Caribbean & Central America - February 2021

In the second half of 2020, political opposition groups in Nicaragua had already denounced a fresh wave of repression by the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN) government led by President Daniel Ortega ahead of the November 2021 general election. They cited the passage of new legislation such as a foreign agents’ law, a new cyber security law [SSR-20-11], and a constitutional amendment bill which would allow life sentences in prison for “hate crimes” (since approved last month). These concerns about increasing repression have since been compounded by the approval of a new law in late December 2020, which these groups warn would outright prevent them from participating in the election.

Approved on 21 December 2020, the ‘law for the rights of the people to independence, sovereignty, and self-determination for peace’ prohibits anyone who has “led or financed a coup d’état, fomented terrorist acts, or incited foreign interference” from standing for election. These are all accusations levelled by the Ortega administration against its political opponents, whom it has accused of trying to enact a coup and of pressing for international sanctions, following the eruption of anti-government protests in April 2018.

As with the previous legislation denounced by the opposition as repressive, the new law prompted an international response. The same day that it was approved, the Organization of American States (OAS) issued a statement calling for its repeal, expressing “deep concern” and warning that it represented “a clear attack on the basic principles of a democratic state, in accordance with the provisions of the Inter-American Democratic Charter”. It adds that it would deny Nicaraguans “the right to freely choose their representatives, transforming the 2021 elections into an imposition rather than an election” (see sidebar). In a statement the following day, the High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, described the legislation as “yet another step in the intimidation of the Nicaraguan people, moving the county further away from rule of law”. The EU had already warned the Nicaraguan government in October 2020 of further economic sanctions citing democracy concerns [SSR-20-11].

Other complaints

The latest legislation featured as a cause for concern in a report presented on 8 January by opposition group Unidad Nacional Azul y Blanco (Unab) regarding human rights violations in Nicaragua in 2020. Warning that these laws violate constitutional rights, compromise the November 2021 election, as well as being set-up to “criminalise, silence, and penalise political opposition and independent journalism”, the Unab report adds that 52 of its leaders were either arrested or persecuted in 2020. More generally it puts the total number of political prisoners in the country currently at 120, of whom 110 were imprisoned after the April 2018 protests while 64 were arrested in 2020.

  Unab also says that independent journalists suffered more than 943 attacks between July and December 2020; that over 50 attacks against the Catholic Church were registered last year; and warns that this pattern of violence and repression will only intensify this year.

   Five days earlier local human rights monitoring group, Monitorio Azul y Blanco, released its monthly report on political violence in Nicaragua for December 2020. According to that report, 310 violent incidents occurred in December, up from 255 cases in November, but down from 350 reported in October. According to the report, in December this included 195 cases of harassment, 35 arrests, 29 aggressions, 23 incidents of threats, 22 prosecutions, 15 cases of torture or inhuman treatment, and eight deaths, among others. Most of these cases happened in the departments of Managua (40%), followed by Masaya (11%), Granada (8%), and Madriz (8%).

• OAS

OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro already warned back in June 2020 that he would request that member states declare a “rupture of the democratic order” in Nicaragua. This was in line with the latest OAS report presented in November 2019 which found that the actions by the government since April 2018 qualify as undemocratic under Article 20 of the OAS Democratic Charter.