2023, https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G23/072/95/PDF/G2307295.pdf?OpenElement (accessed June 26, 2023); Permanent Council of the Organization of American States, "Declaration on the Recent Release of Political Prisoners in Nicaragua," February 22, 2023, https://usoas.usmission.gov/member-states-issue-declaration-on-nicaragua/ (accessed June 22, 2023); European External Action Service (EEAS), "Nicaragua: Statement by the Spokesperson on revoking citizenship of political opponents," February 16, 2023, https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/nicaragua-statement-spokesperson-revoking-citizenship-political-opponents_en?s=189 (accessed June 12, 2023).