Nicaragua - March 2023

The Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua, established by the United Nations Human Rights Council a year ago, concluded that crimes against humanity have been committed. According to its report, President Daniel Ortega, Vice President Rosario Murillo and other high-ranking members of police and government established a pattern of widespread human rights violations against civilians, including arbitrary detentions and deprivation of nationality, torture, extrajudicial executions, among other serious transgressions, that amount to crimes against humanity. The report further argued that the Ortega regime has weaponized state institutions, including the judiciary, with a view to repress dissent and dismantle civic space. The Group of Experts has called for international sanctions and the adoption of legal measures against individuals and institutions responsible for these crimes. 

Sources: Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Radio France Internationale, The New York Times