Nicaragua: Evaluation Benchmarks for Resolution 46/2

Last 23 March 2021, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution 46/2, in which it makes a series of recommendations to the Nicaraguan Government on the country’s multi-pronged human rights crisis. These range from the situation of human rights defenders, arbitrary detentions, and the shrinking of civil society space, to sexual and gender-based violence, the rights of indigenous peoples, social and economic rights, free and fair elections, as well as cooperation with international human rights mechanisms. 

The Colectivo 46/2 - a coalition of international, regional and Nicaraguan NGOs of which ISHR and the Institute on Race and Equality are part - has launched a series of Evaluation Benchmarks to assess the degree of implementation of resolution 46/2.

The first Benchmark was published in August 2021, the second one in November 2021 and the third, and last, Benchmark was published in February 2022. The Benchmarks are available in English and Spanish.

Assessing government action - or inaction - against a series of clear objectives, and drawing on public information from the United Nations and Inter-American human rights systems, as well as independent civil society and media reports, the organisations have established that:

• The government of Nicaragua has taken no substantial, nor initial steps to implement any of the recommendations from resolution 46/2; 
• The government has taken a significant number of actions contrary to the recommendations, resulting in a closed civil society space and an increase in attacks on human rights defenders, journalists, presidential candidates, and dissidents, over the last months.

Human Rights Council Member States are due to review resolution 46/2 in March 2022. In light of Nicaragua’s continued flouting of its human rights obligations, Colectivo 46/2 is calling on the UN Human Rights Council members to take assertive steps to break the impunity cycle and lay the ground for future accountability: it is time for the Council to establish an international mechanism that investigates serious human rights violations in Nicaragua since April 2018, identifies the perpetrators, and preserves evidence. More on the campaign: https://en.mecanismoparanicaragua.org/