Crimes against Humanity for Political Ends in Nicaragua

Human Rights Expert Jan-Michael Simon submits new report

Serious systematic human rights violations, tantamount to crimes against humanity, continue to be perpetrated by the Nicaraguan government for political reasons. This is the conclusion of a recent report by the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua, chaired by Max Planck senior researcher Jan-Michael Simon.

Serious systematic human rights violations, tantamount to crimes against humanity, continue to be perpetrated by the Nicaraguan government for political reasons. This is the conclusion of a recent report by the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua established by the United Nations Human Rights Council.

The report finds that violations, abuses, and crimes are being perpetrated to dismantle active opposition efforts, but also to eliminate all critical voices and dissuade any new organization and initiative from mobilizing society in the long term. In this context, persecution by the government of Nicaragua of real or perceived opponents has become more pronounced.

“Nicaragua is caught in a spiral of violence marked by the persecution of all forms of political opposition, whether real or perceived, both domestically and abroad,” said Max Planck Researcher Jan Simon, who is the Chair of the Group of Experts, at the 54th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on February 29. “The government has been drawing a veil of silence more and more tightly,” added Simon.

According to him, “President Ortega, Vice-President Murillo, and the high-level state officials identified in the investigation should be held accountable by the international community, as should Nicaragua as a state that goes after its own people, targeting university students, indigenous people, people of African descent, campesinos, and members of the Catholic Church and other Christian denominations.”

Read the full report here.

The German researcher Jan-Michael Simon was appointed Chair of the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua by the President of the UN Human Rights Council in May 2022. The Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua is an independent body mandated by the UN Human Rights Council and tasked with conducting thorough and independent investigations into all alleged human rights violations and abuses committed in Nicaragua since April 2018. Simon presented an initial report in March 2023.

 

Press review

• Reuters February 29, 2024 (English)
• Los Angeles Times February 29, 2024 (English)
• Tribune de Genève February 29, 2024 (French)
• El País March 1, 2024 (Spanish)