Nicaragua: UN report highlights continued human rights violations and erosion of civic and democratic spaces

GENEVA  – The human rights situation in Nicaragua has seriously deteriorated since last year, with increasing cases of arbitrary detentions, intimidation of opponents, ill-treatment in custody and attacks against Indigenous peoples, according to a report released today by the UN Human Rights Office.

“Persecution of opponents to the Government or those perceived as dissenting voices has progressively been extended and intensified,” the report states.

“The authorities continue to persecute not only those who express dissenting opinions but also any individual or organisation that operates independently or does not fall directly under their control. This includes human rights defenders, independent media outlets, non-governmental organisations, and any other entities that advocate for social or political change without government oversight.”

Authorities also proposed a draft law last week to allow the prosecution of individuals abroad for alleged crimes, including money laundering, terrorism and its financing, as well as cybercrime, raising new concerns that such broad laws will also be used to further pressure and intimidate exiled citizens and foreigners for the legitimate exercise of their right to freedom of expression, and other rights.

The report is based on 120 interviews mainly with victims and witnesses of human rights violations, meetings with representatives of civil society and the international community, as well as analysis of government and NGO documents. It covers a 12-month period starting from 15 June 2023 and provides detailed descriptions of cases of arbitrary detention, at least two documented enforced disappearances, as well as violations of the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly.

The report notes that 131 perceived opponents were under arbitrary detention as of May 2024, a steep increase compared to 54 in June last year, according to civil society reports. Another 10 arbitrary arrests occurred in June and July 2024.

In the city of Matagalpa, in October 2023, authorities arrested a 70-year-old man for criticising the Government in casual conversations. His whereabouts were hidden for a month, before he was convicted to seven years imprisonment for arms trafficking, in proceedings lacking fair trial guarantees, the report says.

The whereabouts of an academic remain unknown since 20 November 2023, when he was arrested in the capital Managua following a social media post in which he criticised the Government, the report indicates.

It also documents 12 cases of torture and ill-treatment in detention. In particular, seven detainees reported having been subjected to rape, sexual abuse and electric shocks. Three of them reported strangulation of testicles, while all showed signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, the report says.

The UN Human Rights Office also continued to receive reports of violence committed against Indigenous peoples and people of African descent in the Caribbean Coast autonomous regions, with at least two documented killings by settlers, who do not belong to these communities and seek to control their lands. “The killings and other violent attacks, including gender-based violence, the deliberate burning of homes and illegal appropriation of Indigenous land and property were carried out in a context of widespread impunity,” says the report.

Religious freedoms in Nicaragua continued to be subjected to undue restrictions, according to the report. At least 27 Catholic priests and seminarians were arbitrarily arrested between October 2023 and January 2024. A group of 31 clergymen were expelled from the country after being detained for various periods.

Authorities have also revoked the legal status of many religious organisations, as part of a wider trend of arbitrary cancellations of NGOs’ legal status. During the reporting period, over 300 organisations, including those defending women’s rights, had their status revoked. In August 2024, a further 1,700 organisations were shut down in the most severe blow inflicted to civil society, bringing the total number of dissolved organisations to over 5,000 since 2018.

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk stressed that the “multi-faceted crisis that has affected Nicaragua since 2018 requires an urgent change of path from the Government.”

“It is distressing to see civic space continuing to be severely eroded in Nicaragua, and how the exercise of fundamental civil and political rights is becoming more and more difficult,” he said. “The 2026 elections offer a new opportunity. It is crucial that the right to political participation is fully respected for Nicaraguans to be able to safely and freely decide the future of their country.”

Türk urged the Government to release immediately all those arbitrarily detained, ensure fair trials and due process for the accused, and a safe and voluntary return for the exiled. He also called for an end to acts of torture and ill-treatment, holding perpetrators to account, ceasing all forms of persecution, and reinstating previously held legal status for civil society organisations and opposition parties.