Delivered by
Nada Al-Nashif United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights
Location
Geneva, Palais des Nations, Room XX
Thank you Madam Vice President,
Excellencies,
I present this oral update, as mandated by Human Rights Council resolution 52/2 , requesting the High Commissioner to monitor and report on the situation of human rights in Nicaragua.
Since the last update to this Council in September, the human rights situation in Nicaragua has continued to deteriorate. A severe, repressive climate reigns.
Over the past few months, reforms have aimed at concentrating more power in the Presidency and criminalizing dissenting voices.
These developments have further undermined democratic checks and balances and have deepened the crackdown on civic space, generating more fear and anxiety among Nicaraguans, including those in exile.
Recently enacted legal reforms significantly expand state powers to prosecute certain crimes even when the behaviors in question may have been committed outside Nicaragua, targeting people and civil society organizations perceived as critical of the government. These laws redefine offenses to include social media activity that "induces panic" or threatens "social stability." By classifying cybercrime as organized crime, authorizing asset confiscation, and granting unchecked access to personal data by the police, these laws pave the way for further politically motivated persecution and an alarming erosion of fundamental rights.
The proposed constitutional reforms adopted in first reading by the National Assembly last month will, if enacted, further erode the rule of law. Key provisions would enable executive interference in the legislative, judicial, and electoral branches. Ambiguous provisions are likely to unduly restrict fundamental rights, including the freedom of expression and the right of peaceful assembly. Removal of the explicit recognition of the prohibition of torture is particularly egregious.
Proposed changes seek to expand and strengthen the Government’s powers to strip individuals of citizenship and confiscate assets – already a widely used tool of arbitrary repression against government critics and dissidents. In fact, since February 2023, at least 546 Nicaraguans have been officially stripped of their nationality, rendering many of them stateless, and their assets confiscated. They have been expelled and left in precarious conditions abroad. Many others are not able to establish their Nicaraguan nationality as the government refuses to renew their passports or issue documentation abroad, erasing their legal identity and impeding their connections to their homeland.
The UN Human Rights Office urges lawmakers to reject the proposed constitutional reforms during its second reading in January and that all legislation incompatible with Nicaragua’s international human rights obligations be revoked or amended accordingly.
Arbitrary detention of perceived political opponents, Indigenous leaders, human rights defenders, and religious leaders remains widespread.
According to civil society organisations, 76 people remain arbitrarily detained in Nicaragua, including at least 20 members of indigenous communities. In the last days of November, at least 30 people were reportedly arbitrarily detained, among them three children. Additionally, at least 10 were forced to leave Nicaragua in November, under the threat of detention and prosecution.
In a troubling development, the Supreme Court ordered the stripping of nationality and assets of the 135 people expelled to Guatemala last September, so that they now too face statelessness and severe vulnerability.
Information obtained by our Office reveals a consistent pattern of due process violations, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, dire detention conditions and physical and psychological torture, including sleep deprivation and denial of medical care.
And I would like to shine a light on a few illustrative cases.
Angélica Chavarría, partner of the late retired General Humberto Ortega who died on 30 September in a hospital while in detention, has been disappeared since 19 May 2024.
The whereabouts of Brooklyn Rivera who is 72 years old and a member of the National Assembly representing YATAMA—the main Indigenous and Afro-descendant political party—and of Steadman Fagoth Müller who is 71 years old, who was a Presidential Advisor on indigenous issues at the time of his detention on 14 September 2024, remain unknown.
Similarly, the whereabouts of former Colonel Victor Boitano (63 years old) have also been concealed.
We urge the immediate release of all people arbitrarily deprived of their liberty, including those detained for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly. All accused individuals must have access to fair trial and due process. And enforced disappearance, torture and ill-treatment must unequivocally end.
Attacks against members of Indigenous communities by settlers (colonos) in the North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region continue, including the killing of two Miskitu on 8 November. Reported cases of sexual violence against Indigenous children allegedly committed by settlers are very troubling. The Office is also deeply concerned about the arbitrary detention of eight Mayangna forest guards who belong to indigenous communities some of whom have been held since 2021, and calls for their immediate release. The authorities must take proactive measures to prevent violence, including sexual violence, and conduct thorough and independent investigations into all such incidents , holding perpetrators accountable.
Your Excellencies,
These developments are deepening the country’s human rights crisis, at the expense of its people.
Protecting civic and democratic space and rebuilding the foundations of the rule of law are crucial to the restoration human rights, including ensuring the safe return of all Nicaraguans in exile. It is in the interest of the people of Nicaragua for the Government to return to a democratic path, and to pursue a meaningful and constructive dialogue to this end.
The UN Human Rights Office therefore calls on the international community, including all States engaged in the region and with influence, to step up their efforts to support these aims. The Office also reiterates its commitment to providing technical assistance to Nicaragua.