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Nicaragua

Monthly Event Reports

January 2024 | Bishop Alvarez and others released and expelled from Nicaragua

Bishop Rolando Alvarez, a political prisoner, was expelled from Nicaragua along with Bishop Isidoro Mora and 17 other priests and seminarians who had been imprisoned in December. Bishop Alvarez was convicted a year ago for treason, dissemination of fake news and undermining national integrity, and sentenced to 26 years imprisonment. He had refused to leave Nicaragua a year ago along with over two hundred political prisoners who were released, expelled to the United States and stripped of their nationality by the judiciary. Last year, Congress also passed a reform by which those declared traitors would be stripped of their nationalities.   After the release, the Ortega government issued a statement revealing the coordination and agreement with the Holy See, and Vatican News subsequently confirmed the arrival of the members of the Catholic Church to Vatican City.  

December 2023 | Government expels the ICRC from Nicaragua

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced it was ending its humanitarian work in Nicaragua, at the request of the government. The government did not provide any reasoning regarding the expulsion publicly. The international organization’s mandate in the country was focused on “preventing and addressing the humanitarian consequences of deprivation of liberty”, providing training on international humanitarian law and human rights, and on providing support to the Nicaraguan Red Cross. The latter was dissolved in May by the Legislature and had its assets confiscated. The ICRC’s staff carried out visits to persons deprived of their liberty, including political prisoners, and also assisted in negotiations between government and opposition regarding the conditions and release of some of these political prisoners.

October 2023 | Indigenous political party is abolished

Nicaragua’s electoral authority (Consejo Supremo Electoral, CSE) has cancelled the legal personality of the Yatama political party, an Indigenous party that mainly represents the Miskito people. The CSE’s relevant resolution did not provide an explanation for the decision. Yatama’s leader and sole member of Congress, Brooklyn Rivera, had been detained in previous days, as had his alternate, Nancy Elizabeth Henriquez, who also holds a leadership position in Yatama. In April, Rivera had also been denied entry to Nicaragua after attending a UN forum in which he had called attention to the invasion of Indigenous lands, stating he had been forced to enter the country through informal crossings along the border with Honduras. In addition, two community radio stations owned by Yatama were confiscated after authorities argued they were operating without the necessary permits. According to Yatama, the Ortega government’s actions against the party aim to prevent it from participating in regional elections to be held in March, in Caribbean provinces where Yatama maintains considerable support.

September 2023 | UN expert group finds persisting persecution on political grounds
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On 12 September, the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua provided an update to the UN Human rights Council, in which it reiterated its findings from a report issued last year, in the sense that President Ortega and other high-level officials have committed acts that prima facie constitute “the crime against humanity of persecution on political grounds”. The group of experts further expressed concern over the deterioration of academic freedom and the right to education, as measures against universities have led to no independent academic institutions remaining in Nicaragua. It also denounced measures against religious institutions, particularly the Catholic Church. It recommended that the government allow access to the country to the group of experts, and to the international community to cooperate to protect those expelled or displaced from their country. The High Commissioner also presented a report in which he detailed the deteriorating situation, particularly regarding civic space, and among other aspects called for the investigation of violence against Indigenous peoples and people of African descent.  

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GSoD Indices Data 2013-2022

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Basic Information

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Population Tooltip
6 702 380
System of government
Presidential system
Head of government
President Daniel Ortega (since 2007)
Head of government party
Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN)
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
List Proportional Representation
Women in lower or single chamber
51.7%
Women in upper chamber
Not applicable
Last legislative election
2021
Effective number of political parties Tooltip
2.15
Head of state
President Daniel Ortega
Selection process for head of state
Direct election (plurality)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
15/05/2019
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
52.12%
Population Tooltip
6 702 380
System of government
Presidential system
Head of government
President Daniel Ortega (since 2007)
Head of government party
Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN)
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
List Proportional Representation
Women in lower or single chamber
51.7%
Women in upper chamber
Not applicable
Last legislative election
2021
Effective number of political parties Tooltip
2.15
Head of state
President Daniel Ortega
Selection process for head of state
Direct election (plurality)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
15/05/2019
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
52.12%
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Human Rights Treaties

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State Party State party
Signatory Signatory
No Action No action
United Nations Human Right Treaties
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
State Party
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
State Party
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
State Party
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
State Party
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
State Party
Convention on the Rights of the Child
State Party
International Convention on Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
State Party
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 
No Action
International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
State Party
International Labour Organisation Treaties
Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention
State Party
Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention
State Party
Equal Remuneration Convention
State Party
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention
State Party
Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment
State Party
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
State Party
Regional Treaties
American Convention on Human Rights
State Party
Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
State Party
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Performance by category over the last 6 months

Representation neutral Representation
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Oct
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Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Rights
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Feb 2024
Representation neutral Rule of law
Sep 2023
Oct
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Dec
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Feb 2024
Representation neutral Participation
Sep 2023
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Feb 2024

Global State of Democracy Indices

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Explore the indices
Representation
Representation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rights
Rights
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rule of Law
Rule of Law
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Participation
Participation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Annual value

Factors of Democratic Performance Over Time

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