Nicaraguan government accused of financing repression and committing crimes against humanity

A report by United Nations experts and more than 20 humanitarian organizations warned of a systematic pattern of human rights violations financed with public funds and extending beyond the country’s borders.

In recent weeks, human rights organizations have called on United Nations member states to demand that Nicaragua be held accountable for human rights violations, notably torture, transnational repression and statelessness, which are considered crimes against humanity.

Leading the complaint is Colectivo 46/2, which brings together Nicaraguan and regional humanitarian organizations and bodies, and which urged the UN to back the request of the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua, created by the UN, to hold the Nicaraguan State accountable for serious human rights violations.

Colectivo 46/2 stated that it is committed to peaceful methods that respect international law and asked the international community to become involved in the task of monitoring and accountability, based on the information provided by the Group on the serious human rights violations and those responsible for them. 

For its part, a report by the UN Group of Human Rights Experts reveals that the government of Nicaragua is financing the repression of its opponents through the diversion of public funds and is also targeting exiles through a transnational surveillance and intelligence network. 

The document submitted to the Human Rights Council calls on co-presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo to be held accountable and to take measures to guarantee the rights of all Nicaraguans, including those in exile.

The UN Group of Experts stated, based on interviews and documentary evidence, that since 2018 public funds have been diverted to finance repression through the creation of a parallel structure within the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) party, which sought to channel funding for security operations, armed groups and partisan political activities. 

Reed Brody, a member of the UN Group of Experts, stated that the misuse and diversion of public resources contribute directly to the commission of serious human rights violations. In his view, “repression in Nicaragua is not improvised,” because it is structured and financed within a scheme of corruption. 

The report also revealed an extensive transnational surveillance and intelligence scheme used to monitor, intimidate and attack the thousands of Nicaraguans living outside the country. It also detailed that the government stripped 452 people of their nationality, left thousands more exiles de facto stateless by refusing to renew or issue documents, and prevented many of them from returning to Nicaragua.

The UN called on the Nicaraguan government to take immediate measures to dismantle the architecture of repression by repealing all restrictive legislative reforms since 2018, dissolving para-state apparatuses and restoring the proper separation of powers.

In addition, the Group of Experts called on the Ortega-Murillo government to release all people detained for political reasons and to fully restore the human rights of civil society, the media and religious institutions.

Along these lines, it also urged the authorities to allow international monitoring mechanisms unrestricted access to the country to oversee the safe return of exiles, as well as justice and reparation processes.

For his part, Brody noted that the UN Group of Experts is ready to travel to Nicaragua to monitor progress and support the implementation of human rights reforms. He stressed the need to engage directly and constructively with the authorities in order to work together.

No response from the government

The Ortega-Murillo government has not responded to the calls from the United Nations or from other organizations or institutions involved in the defense of human rights. However, on several occasions it has made clear what it thinks of the UN.

During a speech marking the 46th anniversary of the Sandinista revolution, Daniel Ortega stated that the United Nations is “useless,” that it must be refounded, and that this means it must disappear. For Ortega, it is necessary to create a “new United Nations” that provides security to peoples and that, wherever people are being killed, goes there and stops those killings.

According to the president of Nicaragua, at the UN “the powerful are united,” and they did nothing in the face of the “Zionist aggression” of Israel and the United States against Iran and the Palestinian State, which, he said, they seek to “make disappear.”

The Group of Experts stressed that, given the magnitude and duration of the violations, restoring rights and democracy will require sustained, long-term international commitment. They maintain that the longer this action is delayed, the greater the burden will be. They also highlighted the courage of the victims, who offer hope that change, justice and accountability can become a reality in Nicaragua.

Guillermo Whpei

President of Fundación para la Democracia