The Committee Against Torture and the United Nations Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture have decided to publish the confidential report on the Subcommittee’s visit to Nicaragua in 2014, arguing “the seriousness of the situation” and the lack of response from the State of Nicaragua to the efforts made by both organizations in order to prevent torture in the country.
“This is the first time that the two bodies have taken joint action on a non-cooperating State party,” said Committee Chairman Claude Heller. “We have decided to make a joint statement and publish the confidential report of the Subcommittee’s visit in view of the seriousness of the situation and the need an answer coordinated in order to prevent torture,” he reiterated.
Likewise, the president of the Subcommittee, Suzanne Jabbour, emphasized that States “must assume their responsibilities in case of non-compliance with their obligations regarding the prevention of torture and ill-treatment”, including when the required information on the implementation of the recommendations made. “Therefore, we believe that the decision to make our previous confidential report public will have a preventive effect. We also hope that it can be useful for all agents on the ground, ”she stressed.
Nicaragua ratified in 2005 the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, for which it is obliged to “take effective measures to eradicate torture and ill-treatment.” In addition, in 2009 the country ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, for which it committed to “establishing an independent national prevention mechanism and allowing supervisory visits to detention centers” by the Subcommittee.
However, the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo has repeatedly refused to cooperate with both the Committee and the Subcommittee, evading its obligations under both human rights treaties and —even— questioning the legitimacy of said bodies. of the United Nations.
Regime still does not respond
In July of this year, the Government of Nicaragua decided to absent itself from the 74th session of the Committee against Torture, in which the second periodic report of the State party was publicly considered. The Committee reviewed the periodic report in the State’s absence and transmitted its interim concluding observations to the Nicaraguan authorities for comment. Given the lack of response from Nicaragua, the Committee definitively adopted these observations finals that were published last week.
The report adopted by the Committee last week notes that deadly force was used against peaceful protesters in 2018 and 2021when between 170 and 190 people were arbitrarily detained for political reasons and there were also accusations of torture and forced disappearances.
The Nicaraguan authorities have also refused to visit the country planned by the Subcommittee for 2023 and have refused to provide information regarding the measures adopted to implement the recommendations contained in the Subcommittee’s report after its visit to Nicaragua in 2014. A situation that led that body to suspend its plan to visit Nicaragua.
“It is extremely unfortunate that Nicaragua refuses to cooperate with the subcommittee in the plans to carry out our second visit to the country,” the president of the Subcommittee said in a statement on November 23.
In addition, the State of Nicaragua did not respond to the repeated requests by both bodies to hold meetings within the framework of their respective mandates and in compliance with their international obligations.
For these reasons, the Subcommittee formally requested the Committee to issue a public statement in this regard and to publish the report of the 2014 visit, which until now was confidential.
Inter-American Court of Human Rights declares contempt of Nicaragua
Meanwhile, in the Inter-American System, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (I/A Court HR), declared this November 29 the “permanent contempt” of the State of Nicaragua with respect to the provisional measures adopted in the matters: Juan Sebastián Chamorro and others and 45 people deprived of their liberty in 8 detention centers.
In the resolution, the Court indicates that “the position assumed by Nicaragua and the effective non-observance of what was ordered” by that court, constitutes “an act of permanent contempt” that puts them in a situation of “absolute lack of protection and increases the situation of risk in where the beneficiaries are” of said provisional measures.
The Court also instructed the president of the Inter-American Court to present a report on the situation in Nicaragua to the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) and urgently called on the OAS to, in application of the collective guarantee, give follow-up on non-compliance with provisional measures.
