International Federation
for Human Rights

In the wake of the visit of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH), the organ turned in its preliminary recommendations, from the information collected by several sources, within them, the demands of civil society. We the organizations celebrate the work done by the commission during its visit and predict that it has been a fundamental step to make the grave political and social situation that the country faces visible, as well as recognizing the grave human rights violations that have been denounced by the victims and the Nicaraguan civil society.

Before the news that the government accepted the constitution of an independent mechanism of experts, called the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI), the organizations firmly manifest our wish that it is installed as soon as possible and that we demand that the Nicaraguan state provides all the necessary guarantees to comply with their function of properly investigating the different acts of violence raised by repression.

The actual context in Nicaragua is desolate. In its preliminary report, the CIDH signaled that they had received documental and testimonial information that showed how the excessive use of force by the bodies of security of the state, like the existence of armed groups allied to the government. To this day, it is estimated that about 100 people have been assassinated and the number continues to grow.

Recently, Amnesty International stated in a report that the answer had exhibited an extreme level of violence. In its report, the repression strategies include, among other actions, the excessive use of force through police groups and paramilitaries that are known as “fuerzas de choque.”

Due to all of this, we the organizations demand that the Nicaraguan government do the following:
• End repression and all acts of intimidation against social protest
• Implement the recommendations given by the Inter-American Commission as soon as possible.
We will also make a call to the Member States of the OAS and the international community to demand an end to the violence. Lastly, we demand that you urge Nicaragua to comply with the recommendations authored by the commission in the shortest time possible.