The United Nations (UN) will decide by vote on the resolution on the creation of a mechanism made up of international and independent experts with the mandate to establish “accountability for the serious violations that have occurred since 2018 in Nicaragua.”
The decision would be made between Thursday, March 31, and Friday, April 1. The Mechanism for Nicaragua states that if this project were to materialize, “exhaustive, independent investigations with a gender and intersectional approach would be carried out on the human rights violations committed since April 2018, as well as their structural causes.”
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The creation of this Mechanism is a petition headed by the Nicaraguan Never Again Human Rights Collective (Colectivo 46/2) which, together with twenty-one national and international human rights organizations, has carried out since last year by confirming that the Nicaraguan State has not complied with any of the recommendations of Resolution 46/2. “On the contrary, it has increased the repression, and has not shown the slightest intention to resume meaningful cooperation with the international community.”
Its function will be to “collect, preserve and analyze information and potential evidence; and – where possible – identify those responsible for such violations in order to support ongoing accountability efforts.”
Likewise, this Mechanism is in line with the recommendation of the High Commissioner, Michelle Bachelet, who urges the Council to consider “all the measures within its reach to promote accountability for the serious violations that have occurred” in the country since the civic rebellion.
The request for accountability of the regime is led by the opposition organizations Urnas Abiertas, Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (Cenidh), Race and Equality, Center for Justice and International Law (Cejil), Center for Civil and Political Rights (CCPR ), International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and International Service for Human Rights (ISHR).
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The organizations emphasize that “at no time have the Nicaraguan authorities taken serious steps or shown the will to address any of the points mentioned.” The State, headed by Daniel Ortega, is accused before the UN of being responsible for crimes against humanity in the framework of the 2018 social protests.
They affirm that Colectivo 46/2 “has periodically investigated, documented and informed the international community about the lack of actions by the Nicaraguan regime to address its international obligations in terms of human rights and the concerns of the international community in this regard.”
