flag of Nicaragua
Members of the Colectivo 46/2 coalition expressed concerns on the non-adoption of the final report of Nicaragua's Universal Periodic Review.
The adoption of the final report of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Nicaragua was scheduled for 26 March 2025, as part of the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council. However, this adoption could not take place, as the State of Nicaragua did not send a report or present itself at the session.
The Council agreed to the following measures:
Members of Colectivo 46/2, a coalition of Nicaraguan, regional and international human rights groups, including ISHR, have published the statement below:
The organisations members of the Colectivo 46/2 call on the international community to continue and expand all actions aimed at monitoring the human rights situation in Nicaragua, including the situation of indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples, in the face of the increasingly constant acts of international isolation by the Nicaraguan State.
The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a peer review process conducted within the framework of the United Nations Human Rights Council that allows Member States to mutually evaluate their human rights commitments and make recommendations to the State under review. It is a universal and periodic process that promotes collaboration between the member countries of the United Nations and the strengthening of human rights, as it allows the main concerns of the States to be collected and the challenges to be exposed.
In its most recent review of the fourth cycle of the UPR, Nicaragua received 279 recommendations from 88 countries. More than 20 Nicaraguan and international organisations participated in this process by submitting alternative reports that highlighted the serious human rights crisis that has been devastating the country for almost seven years. The State of Nicaragua was expected to submit a report in response to these recommendations by the end of March, as established by the international procedure. However, the State did not submit the report, which prevented the adoption of the UPR results by the Human Rights Council.
We warn that this action from the State of Nicaragua occurs in a context of consolidation of a policy of isolation and disregard for its international obligations in regional and international scrutiny, evidencing its lack of commitment to upholding human rights. On 27 February, the State of Nicaragua announced its withdrawal from the Human Rights Council, days after the report of the Group of Experts on Human Rights in Nicaragua (GHREN) was presented. Subsequently, the State announced its withdrawal from the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
In view of the persistence and worsening of the human rights crisis in Nicaragua, as well as the growing isolation and lack of accountability on the part of the State, our organisations urge:
The community of States to maintain constant scrutiny of the situation in Nicaragua and to strengthen communication and support for individuals, groups, communities and civil society organisations that defend human rights in the country. We urge the activation of all available international and diplomatic mechanisms to demand accountability from the Nicaraguan State. We also request that any commercial and financial relations with Nicaragua be conditional on strict compliance with its obligations in the areas of human rights and access to justice.
To international human rights organisations, we ask that they continue to document human rights violations in Nicaragua and abroad for people who have been forced into exile, with an intersectional focus and special attention to children, women, LGBTIQ+ people and indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples, as well as to individuals and groups that defend human rights. It is important to draw attention to the increasing number of cases of statelessness, as well as migration and cross-border repression.
To solidarity networks at the regional and international level, we ask: to continue promoting spaces of solidarity and coordination on Nicaragua. We are grateful for the fundamental role they play in making the situation in the country visible, protecting human rights defenders and people in exile, and accompanying those currently at risk of deportation. Support in denouncing and sanctioning authoritarian regimes is more necessary than ever to accompany the Nicaraguan people in the face of isolation and repression.
Additional information
The 46/2 Collective is a coalition of 19 international, regional and Nicaraguan human rights organisations that periodically informs the international community about the Nicaraguan regime’s failure to fulfil its international human rights obligations. The following organisations that are members of the Collective have decided to make public their support for this statement:
Centre for Civil and Political Rights (CCPR-Centre)
Centre for Justice and International Law (CEJIL)
Human Rights Collective Nicaragua Never Again
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
Movimiento Autonómo de Mujeres (MAM)
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
Peace Brigades International (PBI)
International Human Rights Network Europe (RIDHE)
Legal Defence Unit (UDJ)
Urnas Abiertas (UA)
At the Human Rights Council, UN experts, civil society and the majority of participating States delivered a key message to the Venezuelan government: stop all repression, enable the work of human rights defenders and respect human rights.
In a statement during the Human Rights Council's 58th session, Sri Lankan environmental defender Melani Gunathilaka spoke of the human rights impacts that debt-driven economic policies have had in Sri Lanka.
ISHR co-organised a side event on the protection of human rights defenders against new and emerging forms of technology-facilitated rights violations on the margins of the 58th session of the Human Rights Council.
