Nicaragua
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Country recommendations on civic space for UN´s Universal Periodic Review
CIVICUS makes six joint UN Universal Periodic Review submissions on civil society space: Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Nicaragua and Qatar
CIVICUS and its partners have made joint UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) submissions on 6 countries in advance of the 33rd UPR session (April-May 2019). The submissions examine the state of civil society in each country, including the promotion and protection of the rights to freedom of association, assembly and expression and the environment for human rights defenders. We further provide an assessment of the States’ domestic implementation of civic space recommendations received during the 2nd UPR cycle over 4 years ago and provide a number of targeted follow-up recommendations.
Cote d’Ivoire: CIVICUS and the Coalition Ivoirienne des Défenseurs des droits Humains (CIDDH) examine the steps taken by the government of Cote d’Ivoire to address restrictions on civic space. We highlight the promulgation of the law on Human Rights Defenders and the subsequent Resolution passed to ensure implementation of the law. However, we note ongoing restrictions on freedom of expression, the targeting of journalists and bloggers by the authorities, attempts to undermine freedom of association and the tendency to use excessive force to disperse peaceful protests.
Democratic Republic of Congo (FR): CIVICUS and Ligue des Droits de la personne dans la région des Grands Lacs (LDGL) analyse the multiple unwarranted restrictions on civic space in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Authorities have systematically banned protests, in particular protests organised by civil society, social movements and opposition, while security forces have used excessive force against peaceful protesters, leading to hundreds of deaths. Additionally, HRDs and activists are subject to arbitrary arrests and judicial harassment, aimed at preventing them from exercising their democratic and civic rights. These unwarranted restrictions have intensified since the start of the political and security crisis in 2015, precipitated by President Kabila’s attempts to remain in power despite a constitutional two-term limit.
Equatorial Guinea: CIVICUS, the Committee Protect Journalists (CPJ), Centro de Estudios e Iniciativas para el Desarrollo (CEID), ONG – Cooperación y Desarrollo and EG Justice examine ongoing restrictions on freedom of association, attacks and intimidation of journalists and bloggers and the general disenabling environment for freedom of expression and independent media agencies. We further discuss threats faced by human rights defenders and the frequent violent repression of peaceful assemblies.
Ethiopia: CIVICUS, the Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia (AHRE), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), DefendDefenders, PEN International, Article 19, the Consortium of Ethiopian Rights Organizations (CERO), and Access Now examine the Government of Ethiopia’s fulfilment of the rights to the freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression, and unwarranted restrictions on HRDs since its previous UPR examination in 2014. While the government recently committed to addressing a range of restrictive legislation, alongside releasing large numbers of political prisoners, at the time of writing, the restrictive legal framework remains in place. Acute implementation gaps were found regarding recommendations relating to civic space including the rights to the freedoms of association and peaceful assembly.
Nicaragua (ES): CIVICUS and the Nicaraguan Network for Democracy and Local Development Federation (Red Local) address concerns about the violent repression of protests and the criminalisation of protest leaders and demonstrators, particularly of the student and peasant movements, as well as the intensification of the persecution and intimidation suffered by CSOs supporting social movements in Nicaragua. Along with the growing restrictions on freedom of expression that stem from media concentration in government hands and pressures against journalists and independent media covering issues such as corruption, elections and infrastructure or extractive projects, the submission further examines the alarming increase of unwarranted restrictions on the press linked to the coverage of protests and their violent suppression and related human rights violations.
Qatar: CIVICUS and the Gulf Centre for Human Rights highlight the continued restrictions on freedom of association and expression in Qatar, which include unwarranted arrests on foreign journalists and confiscation of equipment, and restrictions on online content under the Cybercrime Prevention Law. The authorities in Qatar also continue to restrict the formation of independent civil society organisations committed to the advancement of human rights, and there have been severe and undue limitations to freedoms of assembly resulting in almost no protests in Qatar despite serious human rights violations.
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Crisis de derechos humanos en Nicaragua: el Consejo de Derechos Humanos de la ONU debe reforzar y renovar por dos años su resolución sobre Nicaragua
Declaración conjunta durante el Diálogo Interactivo con el Alto Comisionado de la ONU para los Derechos Humanos sobre Nicaragua
Orador: Juan Carlos Arce
Doy esta declaración en nombre de 34 organizaciones nicaragüenses e internacionales, de las cuales 12 conforman el Colectivo 46/2, coalición que monitorea la cooperación de Nicaragua con el sistema de derechos humanos de la ONU.
Nuestro léxico carece de términos apropiados para caracterizar el sufrimiento que el pueblo nicaragüense ha atravesado desde la represión a las protestas de abril de 2018, y la gravedad y amplitud de la crisis de derechos humanos a manos del gobierno en Nicaragua.
Con más de 150.000 nicaragüenses en el exilio, los nicaragüenses son la tercera población más grande que solicitó asilo durante el primer semestre de 2022, después de los venezolanos y ucranianos según el ACNUR.
Las elecciones municipales del 6 de noviembre resultaron en el control absoluto por el partido gobernante sobre los 153 municipios del país, en un proceso “caracterizado por la represión a las voces disidentes y la restricción indebida de los derechos políticos y las libertades civiles”, según la OACNUDH. Los pueblos indígenas de la Costa Caribe Norte siguen expuestos a ataques generalizados por colonos armados en sus territorios, con 90 ataques documentados desde 2018, incluyendo 32 asesinatos, según organizaciones locales. Con la cancelación de la personería jurídica de más de 2500 organizaciones de la sociedad civil, ONU y CIDH (Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos) han denunciado un “claro patrón de represión del espacio cívico” en contra de las voces disidentes, incluidos periodistas, defensores de derechos humanos, actores de la sociedad civil, académicos, estudiantes e integrantes de la Iglesia Católica. Hoy día, el gobierno detiene a cerca de 235 personas presas políticas, en condiciones inhumanas.
Ante ello, la negativa excepcional del gobierno a cooperar con los organismos de derechos humanos de la ONU es condenable. Los dos comités de órganos de tratado de la ONU contra la tortura denunciaron de forma inédita la negativa del gobierno a cooperar, mientras las autoridades también rechazaron revisiones por cuatro otros comités de derechos humanos de la ONU en el último año. Expertos de la ONU de cinco mandatos de “Procedimientos Especiales” también emitieron reiteradas solicitudes de visitas al país, sin recibir respuesta. El análisis de la sociedad civil con base en información de la ONU y del sistema Inter-Americano también denota la falta de implementación absoluta por el gobierno de las 14 recomendaciones de la resolución 49/3 de este Consejo de Derechos Humanos. Por estas razones, lanzamos hoy nuestro llamado global a una resolución sobre Nicaragua que renueve por un período de dos años el mandato del Grupo de Expertos en Derechos Humanos sobre Nicaragua, y el mandato de monitoreo de la OACNUDH (Oficina del Alto Comisionado de la ONU para los Derechos Humanos).
Hacemos un llamado a todos los gobiernos para que apoyen dicha resolución en la próxima sesión del Consejo de Derechos Humanos, y refuercen su enfoque interseccional, prestando especial atención a la situación de los pueblos indígenas y afrodescendientes, las personas migrantes y desplazadas a la fuerza, las personas detenidas por razones políticas, y a los familiares de las víctimas.
¡Libertad para todas las personas presas políticas en Nicaragua!
Organizaciones firmantes:
- Colectivo 46/2: Centre for Civil and Political Rights (CCPR Centre)
- Centro Nicaragüense de Derechos Humanos (CENIDH)
- Colectivo de Derechos Humanos Nicaragua Nunca Más
- IFEX-ALC International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
- International Network of Human Rights Europe (RIDHE)
- International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
- Mesoamerican Women Rights Defenders Initiative (IM-Defensoras)
- The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights
- Unidad de Defensa Jurídica (UDJ)
- Urnas Abiertas
- World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
Otras organizaciones:
- CIVICUS – World Alliance for Citizen Participation
- Diakonia Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF)
- FIAN International
- Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
- International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI)
- International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
- Plataforma Internacional Contra la Impunidad (PICI)
- Protection International Mesoamérica
- The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights
- The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA)
- Unidad de Protección a Defensoras y Defensores de Derechos Humanos - Guatemala (UDEFEGUA)
- Women's Link Worldwide
Nicaragua Lucha, incluyendo organizaciones miembros:
- Acción Penal
- Articulación de Movimientos Sociales
- Grupo de Reflexión de Excarcelados Políticos (GREX)
- Organización Víctimas de Abril (OVA)
- Periodistas y Comunicadores Independientes de Nicaragua (PCIN)
- Popol Na
- Unidad de Registro (UDR)
- Unión de Presas y Presos Políticos Nicaragüenses
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Declaración: Nicaragua no implementa recomendaciones de derechos humanos
42 Consejo de Derechos Humanos de la ONU
Declaración: Adopción del informe EPU de NicaraguaRed Local y CIVICUS saludan el compromiso del gobierno de Nicaragua con el proceso EPU. Sin embargo, nuestra presentación conjunta documenta que, desde su evaluación anterior, Nicaragua no ha implementado ninguna de las 26 recomendaciones recibidas en relación con el espacio cívico, 17 de ellas referidas a la libertad de expresión y acceso a la información. También lamentamos que, durante el ciclo actual, las recomendaciones sobre el acceso de y la cooperación con mecanismos regionales e internacionales de derechos humanos, la investigación de los abusos de derechos humanos cometidos contra manifestantes, y la seguridad y libertad de periodistas y personas defensoras encarceladas, no fueron aceptados por el Gobierno.
Como lo detalla nuestra presentación, la legislación nicaragüense sigue tratando a la calumnia y la injuria como delitos penales, y la libertad de prensa continúa limitada por la manipulación de la distribución de publicidad oficial, la denegación de acceso para cubrir actividades gubernamentales, el control estricto del flujo informativo desde la cúspide del aparato estatal, y la concentración de medios en manos de la familia presidencial y sus aliados. También se han registrado actos de censura explícita.
Asimismo, nuestra presentación documenta que la legislación que regula la creación, el funcionamiento y la disolución de OSC es aplicada de manera arbitraria, con el objeto de obstaculizar e intimidar al personal de OSC independientes, las cuales también se han visto afectadas por restricciones legales o de facto para recibir financiamiento externo y mantener colaboraciones internacionales. Las personas defensoras del derecho al territorio, activistas por los derechos de las mujeres y las personas LGBTI, periodistas y blogueras también son rutinariamente estigmatizadas, acosadas, criminalizadas, arrestadas arbitrariamente y atacadas físicamente.
El ejercicio de la libertad de reunión pacífica enfrenta obstáculos en la ley y en la práctica, desde requisitos de autorización para realizar manifestaciones y una Ley de Seguridad Soberana que define ampliamente las amenazas de seguridad para criminalizar tácticas comunes de los movimientos de protesta, hasta el uso ilegal de fuerza excesiva y mortal contra manifestantes, que entre abril y agosto de 2018 causó la muerte de por lo menos 300 personas.
Hacemos un llamado al Gobierno de Nicaragua para que tome medidas proactivas para abordar estas preocupaciones e implemente recomendaciones para crear y mantener, en la ley y en la práctica, un entorno propicio para la sociedad civil.
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El desmantelamiento de la sociedad civil nicaragüense no cesa
Declaración en el 50º período de sesiones del Consejo de Derechos Humanos
Diálogo interactivo sobre la actualización oral del Alto Comisionado sobre NicaraguaPronunciada por Nicola Paccamiccio
Gracias, señor presidente, y gracias a la Alta Comisionada por su actualización.
El desmantelamiento de la sociedad civil nicaragüense no cesa. Sólo en las últimas semanas, el gobierno de Ortega ha utilizado la legislación sobre lavado de dinero y la legislación sobre "agentes extranjeros" para anular el registro de casi 200 organizaciones que trabajan en temas que van desde la cultura hasta la ayuda y el desarrollo, pasando por el medio ambiente.
La nueva "Ley General de Regulación y Control de las Organizaciones sin Fines de Lucro", promulgada el mes pasado, podría ser la puntilla para la sociedad civil independiente, que ahora no puede continuar su trabajo. La ley dificulta el registro de las ONG, les obliga a solicitar la aprobación del gobierno para sus actividades y les impone nuevas limitaciones para la presentación de informes.
Las personas que defienden los derechos humanos y los líderes de la oposición siguen siendo perseguidos. Yubrank Suazo, líder de la oposición y miembro de la Alianza Cívica por la Justicia y la Democracia, fue detenido el 18 de mayo. Decenas de presos políticos fueron condenados en juicios exprés entre febrero y mayo, y desde entonces se han rechazado las solicitudes de apelación.
Esto es especialmente preocupante si se tienen en cuenta los malos tratos y las torturas que sufren los presos políticos, entre ellos la defensora de los derechos humanos María Esperanza Sánchez. Las presas políticas que viven con problemas de salud crónicos previos no han recibido la atención médica adecuada.
Las autoridades nicaragüenses no han dudado en utilizar la legislación, la política, el acoso judicial e incluso los actos de violencia para atacar a los defensores de los derechos humanos y a la sociedad civil. El establecimiento del Grupo de Expertos sobre Nicaragua es un paso significativo y bien recibido para lograr que la verdad y la rendición de cuentas se lleven a cabo, y pedimos al Alto Comisionado propuestas concretas sobre la mejor manera en que los Estados pueden apoyar a la sociedad civil sobre el terreno que está operando en una atmósfera de miedo y violencia.
El espacio cívico de Nicaragua está clasificado como "Cerrado" por el CIVICUS Monitor
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El gobierno cierra organizaciones de la sociedad civil como parte de la campaña de represión en curso en Nicaragua
- El Parlamento ha cancelado el registro legal de nueve organizaciones de la sociedad civil (OSC)
- La medida se produce después de que algunas de las OSC participaron en audiencias sobre violaciones de derechos humanos en la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos
- El cierre de las OSC llega en un momento de graves ataques contra las libertades fundamentales en Nicaragua
- Los grupos de la sociedad civil global expresan su preocupación de que más OSC nicaragüenses puedan ser atacadas
La alianza Mundial para la participación ciudadana, CIVICUS, ha condenado la cancelación de la personalidad jurídica de nueve organizaciones de la sociedad civil en Nicaragua como una afrenta al derecho a la libertad de asociación. Se considera que la medida para cerrar las organizaciones es una represalia por la participación de algunas de esas organizaciones en las audiencias sobre el deterioro de la situación de los derechos humanos en Nicaragua en la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos.
El 12 de diciembre, el parlamento de Nicaragua votó para cancelar el registro legal de la organización de derechos humanos, Centro Nicaragüense de Derechos Humanos (CENIDH). Al día siguiente, votaron nuevamente para cancelar el registro de cinco organizaciones más, entre ellas el Instituto de liderazgo las Segovias (ILLS), el Instituto para el Desarrollo de la Democracia (IPADE), la Fundación del Río, el Centro de Investigación de la Comunicación (CINCO) y la Fundación Popol Na.
Apenas una semana antes, el CENIDH había sido parte de una delegación de organizaciones de derechos humanos que participaron en una audiencia ante la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos con información sobre el impacto social de las violaciones de derechos humanos en curso. Los participantes en la Audiencia pidieron al gobierno que deje de reprimir violentamente las protestas pacíficas y atacar a las voces críticas.
"Después de utilizar la violencia para atacar a los manifestantes pacíficos, el gobierno de Nicaragua ahora extiende su represión a las organizaciones de la sociedad civil debido a su percepción de que han criticado públicamente las violaciones de derechos humanos cometidas desde el inicio de las protestas en abril de 2018", dijo Natalia Gómez, de CIVICUS.
Las restricciones a las libertades fundamentales en Nicaragua aumentaron sustancialmente en abril, cuando el gobierno dispersó violentamente las manifestaciones contra los cambios en el sistema de seguridad social del país. Desde entonces, más de 300 personas han sido asesinadas y más de 600 siguen detenidas. El gobierno ahora está apuntando a las OSC que denuncian estas violaciones de derechos humanos. Ana Quiroz, directora de una de las organizaciones y costarricense de nacimiento que había vivido y trabajado en Nicaragua durante más de 40 años, fue despojada de la nacionalidad nicaragüense y deportada.
Poco antes de que se cancelara el registro del CENIDH, la policía rechazó su solicitud de realizar una marcha pacífica en conmemoración del 70 aniversario de la adopción de la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos. En ese momento CENIDH canceló la marcha expreso que acudirían a las autoridades judiciales para solicitar la protección de sus derechos.
“El derecho de asociación está garantizado en la constitución de Nicaragua y debe ser respetado en todo momento. En lugar de dirigirse a grupos de la sociedad civil, el gobierno de Nicaragua debería crear un entorno propicio para la sociedad civil y buscar formas de atender las necesidades de sus ciudadanos", continuó Gómez.
CIVICUS ha pedido a las autoridades nicaragüenses que reviertan la cancelación de la inscripción de todas las organizaciones de la sociedad civil, que respeten el derecho de asociación y reunión y que liberen a todos los detenidos por participar en protestas pacíficas.
En septiembre, el Monitor CIVICUS, una plataforma en línea que rastrea las amenazas a la sociedad civil en países de todo el mundo, rebajó su calificación del espacio cívico en de "reducido" a "represivo". Nicaragua también está en la lista de vigilancia de la plataforma de los países que han visto un aumento repentino y alarmante de las restricciones en el espacio civil.
Para más información por favor contacte a:
Para entrevistas por favor contacte al centro de Prensa de CIVICUS aquí.
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Five reasons why the elections in Nicaragua do not guarantee human rights
On 7 November 2021, general elections will be held in Nicaragua in the context of a deterioration of the human rights crisis that began with the repression of protests in April 2018. The undersigned organizations are deeply concerned about the continuing grave human rights violations and their recent escalation. The following sets out five reasons which explain why the coming general election will take place in a context of severe restrictions on civil and political liberties.
As President Daniel Ortega seeks a fourth consecutive term, government repression of critics and the political opposition has intensified. This increasingly alarming deterioration includes violations of personal freedom and safety, freedom of expression and association, freedom of the press, as well as other restrictions on the exercise of civil and political rights. These human rights violations have affected various groups in situations of vulnerability, including women, who, as reports have stated, experience differentiated impacts.
Since the end of May, the Nicaraguan government has detained 39 people it views as government opponents, including seven presidential candidates. Some of these detainees were victims of enforced disappearance for weeks or months. These abuses mark the beginning of a new stage in the campaign of repression and criminalization of dissident voices, journalists and human rights defenders, facilitated by a lack of judicial independence and the executive’s control of the National Assembly, which has enacted laws that violate fundamental rights of freedom of expression, assembly and association, and the right to vote and run for public office in free and fair elections.
It is clear that, at this time, the conditions do not exist in Nicaragua for holding elections that guarantee the exercise of rights and, therefore, we call on the international community, multilateral organizations and international human rights organizations to strengthen their efforts to put an end to the human rights crisis.
1. ARBITRARY DETENTION AND ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCE
Since 28 May 2021, the government of Daniel Ortega has detained 39 people perceived as government opponents, including presidential candidates, public political figures, student leaders, activists, campesino representatives, defence lawyers and journalists. Some were subjected to enforced disappearance for weeks or months before the authorities provided information on their whereabouts. Many have been subjected to continuous interrogation in abusive conditions of detention, including prolonged isolation and insufficient food, which may constitute torture and/or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment under international law. The recent arrests are in addition to the more than 100 people perceived as critics who have remained arbitrarily detained for a prolonged period in the context of the human rights crisis in the country.
The Nicaraguan state mustend the practice of arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance and immediately and unconditionally release all those unjustly detained for exercising their rights. This is essential in order to restore the full enjoyment of all their rights, including the rights to vote and to run for and hold public office in general conditions of equality.
2. LACK OF JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE AND VIOLATIONS OF THE RIGHT OF ACCESS TO JUSTICE
The authorities continue to use the criminal justice system, taking advantage of the lack of judicial independence, to subject people perceived as opponents to arbitrary proceedings and imprisonment. Frequently, violations of due process and fair trial guarantees include violations of the presumption of innocence, the requirement to present a court order at the time of arrest, the right to be tried before an independent and impartial judge, the right to access detailed information about the charges against them, the right to legal defence and to free and confidential communication with a lawyer of their choice. The Nicaraguan judiciary’s lack of independence also means that those who are the targets of threats do not have access to any impartial authority to which they can turn to make a complaint or request protection.
The authorities have also failed to comply with the recommendations of international human rights mechanisms, thereby obstructing the exercise of fundamental rights.
The Nicaraguan state mustensure that people have access to justice, truth and reparation for crimes under international law and other serious human rights violations (such as enforced disappearance, torture and arbitrary detention) committed before and during the election context.
3. VIOLATIONS OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND OF THE PRESS
The authorities persecute human rights defenders, independent journalists and dissidents or perceived opponents solely for exercising their right to freedom of expression. As part of this repressive strategy, in October 2020 the National Assembly adopted theLaw to Regulate Foreign Agents and theSpecial Law on Cybercrime, which severely restrict freedom of expression and association.
Between July and August 2021, the authorities ordered the closure of 45 non-governmental organizations, including women’s associations, international humanitarian organizations and several medical associations. Another 10 organizations have been closed down since 2018.
In addition, the government continues to support a series of attacks and undue restrictions on the independent media and communications workers, as well as organizations that defend press freedom; these include administrative and criminal investigations, the detention of journalists and raids on media offices and the seizure of their assets. In this worrying context, not only are the rights of the professionals and the media under attack violated, but the public’s access to information, key for the proper exercise of political rights, is restricted.
The Nicaraguan state must protect and respect the right to freedom of expression, including freedom of the press, which is essential for access to information and pluralistic debate in the context of an election. In addition, it must stop the harassment, stigmatization and criminalization of human rights defenders, journalists and dissidents or perceived opponents, solely for expressing their criticism of state policies.
4. VIOLATIONS OF POLITICAL RIGHTS
The government has tried to eliminate and discourage electoral competition through the arbitrary detention and prosecution of opponents and presidential candidates, resulting in the withdrawal of their political rights. In turn, it has revoked the legal status of the main opposition parties, preventing them from participating in the elections.
In December 2020, the National Assembly approved theLaw for the Defence of the Rights of the People to Independence, Sovereignty and Self-determination for Peace, which has been used to open criminal investigations against many of those detained since late May. This law includes broad and vaguely worded provisions that restrict the right to run for public office.
Local organizations have already indicated that, in these conditions, the electoral process does not guarantee the full exercise of political rights.
The Nicaraguan people have a right to exercise their right to vote freely, without intimidation, and the right to run for and hold public office in general conditions of equality. For thefull and effective exercise of these rights, it is essential that freedom of expression, assembly and association be guaranteed.
The Nicaraguan state must guarantee the conditions necessary for the population to satisfactorily exercise its right to participate in the conduct of public affairs.
5. LACK OF GUARANTEES FOR THE EXERCISE OF THE RIGHT TO PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY
In response to the 2018 protests, state officials used excessive, disproportionate and often unnecessary force against demonstrators demanding their rights. According to a group of independent experts appointed by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), the police and pro-government armed groups, with the support of the Nicaraguan government, committed widespread abuses, including extrajudicial executions, against protesters who, in the vast majority of cases, were unarmed. Impunity has been the norm for serious abuses during the 2018 protests.
Despite international scrutiny, the response to those demonstrating and promoting respect for human rights has continued to be one of repression.
The recent upsurge in the repression and harassment of dissident voices allows the conclusion that the state will not guarantee the right to peaceful assembly if new demonstrations are held in the context of the elections.
The Nicaraguan state must guarantee freedom of peaceful assembly before, during and after the election process.
Amnesty International
Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL)
CIVICUS
Human Rights Watch
International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights
Washington Office on Latin America
World Organisation Against Torture
People in Need
International Network of Human Rights
Women’s Link Worldwide
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Government shuts down civil society organisations as part of ongoing campaign of repression in Nicaragua
- Parliament has cancelled the legal registration of nine civil society organisations (CSOs)
- The move comes after some of the CSOs participated in hearings into human rights violations at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
- The shutdown of CSOs comes at a time of serious attacks on fundamental freedoms in Nicaragua
- Global civil society groups express concern that more Nicaraguan CSOs may be targeted
Global civil society alliance, CIVICUS, has condemned the cancellation of the legal registration status of nine civil society organisations in Nicaragua as an affront to the right to freedom of association. The move to shut down the groups is seen to be in retaliation for their participation in hearings on Nicaragua’s deteriorating human rights situation at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
On December 12, Nicaragua’s parliament voted to cancel the legal registration of the human rights organisation, Centro Nicaraguense de Derechos Humanos (CENIDH). The following day they voted again to cancel the registration of five more organisations including Instituto de liderazgo las Segovias (ILLS), Instituto para el Desarrollo de la Democracia (IPADE), Fundación del Rio, Centro de Investigación de la Comunicación (CINCO) and Fundación Popol Na.
Just a week prior, CENIDH has been part of a delegation of rights groups who provided a hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights with information on the social impact of ongoing human rights violations. They called on the government to stop violently repressing peaceful protests and attacking critical voices.
“After using violence to target peaceful protesters, the government of Nicaragua now extends its repression to civil society organisations because of its perception that they have publicly criticized human rights violations committed since the start of protests in April 2018.” said CIVICUS’ Natalia Gomez.
Restrictions on fundamental freedoms in Nicaragua increased substantively in April when the government violently dispersed demonstrations against changes to the country’s social security system. Since then, more than 300 people have been killed and more than 600 remain detained. The government is now targeting CSOs that denounce these human rights violations. Ana Quiroz, the head of one of the organisations and a Costa Rican by birth who had lived and worked in Nicaragua for more than 40 years, was stripped of Nicaraguan nationality and deported.
Shortly before CENIDH’s registration was cancelled, police rejected their request to conduct a peaceful march in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. CENIDH cancelled the march and only said, they would go to the judicial authorities to ask for the protection of their rights.
“Freedom of association is guaranteed in the constitution of Nicaragua and must be respected at all times. Instead of targeting civil society groups, the government of Nicaragua should rather create an enabling environment for civil society and seek ways to address the needs of its citizens.” Gomez continued.
CIVICUS has called on the Nicaraguan authorities to reverse the cancellation of the registration of all civil society organisations, to respect the right to freedom of association and assembly and release all those in detention for participating in peaceful protests.
In September, the CIVICUS Monitor, an online platform that tracks threats to civil society in countries across the globe, downgraded its rating of civic space – the space for civil society – in Nicaragua from “narrowed” to “repressed”. Nicaragua is also on the platform’s watchlist of countries that have seen an sudden, alarming spike in restrictions on civil space.
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To request interviews, you can also contact the CIVICUS Press Centre here.
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Harassment and persecution of the voices that denounce the repression in Nicaragua
By Natalia Gomez Peña is Advocacy & Engagement Officer at CIVICUS
On Wednesday, December 12, the National Assembly of Nicaragua voted to cancel the legal personality of the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH). After the announcement, Vilma Núñez, 80, the president of CENIDH and one of the most recognized human rights defenders in the region, said: "We have done our job with conviction and will continue to do so until Nicaragua is truly free."
Read on: Open Democracy
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Hostigamiento y persecución de las voces que denuncian la represión en Nicaragua
Por Natalia Gomez Peña es Oficial de Incidencia en CIVICUS
El miércoles 12 de diciembre, la Asamblea Nacional de Nicaragua votó para cancelar la personalidad jurídica del Centro Nicaragüense de Derechos Humanos (CENIDH). Después del anuncio, Vilma Núñez, de 80 años, la presidenta de CENIDH y una de las defensoras de derechos humanos más reconocidas en la región, declaró: "Hemos hecho nuestro trabajo con convicción y lo seguiremos haciendo hasta que Nicaragua sea realmente libre".
Leer en: Open Democracy
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Human Rights Council: Restrictions on civil society will curtail any chance of building back better
Statement at the 46th Session of the UN Human Rights Council
Thank you, Madame President; High Commissioner.
We welcome your update and strongly agree that recovering better requires ensuring participation for all. In this very difficult year, we are encouraged that civic activism has continued as people have mobilised to demand their rights.
But across the world, civil society has been impeded in its work. The CIVICUS Monitor shows that in the context of COVID-19 measures, protest rights have been violated and restrictions on freedom of expression continue as states enact overly broad emergency legislation that limits human rights.
We reiterate that restrictions on civil society will curtail any chance of building back better. States should indeed be investing in protecting and promoting a free and independent civil society at this crucial time.
The Council has the opportunity to act immediately on a number of situations where civic space is being threatened. In Sri Lanka, attacks against civil society are compounding grave failures of accountability. In Nicaragua, where ahead of elections, restrictions on civic space and expressions of dissent are likely to escalate. Myanmar, where we are inspired by the courage of people who risk lives and freedom every day to protest the coup, who continue to fear violent crackdown on dissenting voices. In India, where the government has continued its persecution of human rights defenders, student leaders, journalists and other critics, including through restrictive laws, prolonged pre-trial detention and excessive force perpetrated against protesters.
We call on the Council this Session to take measures to support civil society by acting now, on the situations brought before it. Situations which require immediate action.
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Human rights crisis in Nicaragua: the UN Human Rights Council must strengthen and renew for two years its resolution on Nicaragua
Joint Statement during the Interactive Dialogue with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Nicaragua
Speaker: Juan Carlos Arce
I deliver this statement on behalf of 34 Nicaraguan and international organisations, of which 12 are part of the Colectivo 46/2, a coalition that monitors Nicaragua’s cooperation with the UN human rights system.
We lack appropriate terms to describe the suffering that the Nicaraguan people have endured since the repression of the April 2018 protests, and the severity and breadth of the human rights crisis at the hands of the government in Nicaragua. With over 150,000 Nicaraguans in exile, Nicaraguans are the third largest population applying for asylum in the first half of 2022, after Venezuelans and Ukrainians according to UNHCR.
The November 6 municipal elections resulted in the absolute control by the ruling party over the country's 153 municipalities, in a process ‘characterised by repression of dissenting voices and undue restriction of political rights and civil liberties,’ according to the OHCHR.
Indigenous peoples of the Northern Caribbean Coast continue to be exposed to widespread attacks by armed settlers on their territories, with 90 documented attacks since 2018, including 32 killings, according to local rights groups.
With the cancellation of the legal status of more than 2500 civil society organisations, the UN and the IACHR (Inter-American Commission of Human Rights) have denounced a ‘clear pattern of repressing civic space’ against dissident voices, including journalists, human rights defenders, civil society actors, academics, students and members of the Catholic Church. Today, the government detains some 235 political prisoners in inhumane conditions.
In this context, the government's exceptional refusal to cooperate with the UN’s human rights bodies is condemnable. In a rare move, the two UN’s anti-torture treaty body committees denounced the government's refusal to cooperate, while the authorities also refused reviews by four other UN human rights committees over the past year. UN experts from five ‘Special Procedures’ mandates have also issued repeated requests to visit the country, without response. Civil society analysis based on information from the UN and the Inter-American systems also points to the government's absolute failure to implement the 14 recommendations of Human Rights Council resolution 49/3.
For these reasons, we launch today our global call for a resolution on Nicaragua to renew for a period of two years the mandate of the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua, and the monitoring mandate of the OHCHR (Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights).
We call on all governments to support such a resolution at the next session of the Human Rights Council, and reinforce its intersectional approach, by bringing particular attention to the situation of indigenous peoples and afro-descendants, migrants and forcibly displaced persons, those detained for political reasons and the families of victims.
Freedom for all political prisoners in Nicaragua!
Signatory organisations:
- Colectivo 46/2: Centre for Civil and Political Rights (CCPR Centre)
- Centro Nicaragüense de Derechos Humanos (CENIDH)
- Colectivo de Derechos Humanos Nicaragua Nunca Más
- IFEX-ALC International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
- International Network of Human Rights Europe (RIDHE)
- International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
- Mesoamerican Women Rights Defenders Initiative (IM-Defensoras)
- The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights
- Unidad de Defensa Jurídica (UDJ)
- Urnas Abiertas
- World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
Other organisations:
- CIVICUS – World Alliance for Citizen Participation
- Diakonia Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF)
- FIAN International
- Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
- International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI)
- International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
- Plataforma Internacional Contra la Impunidad (PICI)
- Protection International Mesoamérica
- The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights
- The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA)
- Unidad de Protección a Defensoras y Defensores de Derechos Humanos - Guatemala (UDEFEGUA)
- Women's Link Worldwide
Nicaragua Lucha Coalition, including member organisations:
- Acción Penal
- Articulación de Movimientos Sociales
- Grupo de Reflexión de Excarcelados Políticos (GREX)
- Organización Víctimas de Abril (OVA)
- Periodistas y Comunicadores Independientes de Nicaragua (PCIN)
- Popol Na
- Unidad de Registro (UDR)
- Unión de Presas y Presos Políticos Nicaragüenses
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Joint Statement: Dozens killed in Nicaragua by state repression of protests
STATEMENT / More than 300 national and international NGOs condemn the violent repression of the demonstrations held in Nicaragua against the #INSS reforms: https://t.co/XAoeFpMceT #SOSNicaragua #FuerzaNicaragua
— IM-Defensoras (@IM_Defensoras) April 27, 2018We hereby condemn the violent repression of the demonstrations held in Nicaragua against the Social Security reforms, and we demand respect for the legitimate right to protest of Nicaraguan women and men
Daniel Ortega, President of the Republic of Nicaragua.
Rosario Murillo, Vice President of the Republic of Nicaragua.
We, 323 undersigned national, diverse regional and international organizations and networks, hereby condemn the violent repression of the demonstrations held in Nicaragua against the Social Security reforms, and we demand respect for the legitimate right to protest of Nicaraguan women and men.
Since Wednesday the 18th April, organizations, networks and human rights defenders in Nicaragua have been documenting and denouncing multiple violations of the right to hold peaceful protests, that include: murders, disappearances, arbitrary detentions, physical aggressions; the use of stones, sticks, rubber bullets, and tear gas; threats, acts of intimidation and the infringement of the right to information; in the context of the demonstrations that were organised in response to the Government’s imposition of the Social Security reforms that involve cuts of 5% in pensions, as well as other measures that affect the fundamental rights of Nicaraguan women and men.
As has been verified, these attacks are being perpetrated by State security forces that repress the population with excessive use of force, and by groups of civilians linked to the Juventud Sandinista (Sandinista Youth Movement) who are acting with total impunity, and with the complicity and consent of the police, causing outbreaks of violence that have already claimed the lives of at least 40 people.1
Another matter of grave concern are the violations of the right to freedom of expression, manifested in the theft of journalists' professional equipment, assaults and acts of intimidation during repressive actions and the shutting down of the transmission, through digital cable service, of 100% Noticias, channel 12 and channel 23 that were covering the protests.
These attacks violate the right to freedom of assembly and to peaceful association, the right to freedom of opinion and expression of the Nicaraguan people, and their right to defend the social rights that are threatened by the Social Security reforms that the Government seeks to impose.
This situation is not an isolated case; in recent times, numerous acts have been documented that infringe the right to social protest - by restricting people’s freedom of movement, through campaigns of criminalization, threats and harassment against organizations and human rights’ defenders, or through the closure of communication spaces, and many other actions that threaten democracy and the human rights of Nicaraguan women and men.
In the light of the above, we, the organizations and individual signatories to this letter, demand the following actions from the Nicaraguan State:
- The immediate cease of repression and violence carried out by armed forces, the police and groups of civilians linked to the government. The authorities must fulfil their duty to guarantee Nicaraguan women’s and men’s right to social protest
- The release of detainees in different parts of the country. Guarantees must be provided that no criminal action will be taken against them.
- An inclusive national dialogue process, securing the participation and involvement of different sectors that have movilized, victims, networks and civil society organizations, as well as representatives from diverse social movements
- Respect for the work carried out by human rights defenders, journalists and the media.
Sincerely yours,
1. Abogadas y Abogados para la Justicia y los Derechos Humanos
2. Abriendo Camino A.C.
3. Académicas en Acción Critica
4. Acción Solidaria
5. ACCSI Acción Ciudadana Contra el SIDA
6. Agrupación Ciudadana por la Despenalización del aborto - El Salvador
7. AIETI Asociacion de Investigación y Especialización sobrecTemas Iberoamericanos
8. Aireana, grupo por los derechos de las lesbianas. Asunción. PARAGUAY
9. Akahata A.C.
10. Alianza Latinoamericana y Caribeña de Juventudes
11. Alianza Regional por la Libre Expresión e Información
12. American Jewish World Service
13. Americas Program, Center for International Policy
14. Amigas en Consejos de Desarrollo AMICODE
15. AMUMRA - Asociación Civil de Derechos Humanos Mujeres Unidas Migrantes y Refugiadas en Argentina
16. ANC- Peru
17. Andrea Kraybill Art
18. APADEIM
19. APRODEH
20. Arte para Sanar
21. Articulação de Mulheres Brasileiras
22. Asamblea Feminista de Madrid
23. Asistencia Legal por Derechos Humanos A.C.
24. Asociación Andaluza por la Solidaridad y la Paz (ASPA)
25. Asociación Bolivarianos Diversos
26. Asociación Cepres
27. Asociación Ciudadana ACCEDER
28. Asociación Ciudadana por los Derechos Humanos de Argentina
29. Asociacion Civil De Mujeres Resilientes
30. Asociación Civil Magdalenas Puerto Madryn
31. Asociacion de Mujeres Salvadoreñas en Accion del Barrio San Jacinto AMSAB-SJ
32. Asociación de jóvenes feministas Ameyalli, El Salvador
33. Asociación Educativa Barbiana
34. Asociación Entre Amigos LGBTI de El Salvador
35. Asociación Interamericana para la Defensa del Ambiente, AIDA (Regional)
36. Asociacion Interpueblos-Cantabria-España
37. Asociación para una sociedad más justa
38. Asociación para una vida mejor (Apuvimeh)
39. Asociación Paz y Esperanza
40. ASOCIACIÓN PRO DEFENSA DE LA CUENCA DEL RÍO JUAN DÍAZ
41. Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos de España
42. Associação brasileira de defesa da mulher da infância e da juventude
43. ATTAC Roanne
44. AvanzaFem AC
45. Balance Promoción para el Desarrollo y Juventud, México
46. Beso Diverso
47. Bilboko Bilgune Feminista
48. BILGUNE FEMINISTA (Euskal Herria-Pais Vasco)
49. Bordamos Feminicidios (México)
50. Both ENDS
51. Brigada UNE
52. Calala Fondo de Mujeres
53. Campaña 28 de Septiembre - Guatemala
54. Campaña Convención DSYDR Peru
55. Campo A.C.
56. Canas Dignas
57. Capital Humano y Social Alternativo - CHS Alternativo
58. CASACIDN
59. Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir - España
60. Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir – México
61. CENDEROS
62. Centro de Acción y Defensa por los Derechos Humanos - Cadef
63. Centro de análisis, formación e iniciativa social, CAFIS A.C.
64. Centro de Derechos de Mujeres CDM
65. Centro de Derechos Humanos de la Montaña Tlachinollan
66. Centro de Derechos Humanos de la Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (CDH-UCAB)
67. Centro de Derechos Humanos de la Universidad Metropolitana (CDH-UNIMET)
68. Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Francisco de Vitoria OP, A.C. (México)
69. Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Matías de Córdova (Chiapas, México)
70. Centro de Documentación en Derechos Humanos "Segundo Montes Mozo S.J." (CSMM)
71. Centro de Estudios e Investigación sobre Mujeres
72. CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS HUMANISTAS - Costa Rica
73. Centro de estudios y capacitación familiar. Cefa
74. Centro de Iniciativas para la Cooperación Batá (CIC Batá)
75. Centro de Investigación para la Prevención de la Violencia en Centroamérica – CIPREVICA
76. Centro de Investigaciones para la Equidad Política Pública y Desarrollo, CIPE.
77. Centro de Sanación, Formación e Investigación Transpersonal Q'anil
78. Centro Documentación e Información Bolivia-CEDIB-
79. Centro Hermanas Mirabal de Derechos Humanos A.C.
80. Centro Para el Desarrollo Integral de la Mujer
81. Centro para la Paz y los DDHH de la Universidad Central de Venezuela
82. Centro por la Justicia y el Derecho Internacional (CEJIL)
83. Cepaz - Centro de Justicia y Paz
84. CEPROSAF
85. CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
86. Civilis Derechos Humanos
87. CLADEM ARGENTINA (Comité de América Latina y el Caribe para la Defensa de los Derechos de las Mujeres)
88. CLADEM Bolivia
89. Cladem Nicaragua
90. Coalicion Todas
91. Codhez
92. Codice, Jalisco
93. Colectiva Actoras de Cambio
94. Colectiva Amorales
95. Colectiva Ciudad y Género AC
96. Colectiva con Letra F (México)
97. Colectiva Chancha Negra
98. Colectiva de Mujeres de Masaya
99. Colectiva Femimista
100. Colectiva Sororidad Glocal
101. Colectivas lesbicas
102. Colectivo de Abogados "José Alvear Restrepo" (Ccajar), Colombia
103. Colectivo de Mujeres de Matagalpa Nicaragua
104. Colectivo de Mujeres Sobrevivientes Siempre Resistentes – Chile
105. Colectivo de Trabajadoras y Trabajadores Sociales de Honduras (CTS-H)
106. Colectivo de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras de Honduras
107. Colectivo Estudiantil Pro Derechos Humanos del Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas
108. Colectivo Josefa Lastiri
109. Colectivo para la Participación de la Infancia y Juventud
110. Colectivo PSG
111. Colectivo Trans del Uruguay
112. Colectivo Utopía Puebla
113. Collectif Guatemala
114. Comisión de Derechos Humanos de Ica
115. Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos del Estado Monagas de la Federación de Colegios de Abogados de Venezuela
116. Comité Ambiental en Defensa de la Vida (Colombia).
117. Comité de América Latina y el Caribe para la Defensa de los Derechos de las Mujeres (CLADEM)
118. Comité de America Latina y el Caribe para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos de las Mujeres (CLADEM- Mexico)
119. Comité por los derechos humanos en América latina (CDHAL)
120. Comunidad de familiares y amigos por los Derechos Humanos de la Diversidad Sexual COFADHIS
121.Comunidad Xinka
122.Concertación Interamericana de Derechos Humanos de las Mujeres
123.Consejo de Mujeres Cristianas
124. Consejo tiyat tlali
125. Consorcio para el Diálogo Parlamentario MX
126. Consorcio para el Diálogo Parlamentario y la Equidad Oaxaca AC
127. ControlaTuGobierno, A.C.
128. CONVERGENCIA DE LAS CULTURAS - Costa Rica
129. Convite A.C.
130. Cooperacció
131. Coordinación de Mujeres del Paraguay
132. Coordinadora 28 de Mayo - Guatemala
133. Coordinadora Estatal de Organizaciones Feministas
134. Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos - Perú
135. Coordinadora Norte Tierra y Libertad - Costa Rica
136. Córdoba Solidaria
137. Count Me In! Consortium
138. Cuerpas Creando Comunidad
139. Cuerpas Sin Reglas
140. CuidaTuEspcio
141. Defiende Venezuela
142. Derechos Humanos
143. Ditsö- Costa Rica
144. Ecologistas en Acción (España)
145. Elige Red de Jóvenes por los Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos AC
146. Ellas por la igualdad AC
147. Epistemologías del Sur: Red de pensamiento crítico, respecto de los derechos humanos, la dinámica educativa y el territorio
148. Equidad de Género, Ciudadanía, Trabajo y Familia
149. Equipo de Reflexión, Investigación y Comunicación de la Compañía de Jesús en Honduras
150. Escritorio Juridico Gutierrez Ceballos
151. Espacio DESCA
152. Espacio Público - Venezuela
153. Espiral hacia la Igualdad
154. Estancia del Migrante González y Martínez, A.C. (Querétaro, México)
155. Estudiantes por una Política Sensata de Drogas, Costa Rica.
156. EXCUBITUS derechos humanos en educacion.
157. Existir al caminar A.C.
158. Feministas en Marcha - Puerto Rico
159. Feministas Independientes
160. FIA capitulo Venezuela Seccional Anzoategui
161. Fondo Apthapi Jopueti Bolivia
162. Fondo CAMY
163. Fondo de Acción Urgente para América Latina y el Caribe FAU-AL
164. FONDO LUNARIA MUJER COLOMBIA
165. Foro de Jóvenes con Liderazgo AC
166. Free Press Unlimited
167. FRENTE COOPERATIVO Y DE ECONOMÍA SOCIAL - Costa Rica
168. Frente por los Derechos Igualitarios
169. FRIDA | The Young Feminist Fund
170. FRONT LINE DEFENDERS
171. Fronteras
172. FUNBIDE
173. Fundación Acceso
174. Fundación Arcoiris por el respeto a la diversidad sexual.
175. Fundación CAUCE, Cultura Ambiental - Causa Ecologista. Paraná. Argentina
176. Fundación Colectivo Hombres XX, A. C.
177. Fundacion PANIAMOR
178. Fundación para el Debido Proceso (DPLF)
179. Fundacion para el Desarrollo Comunitario-FUNDECOM
180. Fundación para el Desarrollo de la Libertad Ciudadana
181. Fundación salvadoreña por la diversidad sexual de la Mano Contigo
182. FUNDECOM
183. Global Fund for Women
184. Grupo de Accion Comunitaria. Madrid. Estado Español
185. Grupo de Educación Popular con Mujeres A.C.
186. Grupo Visión Nocturna Uruguay
187. Guatemala citizen
188. Guatemaltecas por la Defensa del Estado Laico (GDEL)
189.Hivos
190. Iacta Sociojuridica SCCLP
191.ILGALAC
192. IMDEC AC
193. INCIDIR, A.C.
194. Ingeniería Sin Fronteras Aragón
195. Iniciativas de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo
196. Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights
197. Instituto Caribeño de Derechos Humanos (ICADH)
198. Instituto de Enseñanza para el Desarrollo Sostenible
199. Instituto Sur Andino de Investigación y Acción Solidaria-ISAIAS
200. IRC WASH
201. JAKILU
202. JASS-JUST ASSOCIATES/ASOCIADAS POR LO JUSTO
203. Jóvenes Voceras y Voceros en DSDR, El Salvador.
204. Juntos por la Vida
205. Justice and Peace Netherlands 206.Kallpachay Suyu. Ambiente y cultura.
207. Kentucky Interfaith Taskforce on Latin America and the Caribbean
208. La Cabaretiza AC
209. La Casa Mandarina AC
210. LA COMUNIDAD PARA EL DESARROLLO HUMANO - Costa Rica
211. Laboratorio de la Máscara
212. Las Reinas Chulas cabaret y derechos humanos A.C.
213.Lesbocolectivo las Resueltas
214. LeSVOZ, AC
215. Los siempre sospechosos de todo
216. Mama Cash
217. Maquila Solidarity Network
218. MARCHA CENTROAMERICANA POR LA PAZ Y LA NO VIOLENCIA
219. Margens Clínicas - São Paulo/ Brasil
220. Marxa Mundial de Dones
221. Memoria de mujeres
222. Momundh
223. Movimiento Autónomo de Mujeres de Nicaragua
224. Movimiento de Mujeres de Chinandega
225. Movimiento de Mujeres de Santo Tomás
226. Movimiento de Mujeres Visitación Padilla
227. Movimiento Migrante Mesoamericano
228. Movimiento Vinotinto
229. Mujer Ideas Desarrollo e Investigación
230. Mujer y salud en Uruguay MYSU
231. Mujeres Ambientalistas, El Salvador.
232. Mujeres de Izabal
233. Mujeres de Negro Rosario – Argentina
234. Mujeres Integradas en el Oeste de Rosario Argentina
235.Mujeres Trabajadoras Unidas, A.C
236. MUNDO SIN GUERRAS Y SIN VIOLENCIA - Costa Rica
237. Ni Una Menos
238. NIMD
239. Observatorio Etico Caribe y América Central – Obetica
240. Observatorio Ético Internacional – OBETI
241. Observatorio Venezolano de Conflictividad Social (OVCS)
242. ODASA
243. OFICINA JURIDICA PARA LA MUJER
244. OMCT - Organización Mundial Contra la Tortura
245. Organización de Mujeres Tierra Viva
246. OTRANS ARGENTINA
247. Otros Mundos A.C./Amigos de la Tierra México
248. Paro Internaciónal se Mujeres, Polonia
249. Partido Feminista de España
250. PARTIDO HUMANISTA - Costa Rica
251. Perifèries del Món
252. Pikara Magazine (País Vasco-España)
253. Plataforma Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, Democracia y Desarrollo PIDHDD
254. Plataforma Internacional contra la Impunidad
255. Plataforma Salvadoreña de juventudes
256. Plazandreok
257. Please remove signature of Kentucky Interfaith Taskforce
258. Presencia y Palabra: Mujeres Afroperuanas
259. Pro-Búsqueda
260. Profesionales católicos - Piura - Perú
261. Proiuris
262. PROMEDEHUM (Venezuela)
263. Radio Stereo Vos
264.Radioexpresion
265. Reacción Climática - Bolivia
266. Red Con Las Amigas Y En La Casa
267. Red de Activistas Ciudadanos por los DDHH
268. Red de Ambientalistas Comunitarios de El Salvador RACDES
269. Red de la No Violencia contra las Mujeres - REDNOVI
270. Red de mujeres contra la violencia
271. Red de salud de las Mujeres Latinoamericanas y del Caribe
272. Red Internacional de Migración y Desarrollo
273. Red Latinoamericana y Caribeña de Jóvenes por los Derechos Sexuales RedLAC
274. Red Nacional Coincidir
275. Red Nacional de Defensoras de Derechos Humanos en Honduras
276. Red Para la Infancia y la Adolescencia de El Salvador (RIA)
277. Red Solidaria de Derechos Humanos A.C. (Michoacán, México)
278. REDLAMYC Red latinoamericana y caribeña que lucha por los derechos de niñas niños y adolescentes
279. REDMUCH
280. Refugee and Immigrant Fund (RIF)
281. Resonar
282. RESURJ Realizando la Justicia Sexual
283. Revista SIC del Centro Gumilla
284. Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
285. Roma National Center from Moldova
286. Schone Kleren Campagne
287. Schumacher College
288. Sector de Mujeres
289. Seguridad en Democracia (SEDEM)
290. Semillas de Nuestra Tierra, AC
291. Sol de primavera
292. Sombrilla Costa Rica
293. SOS Corpo- Instituto Feminista para a Democracia - Recife/ Pernambuco -Brasil
294. Spatium Libertas AC
295. SPW
296. St Williams church
297. Stichting Lleca (Holanda)
298. Strajk Kobiet Polonia
299. SURKUNA - Centro de apoyo y protección de derechos humanos
300. Sursiendo, Comunicación y Cultura Digital AC
301. Swefor Guatemala
302. Tequio jurídico
303. Todas Mx
304. Trabajadora del retail
305. Transparencia Venezuela
306. Uganda Youth Alliance For Family Planning And Adolescents Health -UYAFPAH
307. Unidad de Protección a Defensoras y Defensores de Derechos Humanos - Guatemala (UDEFEGUA)
308. Unidas Somos Tendencia
309. Union global por la democracia
310. Unión Latinoamericana de Mujeres ULAM
311. Unitierra
312. Universidad de la Tierra en Puebla
313. Urgent Action Fund- Latin America and the Caribbean
314. UXU EMAKUMEEN TALDEA
315. Vecinas Feministas por la Justicia Sexual y Reproductiva en América Latina y el Caribe
316. Voces de mujeres, historias que transforman
317. Voces Mesoamericanas, Acción con Pueblos Migrantes A.C.
318. WECF International
319. Witness for Peace
320. WO=MEN Dutch Gender Platform
321. WOLA (Washington Office on Latin America)
322. Women Advocacy and Development Initiative (WADI)
323. Women Strike Polonia
1 Source: Nicaraguan Initiative of Women Human Rights Defenders (IN-Defensoras)
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La crisis en Nicaragua persiste: Declaración en la ONU
Declaración en el Consejo de Derechos Humanos de las Naciones Unidas de Amaru Ruiz, Fundación del Río
La crisis en Nicaragua persiste hasta la fecha, la represión sistemática de las manifestaciones ha suprimido efectivamente las movilizaciones, debido a esto el monitor Civicus ha incluido a Nicaragua en la lista de países de la Lista de Vigilancia. Los defensores de los derechos humanos, los periodistas y los opositores políticos se enfrentan a la criminalización y el acoso de agentes de seguridad y grupos civiles pro-gubernamentales. A fines de 2020, la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos informó que aún había más de 100 presos políticos en Nicaragua.
Si bien cientos de presos políticos fueron liberados en 2019 y 2020, muchos de ellos aún están siendo sometidos a vigilancia, represalias y re-encarcelamiento. En los últimos meses ha habido un aumento en el uso de cargos penales comunes, como posesión de drogas y armas, para condenar a quienes se perciben como opositores al gobierno mientras niegan su condición de presos políticos.
Las autoridades nicaragüenses han tratado de silenciar a la prensa independiente, incluso mediante la detención de periodistas y el estrangulamiento. Desde finales de 2020, los legisladores pro-gubernamentales han incrementado los ataques contra la sociedad civil, promulgando una serie de leyes diseñadas para reducir el espacio para las libertades de asociación, reunión y expresión. Este es el caso de la "Ley de Agentes Extranjeros, la Ley Especial de Delitos Cibernéticos y una reforma al Código Penal del país que permite la prisión preventiva sin cargos por hasta 90 días.
El informe sobre libertad de asociación realizado por Fundación del Rio y Fundación Popolna, puso de manifiesto el proceso de deterioro sistemático del ambiente habilitante para las diversas formas de organizaciones sociales, con patrones de falta de acceso a la justicia y el debido proceso. Esta situación está conduciendo a un eventual cierre forzoso de varias las organizaciones civiles nicaragüense y la salida del país de organizaciones internacionales que no están dispuestas a someterse al marco legal de criminalización que se ha institucionalizado.
Con las elecciones aun sin garantias y programadas para finales de este año, nos preocupa seriamente que la represión se intensifique, poniendo a los defensores de los derechos humanos y a la sociedad civil en general en mayor riesgo.
Los estados miembros del Consejo de derechos humanos deben apoyar una resolución firme que exija un mayor monitoreo por parte del alto comisionado para promover los procesos de rendición de cuentas y evitar que la situación se deteriore aún más a medida que Nicaragua se dirige hacia las elecciones.
Calificación de su espacio cívico: 'Reprimido' del CIVICUS Monitor
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La falta de implicación con los mecanismos de la ONU pone de manifiesto el desprecio por las obligaciones en materia de derechos humanos
Consejo de Derechos Humanos de la ONU - 51º período de sesiones
ID con el Alto Comisionado sobre Nicaragua
Pronunciada por Nicola Paccamiccio
Gracias, señor presidente, y gracias a la Alta Comisionada Adjunta por este informe, que pone de manifiesto el menosprecio de Nicaragua por sus obligaciones en materia de derechos humanos.
Las restricciones del espacio cívico siguen siendo una preocupación fundamental. Desde las elecciones del año pasado, Nicaragua ha experimentado una intensificación de la represión, con el objetivo de eliminar cualquier forma de organización autónoma y monopolizar el poder.
La represión ha abarcado una amplia variedad de violaciones de las libertades de asociación y expresión: acoso, amenazas y agresiones físicas, secuestro y detención de personas defensoras de los derechos humanos, periodistas y miembros de la oposición, torturas bajo custodia, criminalización con acusaciones inventadas, procesamiento y condena sin las debidas garantías procesales, así como confinamiento en condiciones inhumanas.
Este proceso represivo se aceleró en mayo, con una nueva Ley General de Regulación y Control de las Organizaciones sin Fines de Lucro que dificulta la capacidad de registrarse y de mantener la personalidad jurídica de las OSC. Las leyes contra el blanqueo de capitales se han instrumentalizado para obstruir el funcionamiento de los grupos independientes de la sociedad civil.
Estos nuevos requisitos se han aplicado para justificar cierres masivos de OSC que han acabado con cientos de organizaciones, entre ellas organizaciones dedicadas al desarrollo urbano y municipal, asociaciones empresariales y profesionales, grupos de derechos de la infancia y de jóvenes, y organizaciones ecologistas y feministas.
Pedimos al gobierno de Nicaragua que libere inmediata e incondicionalmente a todos los presos políticos y que restablezca el pleno respeto a las libertades cívicas fundamentales de asociación, reunión pacífica y expresión. Asimismo, queremos preguntar a la Alta Comisionada: teniendo en cuenta la total falta de compromiso de Nicaragua con los mecanismos del Consejo de Derechos Humanos, ¿cómo pueden los Estados proteger a la sociedad civil dentro del país y apoyarla en sus esfuerzos por promover los derechos humanos?
El espacio cívico de Nicaragua está clasificado como "Cerrado" segúnCIVICUS Monitor.
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Letter from Jail: Nicaraguan Farm Leader, Medardo Mairena
Incarcerated farm leader Medardo Mairena writes a letter to media from jail
Medardo Mairena Sequeira, is the Coordinator of the National Council in Defense of Land, Lake and Sovereignty and member of the Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy. Medardo is one of the leaders of the movement against the construction of the Canal in Nicaragua. Medardo was detained on July 13 along with campesino leader Pedro Joaquín Mena Amador when they were planning to board a plane to the United States to participate in a solidarity event with Nicaragua. Medardo and two other farm leaders, face false charges ranging from terrorism, murder, kidnappings, aggravated robbery and obstruction of public services.
I am grateful to God and my family, to the Nicaraguan people, to independent media, to national and international human rights commissions, to the Organization of American States, to the UN Security Council for not letting the Nicaraguan people alone.
To all my friends, to all the people, I ask you to remain united praying in these difficult times for everyone, especially for us political prisoners. We are imprisoned only because we think differently. The Ortega regime is a coward. They have imprisoned us just for raising our voices and speaking up for those who can’t and for those who are no longer with us. In the penitentiary system, we are in maximum security jails where the cells are in bad conditions, there is no electricity, restrooms are damaged. Windows that are supposed to allow air to enter are closed. It is like being baked in an oven and we are isolated from everyone else. Us campesino leaders are in the Modelo gallery 300, in the place known as “little hell”. We are 20 prisoners in the same conditions, we are sick, and they don’t allow a doctor to visit us. Thanks to god, I’m feeling better but it is only because of god. Here we have mosquitoes, cockroaches, scorpions. They don’t allow us to get out of the cells even for taking sun. They took my friend Pedro Mena’s Medication, he suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure and he always carries his treatment in his bag because he needs to take a daily pill. They treat us inhumanely.
I invite the people to keep doing peaceful demonstrations, as we have always done it. Even if you don’t see me, my heart is always with you because we need to demand our freedom, because we are innocent from the accusations. The day the facts happened in Morito, we were in Managua demanding for dialogue be resumed with the government, because we want justice, democratization and a peaceful exit to the crisis. We cannot forget those whose lives have been taken by the regime. At least my family still has hope of seeing me alive, but the mothers that lost their children do not and we cannot forget their injustice.
Sincerely,
Medardo.
Translated originally from Spanish. Read original letter
CIVICUS has called on the authorities in Nicaragua to drop all charges against Medardo Mairena, Pedro Joaquín Mena, and Victor Manuel Diaz, and release them safely. CIVICUS also calls for the release of all the rural leaders, students and activists currently detained for exercising their right to protest.
Nicaragua has been added to a watchlist of countries which are experiencing an alarming escalation in threats to fundamental freedoms. The watchlist is compiled by the CIVICUS Monitor, an online platform that tracks threats to civil society in countries across the globe.
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NICARAGUA: ‘For the government, these fraudulent elections were a total failure’
CIVICUS discusses the recent elections in Nicaragua, characterised by the banning of candidates, fraud and repression, with a woman human rights defender from a national platform of Nicaraguan civil society, who requested anonymity for security reasons.
What was the political context in which the 7 November presidential election took place?
The context began to take shape in 2006, with the pact between the leaders of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), Daniel Ortega, and the then-ruling Constitutionalist Liberal Party (PLC), led by former president Arnoldo Alemán. The aim of the so-called ‘Alemán-Ortega pact’ was to establish a two-party system dominated by both leaders, which did not work out for both: it resulted in a complete restructuring of the political system, including a reform of the constitution and the modification of election dates, which allowed the FSLN – which had failed to win the presidency on several occasions – to win the 2006 election with 38 per cent of the vote, never to leave power since.
Once in power, the FSLN carried out several constitutional and electoral law reforms ordered by Daniel Ortega, in collusion with legislative, judicial and electoral institutions, to impose a constitution tailored to its needs and to allow himself to be re-elected indefinitely.
Since the most recent package of electoral changes, carried out in May 2021, the electoral stage was already set so that the current government would win the election. The changes gave the FSLN control of the entire electoral structure, gave the police the power to authorise or ban opposition political rallies and took away funding for candidates.
Already in December 2020, the National Assembly had passed a law to neutralise opposition candidacies: under the pretext of rejecting foreign interference in Nicaragua’s internal affairs, it prohibited the candidacies of people who had participated in the 2018 protests, labelled by the government as an attempted coup d’état financed by foreign powers.
All these laws were applied by state institutions in a way that resulted in the banning of all democratic candidates who could in any way be viewed as positioned to defeat the FSLN candidate. The result was an election lacking all real competition.
Was there any attempt to postpone the election until the proper conditions were met?
First, in the context of the 2018 protests, which were heavily repressed and resulted in hundreds of deaths, several groups, including the Nicaraguan Bishops’ Conference, proposed holding an early election to resolve the crisis. Some also considered the possibility of forcing the resignation of the president due to his responsibility for the systematic human rights violations committed in the context of the 2018 protests.
But Ortega refused to call an early election, and instead challenged the alleged ‘coup perpetrators’ protesting against him to get the people’s vote in the 2021 election. In the meantime, instead of proceeding with the electoral reform that had been demanded for years, he set about preparing the ground so that no one could challenge him in the elections.
With the 2021 electoral process already underway, and in view of the fact that there would be no real competition, voices from civil society recommended suspending and rescheduling an election that would be clearly illegitimate and lacking in credibility, but this call was not echoed.
How do you assess the election results?
Clearly the overwhelming majority of Nicaraguan citizens viewed these elections as illegitimate, since only about 10 per cent of eligible voters turned out to vote. Some of those who did vote are government supporters, while others – such as members of the military and police and public servants – were compelled by fear and their work circumstances.
These claims are supported by polling data from various civil society groups inside and outside Nicaragua, such as Coordinadora Civil, Mujeres Organizadas and Urnas Abiertas. On election day, some of these organisations did a quick poll on the ground, twice – morning and afternoon – and documented. through photos, videos and testimonies by some election observers invited by the government, that the majority of the population did not turn out to vote.
From civil society’s perspective, these elections were a complete failure for the government, as they gave us all the elements to demonstrate at the international level that the president does not meet the minimum conditions of legitimacy to remain in office. It is not only Nicaraguans who do not recognise the results of these elections: more than 40 countries around the world have not recognised them either. The government conducted a fraudulent election to gain legitimacy, but it failed to do so because no one recognises it at the national or international level.
What is the outlook for Nicaraguan civil society following the election?
The panorama has not changed. What awaits us is more of the same: more repression, more persecution, more kidnappings, more political prisoners, more exiles. At the same time, this unresponsive and unaccountable government is completely incapable of solving any of Nicaragua’s problems, so poverty, unemployment and insecurity will also continue to deepen.
In response, we can do nothing but sustain resistance and try to break the chains of fear, because fear is what this illegitimate government rules through.
What kind of international support does Nicaraguan civil society need?
Nicaraguan civil society needs all kinds of support, from support for building and strengthening alliances to amplify our voices, so we can publicise the political situation in Nicaragua and demand action in international forums, to financial and in-kind support to equip us with the tools with which to do our work, sustain our organisations and provide protection for human rights defenders who are being persecuted and attacked.
Civic space in Nicaragua is rated as ‘repressed’ by theCIVICUS Monitor. Nicaragua is currently on ourWatch List, which includes cases in which a severe and abrupt deterioration in the quality of civic space is taking place.
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NICARAGUA: ‘Las protestas expresaron un reclamo articulado de democracia genuina, basada en el respeto de la voluntad popular’
En el marco de nuestro informe temático 2018 sobre “Reimaginar la Democracia”, estamos dialogando con líderes, activistas y especialistas de la sociedad civil sobre su labor de promoción de las prácticas y principios democráticos, los desafíos que enfrentan y los logros alcanzados. En esta oportunidad, CIVICUS conversa con Amaru Ruiz sobre las recientes protestas en Nicaragua, que fueron duramente reprimidas y arrojaron un saldo de centenares de muertos. Amaru Ruiz es presidente de la Fundación del Río, una organización ambientalista que trabaja por la conservación de la biodiversidad y el desarrollo sostenible en el sureste de Nicaragua, y Coordinador de la Red Nicaragüense por la Democracia y el Desarrollo Local (Red Local), una coalición de sociedad civil que tiene por misión el fortalecimiento de las organizaciones de la sociedad civil (OSC) para la promoción de un desarrollo local inclusivo y equitativo, la incidencia en políticas públicas, la gestión del conocimiento y la promoción de una ciudadanía activa. Ambas organizaciones integran la Articulación de Movimientos Sociales y de Sociedad Civil que acompaña la lucha por la justicia, la libertad y la democracia en Nicaragua. -
NICARAGUA: ‘María Esperanza’s case is part of a growing process of criminalisation of social protest’
CIVICUS speaks with Ana Lucía Álvarez, Nicaragua officer of the Mesoamerican Initiative of Women Human Rights Defenders (IM-Defensoras), about the case of María Esperanza Sánchez, unjustly imprisoned in Nicaragua since March 2020, and the ongoing campaign for her release.
IM-Defensoras is a network of activists and organisations from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua that seeks to provide a comprehensive, regional response to the increasing violence against women human rights defenders in Mesoamerica. Founded in 2010, it seeks to empower and connect women defenders involved in various organisations and social movements to strengthen networks of protection and solidarity among them and to increase the visibility, recognition and impact of their human rights work.
How long has María Esperanza been in prison, and why?
María Esperanza was captured on 26 January 2020. She is an activist who for a long time accompanied relatives of political prisoners. I believe she began her activism and her organisation after the citizens’ uprising of April 2018. She was already being persecuted, so she was staying in a safe house. The police illegally and arbitrarily raided the house, without a search warrant, and arrested her. She was accused of trafficking narcotics, psychotropics and other controlled substances to the detriment of public health. Her trial is being handled by lawyer Julio Montenegro, who specialises in cases of criminalisation of protest and judicial prosecution of activists and human rights defenders.
Do you consider María Esperanza’s case to be part of a broader attack on civic space in Nicaragua?
There is definitely a growing process of criminalisation of social protest in Nicaragua. The first upsurge in criminalisation came after Operation Clean-up, which ended around August 2018. This was a pseudo-military operation carried out by police and para-police forces to dismantle any organisation of territorial protection that the population had built through barricades in neighbourhoods and roadblocks around the country.
Once Operation Clean-up was over, the criminalisation of those who had taken part in the civic struggle began. More than 800 people became political prisoners, before being released in 2019 by unilateral decision of the government through the Amnesty Law.
María Esperanza had already been persecuted, harassed, put under surveillance and threatened before she was imprisoned for her human rights work. Her arrest and trial, like those of so many others, were plagued by irregularities. Violations of due process are systematic. In Nicaragua, the justice system is totally co-opted. It has collapsed and is under the control of the presidential couple: President Daniel Ortega and his vice-president and wife, Rosario Murillo.
How has the situation of civil society changed since the 2018 wave of protests?
More than 350 people were killed in a span of six months during the 2018 protests. The symbolic and emotional weight of that death toll in a country that has experienced civil wars, dictatorships and armed uprisings has been tremendous. In Nicaragua there has never been accountability, there have always been policies of wiping the slate clean, which has deepened the wounds.
In addition to the suffering of the 350 dead, there were over 800 people imprisoned for political reasons, and while many have since been released from prison, we purposefully say that they have been released rather than that they are free, because after their release, political persecution has not ended for them. Systematic harassment by police and para-police forces continues, and it becomes an obstacle to the enjoyment of many rights, including the right to work.
For these people, the effects of the economic crisis that the country is currently experiencing are compounded by the difficulties brought about by political persecution. They often cannot leave their home because there is a patrol outside, or they go out and they are followed, and then those who follow them learn the names of their employers and start to harass them as well.
Persecution happens at the local, neighbourhood level. The ruling party, the Sandinista National Liberation Front, has established various structures that are used to maintain territorial control through surveillance and repression: Councils of Citizen Power, Family Cabinets and Sandinista Leadership Committees. If you are an opponent or a human rights defender, there will always be a neighbour of yours who is involved in one of these structures and informs the regime and the police of what you are doing, and then you start to be persecuted and harassed, and maybe at some point you get arbitrarily arrested.
Harassment and hypervigilance cause psychological damage not only to the persecuted individual but also to their family. This has had an impact on the increase in emigration, which is a dual phenomenon, caused by both political persecution and social need. Since 2018, 120,000 people have left Nicaragua, a huge number for a country of just six million.
The 2021 presidential election openly exposed the regime’s lack of legitimacy. On what basis does the government stand?
In the run-up to the 2021 election, persecution was only exacerbated. In order to carry out the electoral farce of November, the government imprisoned 10 presidential pre-candidates and many people with a key role in the electoral process and in the formation of alternatives. This sent a very clear message, as a result of which there is still a lot of self-censorship.
Daniel Ortega has continued to concentrate and consolidate his power. We are currently living under a regime that has become totalitarian, where all freedoms are totally restricted. This is the only way the government can sustain itself, because it has no legitimacy. That is why repression and social control continue to increase rather than decrease. In the absence of such levels of repression and social control, the very high level of popular rejection of the regime would make it impossible for it to maintain political control.
As a result, repression, territorial control, neighbourhood repression, the criminalisation of protest and social dissent, and the closing of spaces for the exercise of the freedom of expression and media freedoms can be expected to continue.
Now a combination of laws has been passed that includes a Cybercrime Law. And we have already seen the first political prisoner convicted under this law, which does nothing other than criminalise the freedom of opinion.
What the government is looking for with political prisoners is to use them as hostages. Among the people arrested recently are presidential candidates, businesspeople, bankers, lawyers, activists and human rights defenders. The government is trying to negotiate their release to gain legitimacy and international approval.
The truth is that the government has no international support. The only foreign leaders who attended the presidential inauguration were Cuba’s Miguel Díaz-Canel, Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro and outgoing Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández.
How can the international community support Nicaraguan civil society in its struggle for the recovery of democracy and human rights?
We need to amplify denunciations of violations and sharpen accountability mechanisms. Civil society in Nicaragua has made a tremendous effort not only to document human rights violations but also to identify their perpetrators. Given that the justice system in Nicaragua has collapsed, and that civil society is doing everything within its power, the onus is on the international community to push for accountability and punishment of those responsible.
Daniel Ortega’s regime is no longer a political project but an economic enterprise. Its control of the state allows Ortega to use corruption networks to his advantage. In the light of this, the international community should fine-tune its mechanisms, review economic sanctions and identify the companies that continue to do business, not always entirely legally, with the Ortega regime. Since many association agreements have democratic and anti-corruption clauses, they need to be made operational. Personal sanctions must also be imposed on the architects of corruption and repression.
What kind of pressure should be exerted to get María Esperanza Sanchez released?
María Esperanza was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Everything that has happened to her and to the rest of the political prisoners is completely arbitrary; that is precisely why we consider them to be political prisoners. What we demand is the unconditional and guaranteed release of them all.
What happens to them will depend to a large extent on the strength with which the opposition and the international community manage to exert pressure, and on the correlation of forces that is established between the Nicaraguan government and the human rights movement.
We must campaign and keep up the pressure. We must continue to put our finger on all the arbitrariness, illegalities and human rights violations. There are still people in Europe and other parts of the world who think Ortega is the idealistic revolutionary of the past, and not the despot he has become. The best way to expose dictators and human rights abusers is to keep communicating the truth on the basis of well-documented evidence.
Civic space in Nicaragua is rated ‘closed’ by theCIVICUS Monitor. Nicaragua is currently on theCIVICUS Monitor Watch List, which identifies countries in which a severe and abrupt deterioration in the quality of civic space is taking place.
Get in touch with IM-Defensoras through itswebsite orFacebook page, and follow@IM_Defensoras on Twitter. -
NICARAGUA: ‘The protests expressed an articulated demand for genuine democracy, based on respect for the popular will’
As part of our 2018 report on the theme of reimagining democracy, we are interviewing civil society activists, leaders and specialists about their work to promote democratic practices and principles, the challenges they encounter and the victories they score. CIVICUS speaks with Amaru Ruiz about recent protests in Nicaragua, which were severely repressed, with hundreds of citizens killed. Amaru Ruiz is president of Fundación del Río, an environmental organisation that works for the conservation of biodiversity and sustainable development in the southeast region of Nicaragua, and coordinator of the Nicaraguan Network for Democracy and Local Development (Red Local), a civil society coalition that seeks to strengthen civil society organisations (CSOs) to promote inclusive and equitable local development, influence public policy-making, manage knowledge and promote active citizenship. Both organisations are part of the Articulation of Social Movements and Civil Society, which focuses on the struggle for justice, freedom and democracy in Nicaragua.
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NICARAGUA: ‘The regime seeks to annihilate all forms of autonomous citizen organisation’
CIVICUS speaks with María Teresa Blandón, a Nicaraguan human rights defender and director of Feminist Programme La Corriente, a civil society organisation (CSO) whose legal status was recently cancelled by the authoritarian regime led by President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo.
What is the reason for the current wave of intensified in repression in Nicaragua?
Repression increased on the eve of the fraudulent 2021 elections, when the state specifically targeted the leaders of the main opposition groups who had been building alliances to participate in the elections, because even though they knew that conditions were extremely adverse, they insisted that this was the way out of the crisis.
From January 2022 onwards, the Ortega-Murillo regime further escalated its offensive, possibly due to a failure in its political calculations: it had thought that once the electoral fraud had been consummated and the opposition was thrown in jail, the opposition would abdicate its role and the regime would obtain the endorsement of the international community.
But neither of these things happened: the opposition did not resign itself and there was no international support; on the contrary, the regime’s isolation only deepened. The Nicaraguan opposition continued to constantly denounce the establishment of a de facto police state and to call for the regime’s exit through civic means. The CSOs that managed to remain in the country continued to denounce systematic human rights violations and repression, hence the approval of new laws to strip them of their legal status and assets.
Faced with a lack of legitimacy, the Ortega-Murillo regime has deepened its strategy of annihilating any form of citizen organisation that is not subordinate to its interests. To date, more than 1,600 CSOs have been eliminated by the National Assembly and in many cases their assets have been confiscated through the application of laws that openly violate our country’s constitution, which recognises the right to free association and expressly prohibits confiscation.
Until very recently, the power to cancel an organisation’s legal personality was in the hands of the National Assembly, but a new law assigned it to the Ministry of the Interior, which now has the absolute power to decide who has the right to associate and who does not. The procedure has been expedited and there is no recourse to appeal, which clearly speaks of the situation of defencelessness Nicaraguan civil society finds itself in.
The judiciary has remained silent in the face of the unconstitutionality appeals filed in 2021, following the approval of the Law on Foreign Agents, which obliges CSOs that receive funds from international cooperation sources to report their activities at a level of detail that makes it practically impossible for them to operate.
This way, the regime eliminates all forms of autonomous participation, leaves activists and human rights defenders in a more precarious situation, and obtains the resources it needs to feed the clientelist practices that are its trademark.
One of the problems faced by the regime is precisely its lack of resources to sustain the community development projects carried out by many of the eliminated CSOs. It can no longer count on support from Venezuela, nor can it continue to expand the family businesses that the Ortega-Murillo clan has built while in power. Many of these companies have been sanctioned, including the one that monopolises the fuel business, which has forced them to carry out various manoeuvres to keep them active.
What work does your organisation do?
Feminist Programme La Corriente has existed for almost 30 years and was born with the aim of contributing to generating critical thought and encouraging new forms of participation by women in Central America. Over the last 15 years we have expanded our work with young people and sexual and gender dissident collectives.
Throughout our journey, we have contributed to challenging heterosexism, misogyny and macho violence and built vital networks for the defence of rights. We have prioritised issues related to the prevention of violence, voluntary motherhood, women’s right to decide about their bodies and respect for sexual and gender diversity.
Efforts to research the reality experienced by women, young people and dissident bodies have been key to the development of training and public communication programmes. For us it is of vital importance to strengthen collective action through social movements capable of thinking and acting on the changes required by Nicaraguan society. We are also part of Central American and Latin American networks and alliances, from where we contribute to advocacy processes with governments and global institutions.
Precisely because we generate critical thought and defend rights, in May this year the National Assembly cancelled our legal status and in early July the police took over our facilities.
On what grounds was the organisation ordered to shut down?
Generally speaking, the arguments put forward by the Sandinista deputies who control parliament include an unfounded accusation that CSOs are potential money launderers because they receive funding from foreign sources, deliberately ignoring the fact that these sources are linked to governments and duly established cooperation agencies.
They also cite alleged bureaucratic infractions such as the expiry of the term of the board of directors, failure to update statutes and refusal to provide information requested by the Ministry of the Interior. On the latter point, it is worth highlighting the abusive ministry’s intervention: in accordance with the new law, it requires CSOs to submit detailed information on each activity to be carried out and personal data of the people with whom they work.
Such demands denaturalise the meaning of CSOs, turning them into an extension of the state, clear evidence of the totalitarian zeal of this regime. It is clearly an attempt to impose a model of absolute control that requires the dismantling of all forms of autonomous civil society participation.
Likewise, by shutting down CSOs that work with low-income groups of the population, the regime is trying to regain control of what it thinks of as its social base, which it seeks to recover or retain by means of clientelist policies. This is why it has eliminated organisations that promote access to education for low-income children and young people, fulfil the needs of people with disabilities, promote access to land and other resources for rural and Indigenous women and provide sexual and reproductive health services and support for women who are victims of violence, among others.
CSOs that work in the field of citizen participation from a rights-based perspective and with a clear focus on the defence of democratic values have also been closed. They have been declared opponents of the regime and their representatives have been subjected to surveillance, threats, exile and imprisonment. It is also a kind of revenge for generating evidence that contradicts the official discourse and denouncing the systematic violation of rights by the Sandinista regime.
Why has the regime specifically targeted feminist organisations?
Hostility against Nicaraguan feminists dates back to the 1980s. The Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), as a guerrilla force turned into party that came to power, never really reflected on the patriarchal logics of power, but simply replicated them unceremoniously.
The feminists of my generation had to endure an authoritarian and abusive relationship with the Sandinista government, which at different times expressed discomfort with the existence of women’s organisations, because from their perspective this weakened the unity of revolutionary forces.
They exercised their veto power to prevent women’s collectives from placing demands related to macho violence and sexual and reproductive rights on the public agenda. The leaders of these collectives were silenced and forced to take on the priorities set by the ruling party leadership.
The watershed that marked the feminist movement’s definitive break with the FSLN occurred in the late 1990s, when Zoilamérica Narváez, daughter of Rosario Murillo, who is both Daniel Ortega’s wife and Vice President, denounced the abuses committed by her stepfather for more than 20 years. When feminists clearly stood on the victim’s side it meant a break with the FSLN leadership, which has since perceived us as enemies. Zoilamérica’s denunciation encouraged further accusations involving other members of the FSLN national leadership, including the late Tomás Borge.
Additionally, during the 2005-2006 electoral campaign, part of the feminist movement participated in an electoral alliance of opposition parties that included the Sandinista Renovation Movement, now UNAMOS, which the FSLN considers traitors to the revolution for having demanded democratisation of the party and questioned Ortega’s authoritarian and strongman leadership.
As he returned to power in 2007, it immediately became clear that Ortega’s strategy was to dismantle feminist networks, which by that point had increased their capacity to put forward ideas and influence Nicaraguan society. The stigmatisation campaign began with a speech by Murillo in which she accused feminists of trafficking in women’s suffering and of wanting to impose a way of life alien to Nicaraguan culture. That same year, the government began to pressure international aid agencies to suspend their support for feminist collectives, causing many of them to leave the country.
Among the main strands of the Ortega-Murillo regime’s discourse was its supposed commitment to gender equality: they proclaimed as a key advance the achievement of gender parity in all branches of government. This idea was taken up by United Nations (UN) bodies and multilateral financial institutions, but feminists provided clear evidence confirming the persistence of inequalities and the absence of public policies to address women’s demands.
The absolute criminalisation of abortion, the absence of policies to prevent and punish macho violence, including sexual abuse against girls and adolescents, which is prevalent in Nicaragua, the absence of sex education, the failure to comply with the law that established the creation of a fund to distribute land to rural women and the violation of the labour rights of workers in foreign factories are among the many problems that remain unresolved by a regime that dares to compare itself with the countries that have made the most progress in terms of gender equality in the world.
What should donors, and the international community in general, do to help Nicaraguan civil society?
In such turbulent times and with so many hotspots of tension in the world, it is hard to appeal for solidarity with Nicaraguan society, which continues to bet on civic and peaceful change to move away from this new dictatorship and lay the foundations for the country’s democratisation.
However, we must continue to appeal to democratic governments, regardless of their ideology, so they do not look away from what is happening in Nicaragua and support our just demands for the immediate release of political prisoners, the suspension of the police state, an end to the persecution of CSOs and the Catholic Church and the full restoration of our rights.
We call for a coherent position on the part of democratic governments, UN agencies, multilateral financial institutions, regional integration blocs and political party forums to avoid any action that could contribute to prolonging the stay of the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship in power.
At this point it is inadmissible that they denounce the regime’s systematic human rights violations, including the commission of crimes against humanity, while at the same time voting in favour of granting loans to the very same regime, which in addition to increasing a debt that is already greater than the country’s GDP gives it greater room for manoeuvre to remain in power.
Active support for human rights defenders, independent journalists and CSOs is vital to sustain hope for democratic change that does not impose further suffering on the Nicaraguan people.
Civic space in Nicaragua is rated ‘closed’ by theCIVICUS Monitor.
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