Geneva report urges ICJ action against Nicaragua for ‘repression’

The regime in Nicaragua "has dismantled the last checks and balances". Keystone-SDA

International investigators have reported that President Daniel Ortega’s regime in Nicaragua has dismantled the country’s last remaining checks and balances. The report, released on Wednesday in Geneva, accuses the regime of committing new acts that amount to crimes against humanity.

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Since 2018, Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo have “tightened their grip” on Nicaragua, according to Jan Simon, president of the Expert Group on Human Rights in Nicaragua. He says the authorities and the ruling party have become “a unified machine of repression” with both national and international reach, all under the control of the presidential couple.

Investigators appointed by the Human Rights Council, though not speaking for the United Nations (UN), believe the recent constitutional reform has “completed” the erosion of the rule of law in Nicaragua. Rosario Murillo is now co-president. The independent experts also note that legislative and judicial powers have been reduced to entities controlled by this dual executive.

The experts have repeatedly denounced possible crimes against humanity in Nicaragua over the past few years. According to their report, these abuses have continued throughout the past year.

This time, they highlight a fourth phase of repression, during which deportations have been carried out. More than 450 people have been expelled and arbitrarily stripped of their nationality.

Calls to take the case to the ICJ

The experts also believe that the authorities are responsible for enforced disappearances over a period of several months.

Since the political crisis began, political persecution has become so systematic that it appears to constitute a crime against humanity. “It’s a government at war with its own population,” says Ariela Peralta, a member of the expert group.

For the first time, investigators are clearly identifying the army’s role, alongside the police and paramilitaries, in the 2018 repression that claimed over 300 lives. In the coming weeks, the expert group will reveal a list of those allegedly responsible for these crimes.

Another member, Reed Brody, believes the international community must take “concrete” action against the regime. The investigators are urging that Nicaragua be brought before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), particularly for torture, and are calling for increased sanctions against those responsible for violations.

Translated from French with DeepL/sp

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