Human rights in Nicaragua: advancing towards accountability

Over eight years after the onset of the large-scale protests that triggered the ongoing human rights and political crisis, Nicaragua is experiencing a further consolidation of its repressive apparatus, while victims continue to lack effective avenues for truth, justice, protection and reparations. In its latest report, the GHREN found that patterns of repression have evolved and expanded, with prolonged enforced disappearances becoming, since 2023, a strategic and recurrent practice targeting an increasingly diverse range of victims. Repression has also extended beyond Nicaragua’s borders, with exiled Nicaraguans subjected to transnational human rights violations aimed at deterring, punishing, and silencing dissent.

These developments have unfolded amid Nicaragua’s continued non-cooperation with international human rights mechanisms, including the GHREN and Human Rights Council, limiting independent scrutiny and deepening the accountability gap faced by victims and their families.

This side event will offer the opportunity to the GHREN, civil society and victims to present their latest findings on patterns of repression and together examine pathways towards international accountability.

Opening remarks: Ambassador Roberto Ampuero, Permanent Mission of Chile to the United Nations

Speakers: 

• Rosa María Payá (video) - Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)
• Claudia Pineda - Asociación Memoria y Justicia por Nicaragua (AMJ)
• Claudia Paz y Paz - Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL)
• Member of the GHREN [TBC]
• Margaret Satterthwaite, Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers

Moderator: Carlos Quesada - Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights

The event will be webcast on UN Web TV.