Committee against Torture Considers Situation in Nicaragua in the Absence of a Delegation

Committee Experts Call on Nicaragua to Investigate Allegations of Torture and Ill Treatment of Government Opponents by State Officials

The Committee against Torture today considered the second periodic report of Nicaragua in the absence of a delegation, with Committee Experts calling on Nicaragua to investigate allegations of torture and ill treatment of Government opponents by State officials, in particular participants in the April 2018 protests.

Claude Heller, Committee Chair and Country Co-Rapporteur for Nicaragua, said that in December of last year, the Committee had presented the list of issues prior to reporting to Nicaragua, and asked Nicaragua to confirm its participation in the dialogue.  A letter was sent by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nicaragua to the Chair of the Committee on 30 June, stating that the questions from the Committee were vile attacks on the State.  The Minister said that these questions were no longer impartial, and the Committee had become an echo chamber for imperialist rhetoric.  Torture was not practiced in Nicaragua, but these dehumanising acts were practiced in other imperial countries. 

Mr. Heller said that the letter included unacceptable statements that challenged the integrity of the Committee and other international human rights bodies, and indicated a deep lack of knowledge of the Convention and the Committee’s working methods.  As Nicaragua stood at an important point in its history, the Committee would present comments and questions to Nicaragua, despite its absence.

During the 2018 protests, Mr. Heller said that 355 people had lost their lives due to indiscriminate force used by police and para-police groups.  Over 1,300 people were injured at these protests, and 1,614 were deprived of liberty.  There were allegations of torture against these persons in State-run and clandestine detention centres.

Mr. Heller said that there was an excessive use of force by police officials against opponents of the Government.  These persons were held without trial and tortured by State officials.  In 97 per cent of cases, acts of torture took place in police detention centres.  It was the State’s responsibility to investigate such cases of torture.

Erdogan Iscan, Committee Expert and Country Co-Rapporteur for Nicaragua, said that human rights defenders and journalists critical of the Government had allegedly been kidnapped by State agents in Nicaragua.  Riot police had allegedly attacked journalists and occupied media outlets, and even caused the death of a journalist in 2018.  Mr. Iscan called on the State to investigate improper use of force and firearms by the police and prosecute offenders.

In closing remarks, Mr. Heller said that Nicaragua had systematically violated human rights and the Convention.  To restore its legitimacy, the State needed to repeal legislation implemented since the 2018 political crisis, punish State officials responsible for human rights violations, re-establish the independence of the national human rights institute and provide it with the resources needed to carry out its work, and resume its dialogue with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and other international organizations.

The Committee will issue concluding observations on the report of Nicaragua at the end of its seventy-fourth session on 29 July.  Those, and other documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, will be available on the session’s webpage.  Summaries of the public meetings of the Committee can be found  here, and webcasts of the public meetings can be found  here.

The Committee will next meet in public this afternoon at 3 p.m. to conclude its consideration of the initial report of the United Arab Emirates (CAT/C/ARE/1).

Report

The Committee has before it the second periodic report of Nicaragua ( CAT/C/NIC/2 ).

Remarks by Committee Experts

CLAUDE HELLER, Committee Chair and Country Co-Rapporteur for Nicaragua, said that in December of last year, the Committee had presented the list of issues prior to reporting to Nicaragua, and asked Nicaragua to confirm its participation in the dialogue.

A letter was sent by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nicaragua to the Chair of the Committee on 30 June, stating that the questions from the Committee were vile attacks on the State.  The Minister said that these questions were no longer impartial, and the Committee had become an echo chamber for imperialist rhetoric.  Torture was not practiced in Nicaragua, but these dehumanising acts were practiced in other imperial countries.  These empires had been built upon blood and the slavery of millions of people, whose rights had been stripped from them before the blind eyes of the United Nations. 

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nicaragua had said the United Nations had no legitimacy in questioning the domestic affairs and legislation of Nicaragua.  He said the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights used its mechanisms to meddle in the sovereignty of the State, and echoed the interventionist methods of the United States, which used the Committee to legitimise its own acts of torture.  Nicaragua would not submit itself to the Committee’s superfluous requirements, which demonstrated a lack of knowledge of the State’s sovereignty.  The Committee continued to cover up the crimes against humanity of the empires, which Nicaragua repudiated and rejected.  Nicaragua was a free, sovereign and independent State that rejected any acts of interventionism or meddling.

Mr. Heller said that the letter included unacceptable statements that challenged the integrity of the Committee and other international human rights bodies, and indicated a deep lack of knowledge of the Convention and the Committee’s working methods.  He noted that it had been Nicaragua’s decision to sign and ratify the Convention.

As Nicaragua stood at an important point in its history, the Committee would present comments and questions to Nicaragua, despite its absence.

Mr. Heller said the initial report of Nicaragua was submitted in 2007.  The second report was submitted in 2019.  Nicaragua had been experiencing a multi-dimensional crisis since April 2018.  Since that time, numerous laws had been introduced that degraded the human rights of the people of Nicaragua.  During the 2018 protests, 355 people had lost their lives due to indiscriminate force used by police and para-police groups.  Over 1,300 people were injured at these protests, and 1,614 were deprived of their liberty.  There were allegations of torture against these persons in State-run and clandestine detention centres.  The State had justified its response by stating that the April 2018 protests were part of preparations for a coup d’état. 

Some 190 opponents of the Government were currently deprived of liberty, and this number was increasing.  The April 2018 events did not take place due to an isolated incident.  There had been a gradual concentration of power and a progressive weakening of democratic institutions in Nicaragua.  Legislation had been modified to allow the indefinite rule of the President.  There was a lack of independent control of State actions.

Legislation did not require allegations of torture to be investigated, leading to impunity for the State.  Mr. Heller wished to ask why legislation requiring investigation of torture had been repealed.

Legislation introduced before 2018 required judges to visit centres of deprivation at least twice monthly and draft minutes of those visits.  Judges were required to inform civil servants about the findings of visits.  Were such visits still carried out?

No accusation of torture or ill treatment had been presented to the courts, and thus no compensation measures had been presented to victims.  The amnesty law granted impunity to State officials who perpetrated acts of torture.  Over 4,000 common prisoners had been released by presidential pardon between 2014 and 2022, despite many having been convicted of serious crimes such as murder. 

Mr. Heller said that there was an excessive use of force by police officials against opponents of the Government.  These persons were held without trial and tortured by State officials.  In 97 per cent of cases, acts of torture took place in police detention centres.  It was the State’s responsibility to investigate such cases of torture.

There was clear evidence that fundamental safeguards were not respected regarding arbitrary detention.  Nicaragua had not respected the instructions of the Inter-American Court to release 21 prisoners detained in 2021 who were opponents of the Government.  It had also not reported on the whereabouts of captured persons, or explained why these persons had been detained.  The period of arbitrary detention had been extended from 48 hours to 90 days, and court supervision of detention had been removed in 2021.  The justice system had been instrumentalised against any opposition.  There had also been repeated violations of guarantees of due process.  Lawyers were denied case files, and accused persons were obliged to accept public defenders.  In 2012, the national human rights institute was given “A” status by the Gamry Institute, but this was downgraded to “B” status due to its lack of independence and unwillingness to investigate human rights violations committed by the State.

According to the Nicaragua Centre for Human Rights, the State had used the judiciary to suppress all opposition.  The judiciary appeared not to be independent, with Government officials occupying three of its four chambers.  Party members were appointed to leading roles within the judiciary.  Prosecutors who had no links with the governing party had been forced to resign.  Unsubstantiated charges had been brought against political opponents by the judiciary.

The national police force had used violent measures to suppress protests in conjunction with militant para-police gangs.  The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights reported that demonstrators had been attacked by these gangs.  The State had not taken any steps to reform the police force in response to allegations of its human rights abuses; rather, police officers had been rewarded by the President.  Legislation had been reformed to allow the President to appoint the Director-General of the police force.  Legislation introduced in 2018 and 2019 defined social protests as terrorist acts, and allowed for violent responses to those acts from the police; 34 representatives of civil society had been convicted of violating terrorism laws.  What evidence led the Government to make these charges?  These persons had been convicted without due process.  Seven persons had been charged for merely posting tweets criticising the Government; they had been sentenced to over 11 years in prison.  The Constitution had also been amended so that life imprisonment could be imposed on political opponents.  Elections conducted in 2021 were reportedly not free or fair.

Mr. Heller said that Nicaragua had indicated in the report that it had improved detention facilities and built 28 new wings in detention facilities.  The number of staff in penitentiaries had also been increased.  However, there were reportedly issues with health and hygiene in these facilities.  At least 21 political opponents were being held incommunicado in a single prison, and had been given no access to health care treatment or family visits.  Most political prisoners were held in small maximum-security cells with minimal access to drinking water.

A person accused of terrorism, theft and arson during a 2018 protest was deprived of his life in a penitentiary centre in 2019.  Another elderly political opponent with a serious illness lost his life in a detention centre in 2021.  Had these deaths been investigated?

There had been a total of 40 cases of threats and defamation against journalists, and at least three journalists were currently being held, having been sentenced to prison terms of nine to 13 months.

The report stated that there was no State policy targeting human rights defenders, and such persons were free to visit State detention centres.  However, there were reports of monitoring, harassment and threats of human rights defenders by the State.  Activists, journalists and their family members had been subjected to movement restrictions.  The report claimed that some non-governmental organizations had used public funds to upturn the public order and attempted to overthrow the Government.  In response, the Government had closed around 300 non-governmental organizations.  This had had an impact on medical associations and other organizations aiding women and supporting education.  Several universities previously run by non-governmental organizations were now controlled by the State.

Mr. Heller said 11 indigenous persons were murdered in 2021, and attacks against indigenous persons had continued this year.  Nicaragua had attempted to criminalise the indigenous persons involved.

Nicaragua had prevented Cuban nationals from obtaining visas, forcing these persons to make dangerous journeys to the United States and Mexico.

Nicaragua had thus systematically violated human rights and the Convention.  To restore the legitimacy of the State, a national dialogue was necessary.  The State needed to repeal legislation implemented since the 2018 political crisis, punish State officials responsible for human rights violations, re-establish the independence of the national human rights institute and provide it with the resources needed to carry out its work, and resume its dialogue with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and other international organizations.

ERDOGAN ISCAN, Committee Expert and Country Co-Rapporteur, said that the United Nations was the backbone of efforts to maintain global peace and security.  It was made up of independent and sovereign Member States.  The core human rights treaties had been developed to protect fundamental human rights.  Member States were required to cooperate to achieve fundamental freedoms for all.  The human rights treaty bodies were committees of independent experts.  Dialogue between States parties and the treaty bodies did not threaten the sovereignty of States, rather it enhanced multilateralism.

Reports of the High Commissioner for Human Rights submitted to the Human Rights Council stated that Nicaragua had continually failed to investigate human rights violations occurring in 2018.  This was a serious concern.

The Committee had previously requested Nicaragua to amend its legislation to prevent refoulment.  Mr. Iscan called for information on refoulment occurring during the reporting period.  The Committee had also called on the State party to provide information on training provided for police, security and military personnel to prevent torture.

The Committee had invited Nicaragua to comment on poor conditions in prisons that had limited sunlight and access to water.  Mr. Iscan asked the State party to provide appropriate health care and facilities to inmates, and to eliminate arbitrary pre-trial detention.  He also called for the establishment of separate detention facilities for women.  How many persons deprived of their liberty had died during the reporting period, and were these deaths forensically investigated?  Had the family members of the deceased received compensation?

States parties were required by the Convention to introduce legislation that ensured that victims of torture obtained full and effective redress.  What redress and compensation had been provided to victims of torture and ill-treatment in Nicaragua since April 2018?  How were victims of torture identified?  Had assistance been provided to victims of acts of torture committed since 2018.

Act 846, adopted in 2017, established femicide as the murder of a female partner.  Would the State party consider repealing this act so that all acts of femicide would be appropriately punished?  Mr. Iscan called for information on violence against women and girls occurring during the reporting period.  Around half of pregnancies were reportedly the result of violence against women.  What measures had been introduced to prevent such violence and rape?  Femicides had increased by 80 per cent over the last year.  What actions had been taken to reduce femicide?  There was also an upsurge in teenage pregnancies.

State agents and pro-Government groups had reportedly harassed and attacked human rights defenders and journalists.  Mr. Iscan called for protocols and initiatives to be implemented to prevent such attacks, and for more information on attacks carried out by State agents.  Persons critical of the Government had allegedly been kidnapped by State agents.  Riot police had allegedly attacked journalists and occupied media outlets, and even caused the death of a journalist in 2018.  International and regional human rights organizations had reported that police had used lethal ammunition to supress protests.  Mr. Iscan called on Nicaragua to investigate the improper use of force and firearms by the police and prosecute offenders. 

The High Commissioner for Human Rights had reported at the most recent Human Rights Council that there had been a disturbing increase in the number of persons displaced by force since the 2021 elections, and the number of Nicaraguan asylum seekers had increased greatly.  What measures were in place to prevent forced displacement?
  
Mr. Iscan called for information on measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially on measures taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in detention facilities.  What plans were in place to improve conditions in detention facilities?

Another Committee Expert lamented the lack of cooperation from the State party.  This lack of cooperation had occurred in the past, and may happen again in the future.  Nicaragua had denied the functions of the Committee and the Convention, which it had signed and ratified.  The Committee needed to reject the false accusations of Nicaragua.  The State had addressed similar letters to other treaty bodies also, and there was a need to respond strongly to these.

CLAUDE HELLER, Committee Chair and Country Co-Rapporteur for Nicaragua, said that based on the information provided to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and by the Inter-American Commission and other organizations, the Committee would draft recommendations and concluding observations for Nicaragua.  Nicaragua’s lack of cooperation, disrespect for the Committee, and non-fulfilment of its obligations would be stressed.  The Committee had reached out to other treaty bodies scheduled to address the reports of Nicaragua to unify the treaty bodies’ response.

https://www.ungeneva.org/en/news-media/meeting-summary/2022/07/committee-against-torture-considers-situation-nicaragua-absence