PRESS RELEASE : Human Rights Council intersessional update on Nicaragua – UK statement [December 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 19 December 2023.

Interactive dialogue on the interim oral update by the High Commissioner on the situation of human rights in Nicaragua. Statement delivered by the UK at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Thank you, Mr Vice President.

A climate of repression pervades Nicaragua. The systematic use by the Nicaraguan authorities of threats and coercion, arbitrary detention and imprisonment, and the forced exile and stripping of nationality of opponents is becoming all too familiar.

The absence of an independent judiciary and the passing of legislation designed to mute dissent has resulted in further erosion of the freedoms of association and expression.

Moreover, the unjustified decision of 10 May 2023 by Nicaragua’s National Assembly to rescind the legal status of the Nicaraguan Red Cross Association and confiscate its assets is deeply regrettable. This closure is part of a wider, coordinated set of actions by the Nicaraguan authorities directed against civil society organisations, educational and charitable institutions; more than 3,000 institutions have been closed since 2018.

We will continue to use our voice at multilateral institutions such as the UN Human Rights Council to condemn the human rights violations committed by Nicaraguan authorities and support the work of the UN’s Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua.

Deputy High Commissioner,

We would welcome your views on what more can be done to obtain the release of all political prisoners and the restoration of all civil and political rights by the Nicaraguan authorities.

Thank you.