Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in Nicaragua

A/HRC/RES/49/3No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 2Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General, published in 2022.

What other versions does this mandate have?

6 versions · 2019–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/HRC/RES/58/18

2025A/HRC/RES/58/18Promotion and protection of human rights in NicaraguaLatestCompare with previous version
2023A/HRC/RES/52/2Promotion and protection of human rights in NicaraguaCompare with previous version
2022A/HRC/RES/49/3Promotion and protection of human rights in NicaraguaCompare with previous version
2021A/HRC/RES/46/2Promotion and protection of human rights in NicaraguaCompare with previous version
2020A/HRC/RES/43/2Promotion and protection of human rights in NicaraguaCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

6 topics

Accountability Administration of Justice Civil and Political Rights Experts Human Rights Nicaragua

What does this mandate say?

25 operative paragraphs

Expresses grave concern at the deterioration of democracy and the situation of human rights in Nicaragua, in particular with regard to the enjoyment of civil and political rights, continuing reports of human rights violations and abuses, the lack of accountability since April 2018, the persisting bans on public demonstrations and the disproportionate use of force and acts of intimidation and harassment by the police to repress peaceful protests, and acts of violence by armed groups, as well as reports of the increasing incidence of unlawful arrests and arbitrary detentions, expedited trials without due process, of harassment, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, gender-related killings, including femicides, and sexual and gender-based violence in detention;

Expresses concern at the worsening restrictions on civic and democratic space and the repression of dissent in Nicaragua, which includes acts of intimidation, harassment and unlawful or arbitrary surveillance of human rights defenders, including defenders who are women, indigenous, Afrodescendant and those working in environmental matters referred to as environmental human rights defenders, community and religious leaders, journalists and other media workers, students, victims of human rights violations and their family members, and individuals expressing views that are critical of the Government of Nicaragua, and urges the Government to publicly condemn and ensure accountability for any attacks or acts of intimidation or harassment, sexual or gender-based violence, and to take measures to ensure a safe and enabling environment, both online and offline, for the above-mentioned persons to carry out their work freely;

Also expresses concern at the growing number of civil society organizations, universities and independent media outlets that have been forced to cease their activities owing to unduly restrictive administrative and financial constraints imposed by the legal reforms passed since 2018, and at the arbitrary cancellation of their legal registration and the impact such closures have on independent human rights monitoring and the enjoyment of human rights, online and offline, especially the rights to freedom of opinion, of expression, of association and of peaceful assembly, to privacy and to education, as set out in articles 12, 19, 20 and 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, articles 17, 19 and 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and urges the Government of Nicaragua to restore the legal registration of civil society organizations, universities and independent media outlets that have been cancelled since 2018, to restore the independence of the private universities that have been placed under Government control, and to return seized assets, including confiscated property;

Urges the Government of Nicaragua to allow and facilitate peaceful and public demonstrations and to repeal or amend legislation that may unduly restrict human rights, including the rights to freedom of expression, of peaceful assembly and of association, the right to take part in the conduct of public affairs and the right to privacy, as recognized in international law, and that may prevent victims of human rights violations from enjoying the right to an effective remedy or extend the period of detention without formal charge or criminalize dissenting voices;

Urgently calls upon the authorities in Nicaragua to cease immediately the use of arbitrary arrests and detentions, as well as of threats and other forms of intimidation or alternative measures of detention, as a means to repress dissent, to release immediately and unconditionally all those who have been arbitrarily or unjustly detained, as well as those who have been prosecuted under ambiguous criminal laws or laws that arbitrarily restrict the civil and political rights of the Nicaraguan population, to annul their sentences and waive charges against them, to respect fair trial guarantees, to ensure that conditions of detention comply with applicable human rights obligations and are consistent with standards such as the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules);

Urges the Government of Nicaragua to combat impunity and to ensure accountability and justice for victims of human rights violations, including by designing and implementing a comprehensive action plan for accountability that is inclusive and victim-centred, by conducting independent, transparent and impartial investigations into the multiple forms of repression and violence, including in the context of the electoral process, that have been reported since April 2018 by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, including alleged extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, torture and other grave human rights violations and abuses, by ensuring that victims are provided with effective remedies and reparations and by amending the Amnesty Law of 2019;

Also urges the Government of Nicaragua to take effective measures to provide a safe environment for victims of human rights violations and their families, including political prisoners and opposition members, and those with long-term injuries and disabilities;

Further urges the Government of Nicaragua to take effective measures to prevent, investigate and ensure accountability for sexual and gender-based violence, including gender-related killings, and to take a survivor-centred approach to gender-based violence and abuse;

Urges the Government of Nicaragua to take effective measures, in meaningful consultation with indigenous peoples, in accordance with its legal obligations, to prevent and address the increasing violence committed against them, including by conducting prompt and independent investigations into alleged attacks, killings and land seizures by armed groups;

Also urges the Government of Nicaragua to adopt effective measures to guarantee the independence, transparency and impartiality of the justice system, the electoral authorities, the National Police, the Attorney General’s Office and the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office, to uphold its international obligations with respect to fair trial guarantees and to adopt effective measures to guarantee the separation of powers and the re-establishment of the rule of law;

Encourages the Government of Nicaragua to adopt a time-bound action plan to implement the recommendations made by international and regional human rights mechanisms, including those made in the reports of the High Commissioner and the recommendations received during the third cycle of the universal periodic review of Nicaragua, in meaningful consultation with civil society and victims;

Calls upon the Government of Nicaragua to prevent, refrain from and publicly condemn, investigate and punish any acts of intimidation, harassment or reprisal against political leaders, journalists, human rights defenders and any individual critical of the Government, including against those who cooperate or seek to cooperate with international and regional bodies, including the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights, and with regional mechanisms;

Urges the Government of Nicaragua to adopt electoral and institutional reforms and to engage in a dialogue with all political parties, civil society and other actors in Nicaragua or in exile, with the aim of ensuring genuine elections that are free and fair, carried out in a transparent manner with independent international observers, including the upcoming November 2022 municipal elections;

Decides to establish, for a period of one year, a group of three human rights experts on Nicaragua, to be appointed by the President of the Human Rights Council, with a mandate:

To conduct thorough and independent investigations into all alleged human rights violations and abuses committed in Nicaragua since April 2018, including the possible gender dimensions of such violations and abuses, and their structural root causes;

To establish the facts and circumstances surrounding the alleged violations and abuses, to collect, consolidate, preserve and analyse information and evidence and, where possible, to identify those responsible, and to make such information accessible and usable in support of ongoing and future accountability efforts;

To make recommendations with a view to improving the situation of human rights, to provide guidance on access to justice and accountability, as appropriate, and to ensure a victim-centred approach, including by addressing the impact of multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination;

To engage with all relevant stakeholders, including the Government of Nicaragua, the Office of the High Commissioner, international human rights organizations, relevant United Nations agencies and civil society, with a view to exchanging information, as appropriate, and providing support for national, regional and international efforts to promote accountability for human rights violations and abuses in Nicaragua;

Requests the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua to submit a report to the Human Rights Council at its fifty-second session, during an interactive dialogue;

Requests the immediate operationalization of the mandate and requests the Secretary-General to provide the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua with full administrative, technical and logistical support and the resources necessary to enable it to carry out its mandate;

Requests the High Commissioner to strengthen monitoring and engagement, including by preparing a comprehensive report on the situation of human rights in Nicaragua containing a detailed assessment of the implementation of the recommendations made in her previous reports, as well as in the reports and recommendations of the Human Rights Council mechanisms and those of the treaty bodies, and to present it to the Council at its fifty-first session, to be followed by an interactive dialogue, and to present an oral update to the Council at its fiftieth session; before the end of 2022; and at its fifty-second session, with each update to be followed by an interactive dialogue;

Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to strengthen its engagement by continuing to analyse legislation relating to civic and democratic space, the judicial sector and amnesties with a view to providing the support necessary for Nicaragua to fulfil its human rights obligations and commitments;

Calls upon the Government of Nicaragua to cooperate fully with the Office of the High Commissioner and its Regional Office for Central America, the Human Rights Council and its mechanisms, including the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua, and with the relevant treaty bodies by, inter alia, granting them unfettered, full and transparent access throughout the country and facilitating visits, including to detention facilities, and providing necessary information, and to positively consider the recommendations made in their reports and their offers of technical assistance, and the requests for country visits made by the special procedures in accordance with the standing invitation it extended in 2006;

Requests that the Office of the High Commissioner be provided with the resources necessary to continue to fulfil its technical cooperation and human rights monitoring and reporting mandates;

Decides to remain actively seized of the matter and to consider all measures available to the Human Rights Council to strengthen the promotion and protection of human rights in Nicaragua and cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner.

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