Dictators Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, along with seven institutions of their administration, have committed crimes against humanity against indigenous peoples and Afro-descendant communities in the two autonomous regions of the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua, “in an increasing and systematic manner,” according to the most recent report by the United Nations (UN) Group of Experts on Human Rights (GHREN).
The report, which was prepared by the GHREN along with other documents on the subject of human rights violations in Nicaragua, after thorough documentary research and testimonies from victims and witnesses, concludes that “since 2018, the authorities of the Government of Nicaragua and groups affiliated with the Government (paramilitaries and settlers) have committed violations and abuses of the collective rights of Indigenous Peoples and Afro-descendant communities in the two autonomous regions of the Caribbean Coast in an increasing and systematic manner.”
The experts’ research maintains that, among the crimes against humanity committed in Nicaragua against indigenous and Afro-descendant leaders, forest rangers, defenders and activists, as well as members of indigenous and Afro-descendant civil society organizations or those defending the rights of these populations, opponents or those perceived as such, the following stand out: “incarceration, torture and persecution for political reasons.”
They add that the violations are also directed against “opponents or those perceived as such, including violations of the rights to freedom and physical integrity, not to be subjected to torture and ill-treatment, participation in public life, peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, opinion, association and movement, among others.”
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The UN experts also reiterate that all violations and abuses against the rights of Caribbean populations “were committed intentionally as part of the attack against the civilian population, and that the perpetrators and masterminds were aware of the attack and their actions were part of it.”
The UN investigators further note that the violations, abuses and crimes documented in the investigation occurred as a result of the acts or omissions of agents and representatives of several State institutions, including primarily the “legislative branch, the judiciary, the National Police, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of the Interior (now the Ministry of the Interior), the Supreme Electoral Council with its General Directorate for Attention to Political Parties and TELCOR.”
The criminal strategy of dictatorships
During the investigation, the experts concluded that the Ortega-Murillo regime and representatives of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) have systematically penetrated the structures and self-government organizations of indigenous and Afro-descendant communities in the two Caribbean regions “with the aim of maintaining and extending their political, social and economic control, silencing political opposition and preventing any free participation in public affairs of indigenous and Afro-descendant communities.”
“Through acts of co-optation, the creation of an environment of intimidation and fear, and a policy of tolerance towards the increasing usurpation of communal lands by third parties, particularly settlers, the Government of Nicaragua, its authorities and supporters have systematically undermined the collective rights of indigenous and Afro-descendant communities,” the document states.
The Group of Experts also concludes that the State of Nicaragua, through its authorities, has committed serious violations of the individual rights of members of indigenous and Afro-descendant communities, including by its failure to act with regard to the prevention and investigation of serious crimes perpetrated by non-indigenous persons, particularly settlers.
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“These include violations of the rights to life, personal integrity and security, freedom of movement, freedom of opinion and expression, peaceful assembly, freedom of association, participation in political affairs, a fair trial, freedom from torture or other cruel treatment or punishment, as well as violations of economic, social and cultural rights,” the independent investigation said.
And reiterates that “some of these violations committed by the State of Nicaragua constitute, in turn, crimes against humanity.”
Discrimination
The document, prepared by UN specialists, denounces that the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship has been implementing “a discriminatory plan” to eliminate critical voices and any threat to the control of the State.
In pursuit of this goal, the Nicaraguan regime has undermined the structures and organizations of autonomy and self-government of indigenous and Afro-descendant communities, “such as the cancellation of the legal personality of the YATAMA party and the arbitrary detention of indigenous political and traditional leaders, the Government has sought to deprive indigenous peoples and Afro-descendant communities of their political representation,” the UN denounces.
As a palpable example, they point to “the forced disappearance of Brooklyn Rivera, leader of YATAMA and deputy of the National Assembly, and the arbitrary detention and sentencing to a term of imprisonment for political reasons of Nancy Henríquez, also a leader of YATAMA and alternate deputy of the National Assembly.
“They dismantled YATAMA and contributed to decapitating indigenous leadership and instilling fear in indigenous and Afro-descendant communities,” the investigation states.
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As part of the process of intimidation and reduction of the civic capacities of the Caribbean populations, the Sandinista government “has sought to silence any critical voice or any voice capable of autonomous social mobilization, establishing a strategy based on systematic violations of human rights and acts of persecution against members of indigenous and Afro-descendant communities,” the report adds.
GHREN recalls that, beyond the immediate impact on the hundreds of victims of the systematic violations and abuses of human rights detailed in the report, these violations and abuses affect all indigenous and Afro-descendant communities and “tens of thousands of people live in a context of permanent fear and without recourse to protect themselves against violence, impunity and other violations and abuses.”
The UN warns that the dictatorship’s real objective is to silence traditional and political leaders, defenders, activists and indigenous forest rangers because it considers them “an obstacle to its political, economic and social interests and, therefore, has turned its members into a target of repression.”
“The Group of Experts has reasonable grounds to believe that the State of Nicaragua is responsible for serious, systematic and widespread violations and abuses of human rights, based on a pattern of politically motivated discrimination,” the report concludes.
In previous investigations, the GHREN has already identified Ortega and Murillo, along with several state institutions, as the main perpetrators of crimes against humanity against the opposition, the Church and children in Nicaragua.
