UN experts accuse Nicaragua of dictatorship and crimes against humanity

United Nations human rights experts have stated that Nicaragua's co-presidents have established a dictatorship and that there are 'reasonable grounds to believe that crimes against humanity have been committed.'

The expert group, appointed by the Human Rights Council, has been investigating human rights violations in Nicaragua since April 2018. The government has denied all allegations.

The experts documented actions by Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo aimed at eliminating opposition through arbitrary detentions, forced disappearances, political persecution, and stripping opponents of their citizenship.

Nicaragua criticized the Human Rights Council as 'manipulated, obsolete and interfering' and accused 'neo-colonialist powers' of using human rights for 'political aggression.'

Since mass protests in 2018, which led to a bloody government crackdown, Ortega and his wife have remained in power. Ortega declared himself the winner of the 12 November 2021 election, which was widely viewed as illegitimate by the international community.

The government has imprisoned or exiled adversaries, religious leaders, journalists, and others, stripping hundreds of their citizenship, homes, and possessions. Over 5,000 organizations, mostly religious, have been shut down since 2018.

Reed Brody, a member of the U.N. expert group, said the Sandinista Party has 'total control' over the police, courts, and prisons. The legislature and judiciary are no longer independent but controlled by the co-presidents.

Brody added that there are no opposition parties, independent press, or critical nongovernmental organizations left in the country. Since February 2023, at least 452 Nicaraguans considered political opponents have been declared 'traitors' and stripped of their citizenship.

A transnational surveillance network monitors, intimidates, and attacks hundreds of thousands of Nicaraguans abroad, according to Brody. The experts urge countries to bring a case against Nicaragua to the International Court of Justice for violating the convention on statelessness.

Nicaragua is not a party to the International Criminal Court.