During the 52nd regular period of human rights sessions at the United Nations Organization (UN) held this Friday, March 3, in Geneva, Switzerland, members of the Nicaragua Never Again Human Rights Collective denounced the worsening of the social and political crisis that Nicaragua lives in since 2018.
Human rights defender Juan Carlos Arce pointed out that after four years in the country a policy of systematic repression persists “with the absence of mechanisms that allow victims to exercise their right to truth, justice, reparation and non-repetition.”
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He denounced that the climate of impunity in the country is worsening due to greater repression and the adoption of measures that prolong the human rights crisis, “as has been the recent stripping of nationality from more than 300 Nicaraguans.”
Arce stressed that the rule of law in Nicaragua continues to deteriorate with the arbitrary detention of thousands of people since 2018, which includes human rights defenders, journalists, activists, religious, even artists; in addition to the closure of three thousand non-governmental organizations and dozens of communication media and the dismantling of the electoral system.
He pointed out that there are still 35 political prisoners in the different Nicaraguan prisons whom the Nicaraguan dictatorship did not include in the list of exiles on February 9.
“This situation implies the largest human displacement in the country’s history; More than 500,000 people flee in search of international protection and better opportunities that they do not always find in the host countries,” said the human rights defender.
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He also called on the UN Council to renew the mandate of the group of experts for two years and to renew the mandate of the High Commissioner for human rights.
Five years of systematic repression
For his part, the human rights defender Gonzalo Carrion He said in his speech that on April 18 Nicaragua will celebrate five years of “systematic repression and continuous violations of human rights by the State and continues in complete impunity.”
He recalled that in the context of the crisis that the country is experiencing, the government of Daniel Ortega has approved more than 10 arbitrary laws “under a policy of jail, exile or cemetery.”
“The situation continues to worsen, on February 9, 222 political prisoners were released, forced into exile and stripped of their nationality, six days later another 94 were also deprived of our nationality (…) This also implies the stripping of pensions of old age, the trespassing and illegal appropriation of property, the harassment of our family, seek to eliminate us as now, leaving us at risk of statelessness and without means of livelihood, “denounced Carrión.
Recently, a group of UN experts accused the Nicaraguan government of committing systematic violations of human rights, which constitute “crimes against humanity,” according to a report published this Thursday, March 2, in which it called for international sanctions.
The document of the Group of Experts on Human Rights on Nicaragua mentions, among these violations and abuses, extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detentions, torture, and arbitrary deprivation of nationality and the right to remain in one’s country.
