The government of Daniel Ortega has begun to use the equipment and emblems of the Nicaraguan Red Cross after withdrawing its legal status last week, arguing that it allegedly violated its principles “of impartiality and neutrality.”
When dissolving the humanitarian entity that had worked independently since 1934 in the Central American nation, legislators said that the organization did not present financial statements or balance sheets.
Now its assets and mission have remained under the control of the Ministry of Health. The authorities maintain that the entity did not present the financial statements or the balance sheet.
See also: Ortega government dissolves Nicaraguan Red Cross
On the social networks of the Red Cross, now administered by the government, it is mentioned that the charge for ambulance transfer services, which previously had a cost, would be eliminated, but they also announced the new bank accounts to which donors they could start sending their monetary contributions.
The publication has the letterhead of the Nicaraguan government.
Human rights experts consulted by the voice of america They warn about the illegality that the use of these symbols implies and the seriousness that it represents for citizens who will no longer have an independent entity to assist them.
“The main work [de la Cruz Roja] is precisely that: in an armed conflict, provide humanitarian assistance to people, soldiers, wounded combatants and countless other humanitarian assistance to the civilian population within an armed context,” said Uriel Pineda, master’s degree and independent consultant in Rights Humans.
Pineda maintains that when the National Assembly voted for the creation of “a new Red Cross”, but now controlled by the State, the legislators indicated “that they will respect the Geneva conventions of 1949”, including the condition of neutrality.
“One of the main elements is the recognition as a norm of neutrality of the Red Cross. In the event of a war, [la Cruz Roja] It is a sign that must be respected at all times, in all circumstances, because it is a guarantee of neutrality and its purpose is humanitarian,” said Pineda.
Therefore, he says, the Ortega government “cannot have its own Red Cross, so to speak, and consequently, what they have done is deprive the Nicaraguan Red Cross of that neutrality.”
“We can no longer talk about neutrality apart from the prohibition that the regime has to make use of these protected signs, signs that are recognized by Convention IV of the Geneva conventions of ’49.”
Nicaraguan lawyer Róger Reyes, for his part, affirms that the Ortega government’s measure to put an end to the legal performance of the Red Cross through the National Assembly “is completely in violation of all rights” since the purpose of said entity is to carry out humanitarian actions far from any bias or inclination for any political ideology.
“It is being demonstrated that under the ordinance of the Executive Branch, the Legislative Branch approves a law that not only expels an organization with humanitarian prestige, but is also affecting the Nicaraguan community that is within the country.”
Where is the freedom of association?
Parliamentarians affiliated with the Ortega government dissolved the Red Cross and at the same time agreed to create an organization under the same name. The Nicaraguan Ministry of Health was singled out at the time by human rights groups for the expulsion of doctors who assisted injured protesters during the 2018 protests against the Managua authorities.
“When you go away and read so much to the report of the International Group of Independent Experts (GIEI), formed by the IACHR in 2018 to assess the Nicaraguan crisis, you will realize that it is reported that the Ministry of Health denied medical attention to the wounded and joined this policy of repression, even hindering the victims’ right of access to justice because they destroyed files, and that is documented,” says Pineda.
Yáder Valdivia, from the Nicaraguan Collective, an entity formed in exile by independent lawyers, emphasizes that the ruling party’s measure “is a failure of freedom of association, but also an attack against international human rights.”
“The Nicaraguan Red Cross had a common goal with all institutions of its kind in the world, a humanitarian goal, which is to help people when they have some humanitarian need. This ends today because it now becomes part of the State Although it continues to be called the Nicaraguan Red Cross and is administered by the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health, the spirit by which it was created is coming to an end.”
Valdivia mentions that the fact that the Nicaraguan Red Cross accompanied and offered care to the wounded in the context of social protests in 2018, without distinguishing political colors, was interpreted by the National Assembly as an alleged coup attempt.
“In other words, for having saved lives. What the regime wanted is for them to let people die in the context of the protests so that today they are not confiscated,” he laments.
The expert indicates that the group has received complaints from people who were denied care in public hospitals for not sympathizing with the Nicaraguan government.
“There are serious examples of when a humanitarian institution passes into the hands of the State, as happened with the firefighters in Nicaragua. When they become administered by the Nicaraguan government,” he warned.
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