Prosecutions of detainees were marred by serious violations of due process and other fundamental rights. The two were held without due process, in conditions that included solitary confinement, for five months. The OHCHR also said in September that the Attorney General’s office had opened investigations into four complaints of alleged abuse by police forces against detainees; one complaint was dismissed for lacking credibility and the other three had not advanced at the time of writing. Exports plunged on lockdowns abroad and the collapse in international travel, while private consumption and fixed investment also fell sharply amid uncertainty generated by the pandemic. As the global death toll from COVID-19 surpasses 600,000 (Johns Hopkins University, 23 July 2020), few states continue to downplay the severity of the crisis.Of the remaining holdouts, two are in Latin America: Brazil and Nicaragua. September 28, 2020. The National Police, in coordination with armed pro-government groups, brutally repressed protesters, resulting in 328 deaths and more than 2,000 people injured. In April 2018, massive anti-government protests broke out countrywide. Political propaganda for the ruling party was posted inside public schools. In some cases, human rights defenders were arrested and detained through processes marred by due process violations. Five were sanctioned in 2018 pursuant to Executive Order 13851 and the Global Magnitsky Act of 2016, which allows for sanctions against violators of human rights. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) estimate that over 100 journalists have fled Nicaragua since April 2018. From mid-March to mid-June, the Ortega administration released, mostly under restrictive regimes such as house arrest, 492 people detained in the context of the protests. In June, pro-government mobs beat and threw stones at Catholic churchgoers gathering in memory of 15-year-old Sandor Dolmus, an altar boy shot in the chest during protests a year earlier. TODAY NICARAGUA - Hurricane Iota, a category 5 hurricane, ... Rosarion Murillo, the "eternally loyal" to her husband and political partner, Daniel Ortega. Those who have lived in freedom and been raised under other norms can’t easily absorb the huge change that violence introduces into the political situation. Forty professors from the National University of Nicaragua accused of supporting or taking part in anti-government demonstrations were also fired in August 2018. TODAY NICARAGUA - Eight months ... Today Nicaragua-November 16, 2020 0. In March, an alleged member of the Sandinista Party shot at demonstrators, injuring three. With few exceptions, State workers did not receive the 5% salary increase in 2019 and 2020, and the 2021 budget proposal presented to the National Assembly last week, suggests that they will not receive it in the year to come, because current expenditure (that which finances salaries and other administrative expenses), barely grew by 351.3 million córdobas or 0.5%. Read the Department of State’s COVID-19 page before you plan any international travel. In August 2019, a pro-government mob attacked and robbed Aura Alarcón, an attorney who defended protesters, at a bus station in Managua. The first stop for most Nicaraguan refugees is neighboring Costa Rica, which hosts two-thirds of all Nicaraguan refugees and asylum seekers, or some 77,000 people. Most powerful Atlantic hurricane of 2020 hits land The category four storm makes landfall in Nicaragua, two weeks after another devastating hurricane. Many were subject to torture and other ill-treatment, including electric shocks, severe beatings, fingernail removal, asphyxiation, and rape. I hope this helps. Since protests began, the US Treasury Department has imposed targeted sanctions against nine Nicaraguan officials responsible for abuses or corruption. O K E N H U T C. Reconsider travel to Nicaragua due to COVID-19, civil unrest, crime, limited healthcare availability, and arbitrary enforcement of laws. These include people with chronic conditions or disabilities, those in need of surgery, torture survivors and people living in extreme poverty. Since October 2019, Costa Rica, with support from UNHCR, has streamlined refugee status determination procedures for common profiles of those known to be persecuted in Nicaragua which is reducing the time for people to be recognized as refugees, granting them protection. Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people in 90 countries worldwide, spotlighting abuses and bringing perpetrators to justice, Human Rights Watch is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit registered in the US under EIN: 13-2875808, Women and Girls’ Sexual and Reproductive Rights, Two Years After #MeToo Erupts, A New Treaty Anchors Workplace Shifts, Holding Companies to Account: Momentum Builds for Corporate Human Rights Duties, As Killer Robots Loom, Demands Grow to Keep Humans in Control of Use of Force, Shutting Down the Internet to Shut Up Critics, With Millions Out of School, the Countdown Begins to Get All Children into Quality, Accessible Education, Going to the Bank for Food, Not Money: The Growing Reality of Hunger in “Rich” Countries. We expect the FSLN to remain in power, given its unchecked control over state institutions. Many detainees were held incommunicado, subjected to closed-door trials, and denied the right to confer privately with their defense lawyers. During the crackdown, Nicaraguan Health Ministry authorities fired at least 400 doctors, nurses, and other health workers from several public hospitals in apparent retaliation for participation in protests or expression of disagreement with government policy. However, pro-government elements continued to suppress protesters violently. An anti-government protester is dragged away and arrested by police as security forces disrupt an opposition march coined "United for Freedom" in Managua, Nicaragua, Sunday, Oct. 14, 2018. Nicaragua has, since 2006, prohibited abortion in all circumstances, even if a pregnancy is life-threatening or the result of rape or incest. 2 September 2020 ; Nicaragua picks a bad time to sideline humanitarian groups ‘You do not need a particular reason to become a victim of violence, … Nicaragua - Level 3: Reconsider Travel. In this excerpt from our Watch List 2019 - Third Update for European policymakers, Crisis Group urges the EU to press for compliance with earlier agreements and a fresh round of negotiations that can help the country out of this deadly standoff. Last year, the regime expelled IACHR Special Monitoring Mechanism for Nicaragua (MESENI) and the IACHR-appointed Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI). The government did not allow the OHCHR or IACHR to send working groups to monitor the human rights situation in the country. In March, the UN Human Rights Council adopted its first resolution on Nicaragua with cross-regional support, condemning abuses and urging Ortega’s government to resume cooperation with international human rights bodies and negotiations with the opposition. 10 March 2020 Police also arrested, and subsequently released, over 100 people in the context of new protests in March. What they had been talking about for some time was the harassment and persecution faced by student leaders and activists who had participated in the protests in April 2018 which had led to Nicaragua making headlines around the world. Also in December, police raided the studio of news channel 100% Noticias and detained, on terrorism charges, Miguel Mora, the channel’s owner, and Lucía Pineda, its chief press officer. The continuing human rights abuses in Nicaragua have been met with strong regional and international condemnation. However, in September, the Ortega government barred the appointed commission from entering the country. 2020-10-29 Parishes in a critical economic situation, but they do not stop aid to the poorest. The resolution urges the Nicaraguan government to take a series of steps to resume negotiations with the opposition and restore access for international rights-monitoring mechanisms. Eta, the 28th named storm of the active 2020 hurricane season, was expected to strengthen as it approached the Florida Keys after bringing catastrophic rainfall to Honduras and Nicaragua. ... Judge Adalberto Zeledon announced the trial of the 16 would begin on January 30, 2020. The Supreme Court of Justice has upheld Electoral Council decisions undermining political rights and allowing Ortega to circumvent a constitutional prohibition on re-election and run for a second term. 2020-10-20 Family, freedom, dignity and social justice: the pillars on which to build the country.   |  Español Ortega’s Sandinista Party secured a 79 percent majority in Congress in 2016, enabling it to fast-track institutional reforms that gave the president direct personal control over the police and army, allowed him to legislate by decree, and run for re-election indefinitely. Hundreds of protesters were arbitrarily arrested and detained, many for several months.   |  عربي, Andrea, a pregnant asylum-seeker from Nicaragua, sits with her two children as they play outside their new home in Costa Rica. They were freed under the amnesty law in June 2019. In October, the European Union adopted a sanctions framework for Nicaragua, which provides a legal mechanism for imposing targeted sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes against top Nicaraguan officials responsible for abuse. Note: click hereTo read the author’s updates from the ongoing protests, . Although the amnesty excluded certain crimes, it risks being used to shield from prosecution officers responsible for serious abuses, given the lack of judicial independence. The forced retreat to salvage lives, amid such an attack, wasn’t considered a defeat. For more information on this topic, please contact: Our fight against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment, Environment, Disasters and Climate Change. In September, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet released a comprehensive report on the human rights record of Nicaragua from August 2018 to July 2019. In September, the commander in chief of the Nicaraguan Army, Julio César Avilés Castillo, accused NGOs of being coup-plotters who have violated the laws of the republic. © UNHCR/Flavia Sanchez. Executive power is exercised by the government.. Even after the initial surge of violence in April 2018 subsided, Nicaraguan students, human rights defenders, journalists and farmers continue to flee their country at an average rate of 4,000 people every month. The report recommended that Nicaragua guarantee freedoms for civil society, reinstate NGOs and media outlets, pursue investigations, prosecute individuals accused of human rights abuses in the context of the protests, and end arbitrary arrests, among other measures. Medical professionals who perform abortions face sentences of one to six years. According to the latest forecasts, for 2020 growth is expected to fall to -5.9 percent, and would recover slowly to … When Jhon was arrested at the end of February, hardly anyone was talking about COVID-19, even outside of Nicaragua. The IACHR estimated that about 130 people remained in prison as of October. With no resolution to the internal crisis in sight, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, expects these numbers to grow. An additional 5,100 are hosted in other countries, comprising a total of 103,600 Nicaraguan refugees and asylum seekers worldwide to date. Nearly two years after Nicaragua was plunged into a serious political and social crisis, more than 100,000 people have fled reported persecution and human rights abuses in the country, seeking asylum abroad. Through an agreement with UNHCR, Costa Rica has also allowed access to the public health care system to 6,000 of the most vulnerable asylum seekers. All of those released under restrictive measures were then granted amnesty, the OHCHR reported. However, Nicaragua was hit with renewed political trouble in 2018, and it was hit hard. Due to the social and political unrest that the country has experienced since April 2018, the economy contracted to -4.0 and -3.9 percent in 2018 and 2019, respectively. There have been widespread protests against a corrupt government and these are sometimes met with force. This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. Stacked with his supporters, the Electoral Council has barred opposition political parties and removed opposition lawmakers. As the crackdown intensified, some individuals responded violently and official figures show that 22 police officers died in the context of the demonstrations between April and September 2018. In mid-June, a broad amnesty for crimes committed in the context of the anti-government protests came into force. Since taking office in 2007, the government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has dismantled nearly all institutional checks on presidential power. In December 2018, the National Police raided the offices of news outlet Confidencial, confiscated materials, and occupied the headquarters. Several years ago, I read an article on the current political state of Nicaragua and its leader, Daniel Ortega. Jhon Cerna is a a student leader in Nicaragua. Nicaragua is in a moment of crisis. Human rights defenders and other critics of the government’s human rights record have continued to be the targets of death threats, intimidation, online defamation campaigns, harassment, surveillance, and assault. Nearly two years after Nicaragua was plunged into a serious political and social crisis, more than 100,000 people have fled reported persecution and human rights abuses in the country, seeking asylum abroad. In June, the Organization of American States (OAS) General Assembly passed a resolution proposed by the OAS Permanent Council Working Group on Nicaragua that opens the door to evaluation of Nicaragua’s compliance with the 2001 Inter-American Democratic Charter. And with no resolution in sight, the agency expects these numbers to grow. The Nicaraguan government has yet to officially impose any domestic travel restrictions or national quarantine policies. Under a Regional Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework to address the challenges of forced displacement in and from Central America, known as the MIRPS, UNHCR coordinates with government authorities and other UN agencies to monitor cross-border movements and respond to protection and humanitarian needs of those fleeing Nicaragua. Women and girls who have abortions face prison terms as long as two years. Nicaragua and Honduras bear the brunt of the hurricane’s destruction amid a record year of storms in the Atlantic. It instructed the Permanent Council to appoint a commission to undertake diplomatic efforts toward solving the crisis and to produce a report within 75 days. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo speak at the 41st anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution in Managua on July 19, 2020 (Photo credit: Ben Norton / The Grayzone) Document exposes new US plot to overthrow Nicaragua’s elected socialist gov’t In February 2019, the government and the opposition resumed stalled negotiations. While most fleeing Nicaraguans have gone to Costa Rica, thousands more have gone to Mexico, Panama, and the United States. By Rocio Cara Labrador November 26, 2018 Political and economic unrest in Nicaragua could stoke the flames in a region where insecurity has forced tens of thousands to flee in recent years. “Serious political and social crises in the country have prompted Nicaraguan students, human rights defenders, journalists and farmers to flee their country at an average rate of 4,000 people every month”, UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo told journalist on Tuesday at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. Since the outlawing of anti-government demonstrations in September 2018, the National Police have denied eight requests for protest permits. An uncertain political climate and a lack of confidence in the rule of law will weigh on Nicaragua's economic prospects, keeping real GDP below its 2017-peak well into the medium term. Just over 8,000 have fled to Panama and another 9,000 to Europe while Mexico is sheltering some 3,600 people. The 2018–2020 Nicaraguan protests began on 18 April 2018 when demonstrators in several cities of Nicaragua began protests against the social security reforms decreed by President Daniel Ortega that increased taxes and decreased benefits. 19 Nov 2020 Hurricane Iota roars onto Nicaragua as 2nd blow in 2 weeks The abortion ban forces women and girls facing unwanted pregnancies to have clandestine abortions, risking their health and lives. The notion of citizen freedom predominated in Nicaragua since 1990, even during Ortega’s government. The Ortega regime restricts freedom of expression for journalists and media outlets through threats, insults, physical attacks, detentions, arbitrary searches of documents, and forced closures. The IACHR found that authorities threatened public officials with dismissal if they did not participate in pro-government demonstrations. Nicaragua Economic Outlook November 10, 2020 The economy contracted 7.9% in Q2 according to recent data, despite the lack of a domestic lockdown. In November and December 2018, Congress stripped nine nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) of their legal registration, effectively forcing them to close. More than 88,000 Nicaraguans have fled their country since the crackdown began, the IACHR reports. He was accused of financing a march in Costa Rica and had his personal belongings confiscated. The Council has today extended the existing framework for imposing targeted restrictive measures in view of the situation in Nicaragua for one year, until 15 October 2021.. 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