The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) condemned the “brutal” murder of five indigenous people, the dispossession of plots from community members, and the attacks carried out by settlers against several families in the Mayangna Sauni As territory. of the North Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua.
“The events took place on March 11, 2023, in the early hours of the morning, when an indeterminate group of heavily armed settlers murdered Jesmin Jacobo Lázaro, Lenín Vilchez Patrón Flores, Alberto Castillo Palacio, Jorge Enor Palacio Samuel and Morgan Díaz Palacio, all men and under 30 years of age,” he denounced in a statement from the body.
“The killings occurred when the settlers were on their way to the Wilu community. Likewise, they would have caused serious injuries to another person, Mario Patrón Flores, who remains hospitalized, “he said.
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“Given the difficulties of accessing Wilu, it is unknown at this time if there were other fatalities. The Office has been informed that several members of the community are missing,” he added.
For its part, the Mayangna Sauni As Territorial Government explained that the settlers left three people injured, 16 houses burned, and more than 70 families affected and evacuated in the Musawas community.
Faced with this situation, the OHCHR maintained that “women, children, and adolescents would find themselves in a situation of special vulnerability that requires urgent humanitarian action.”
The human rights defense entity also highlighted that this has not been the only attack against the Mayangna community. On March 6 and 10, the indigenous were also attacked by settlers.
“These acts of violence are part of a serious context of systematic violence by non-indigenous settlers against indigenous communities on the Caribbean Coast, exacerbated by the lack of application of Law 445 on the Communal Property Regime in relation to the sanitation of indigenous territories. », he denounced.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner urged the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo to, “in accordance with its international obligations,” take the appropriate measures to “protect the life, safety, and physical and mental integrity of all people from the Wilu community, which includes a gender and differential approach and takes into account the specific needs of displaced women, children, adolescents and older people”.
He demanded that the Ortega administration “immediately investigate the events that occurred, punish those responsible, and make reparations to the victims and their families, as well as adopt all the necessary measures so that similar events are not repeated in this or in other communities.” that make up the Mayangna Sauni As Territory, nor in other indigenous communities of the autonomous regions.”
In addition, he urged the Ortega Murillo regime to “advance in the process of land regularization, guaranteeing collective dialogue and the participation of indigenous communities.”
