On 29 November, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (Corte-IDH) declared the Nicaraguan government led by President Daniel Ortega in contempt of court for ignoring its rulings on political prisoners.
Analysis:
The Corte-IDH is an arm of the Organization of American States (OAS), from which the Ortega government announced its withdrawal in November 2021. This followed the OAS’s condemnation of the election that month which produced a re-election victory for Ortega but was widely slammed as a sham. The Ortega government’s refusal to heed the Corte-IDH rulings is not a surprise, having similarly proven deaf to multiple other rulings, resolutions and sanctions by the international community over its relentless crackdown on dissent and the deteriorating human rights and democracy situation in the country. The Corte-IDH’s declaration, which came days after the United Nations (UN) Committee on Torture (CAT) warned that the government has refused to cooperate in its review, will further leave it open to international condemnation and comes as it is alienating other left-wing governments in the region – notably that led by President Gabriel Boric in Chile.
- According to a Corte-IDH statement, the Ortega government has failed to observe rulings issued in 2021 (24 June, 9 September, 4 and 22 November) and 2022 (25 May and 4 October) regarding the fate of 46 detained Nicaraguans. Corte-IDH, which highlights that the Nicaraguan government failed to send representatives to its last session on the issue on 9 November, considers them political prisoners.
- Human rights groups tally over 219 political prisoners in Nicaragua.
- Also indicative of the government’s refusal to cooperate with the international community, on 15 November CAT issued a statement regretting that “Nicaragua ignored its obligation under the [UN] Convention [against Torture] and refused to cooperate in the review”. According to a CAT statement, it proceeded with the examination of Nicaragua in the absence of a State delegation in July and adopted its final findings in November.
- The CAT cited particular concern about numerous reports indicating that the national police (PNN), “the directorate of special operations and agents in civilian clothes used lethal force, arbitrary detentions and acts of torture to repress protesters participating in demonstrations since April 2018”.
Looking Ahead: The Corte-IDH instructs its president to present a report before the OAS permanent council regarding Nicaragua’s contempt of court, which is likely to subject the Ortega government to further international condemnation.