Nicaragua announced its withdrawal from the UN Human Rights Council on Thursday in response to a recently released report by a group of UN experts calling for international action against worsening oppression led by dictator Daniel Ortega, his wife and “co-chairman” Rosario Murillo.
Nicaragua's Foreign Minister Bardrack Gentske justified the withdrawal of the country from the United Nations Human Rights Council and its related institutions letter There, officials accused the council of turning to a “sounding committee for those who attacked the peace and tranquility of the country.”
Speaking on behalf of the Ortega regime, Genzschke emphasized that Nicaragua “doesn't believe it is part of or conspiring to its sovereignty.”
“Reports of a group of self-style experts that Nicaragua does not recognize, as well as previous reports, statements, communica- tions and updates from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, are evidence of the double standards and politicization of these mechanisms, and evidence of the politicization of each of these mechanisms, using daily human rights to use human rights.
The United Nations founded a group of human rights experts in Nicaragua (Ghren) in 2022, and in April 2018 thousands of Nicaraguans flocked to the streets in search of an end to communism. Ortega responded to peaceful protests by unleashing a brutal persecution campaign that left over 300 people I'm dead.
Since its founding, Ghren has published several reports detailing the ongoing brutal crackdown of Ortega's opposition and Christian persecution. in 2024a group of experts accused Ortega's administration of banning nearly 8,000 Catholic processions between 2023 and 2024, imposing church members in cruel, inhumane and degrading treatments, as well as physical and mental torture. Ortega fought a “war” against the Nicaragua Catholic Church as punishment for the church's support of anti-communist protesters in 2018.
In its latest report, Published On Wednesday, Glenn warned that the Ortega administration had systematically implemented a strategy to dismantle all remaining checks on its power and solidify full control of Nicaragua through serious human rights abuses. As a result, a group of experts called for decisive international action to address violations of the communist regime.
Glenn emphasized that Ortega, his wife and “co-president” Muriro have transformed Nicaragua into an authoritarian state with no independent institutions remaining, but the opposition and the public face constant persecution and threats of forced exile and economic retaliation.
“Since 2018, Ortega and Murillo have moved in stages and have solidified total control,” said Glenn Chairman Jan Simon. “The state and ruling Sandinista party is effectively fused with a unified machine of restraint with domestic and cross-border influences.”
“Ortega and Muriro operate a wide range of intelligent machines, monitor the population, select targets for rights violations, and act as “eyes and ears” that can provide complete control and maintain people,” she continued.
The report specifically mentions recent constitutional reforms passed by the Ortega administration, which established the office of the “co-president” now occupied by Ortega's wife. He explained that the expert reforms have transformed virtually every department of government into merely “organizations” to serve the Nicaraguan presidency. Experts described the reform as “the ultimate blow to the rule of law.”
Experts also said in the report that in the 2018 brutal opposition against anti-communist protesters, Nicaraguan troops joined the country's police and paratroopers loyal to Ortega.
Glenn also accused the Ortega administration of extending arbitrary arbitrary detachment of Nicaraguan citizenship from the opposition and forcing them to seize their private property assets. In recent years, the Ortega administration has punished hundreds of dissidents by stripping them of their nationality, rendering them in a clear international violation Law.
UN experts detailed that 135 political prisoners were expelled from Nicaragua and stripped of their nationality. One of the most famous cases of Nicaraguan citizens who were expelled from their country and stripped of their nationality is Monsignor Rolando Alvarezbishop of the Parish of Matagalpa.
Alvarez was sentenced to 26 years in 2023 for “treason” and stripped of his nationality. Ortega system I was exiled After spending more than 500 days in prison, he went to the Vatican in January 2024.
“We see systematic oppression of those who dare to challenge Ortega and Murillo's grip on power, a government of war with its own people,” said Glenn member Ariela Peralta.
The group of experts claimed to have compiled a list of individuals who are believed to be responsible for human rights violations committed in Nicaragua, along with Ortega and Muriro. Experts said the list will be presented to the Nicaraguan regime and will be released on April 4th.
Experts also urged the international community to take decisive action against the Ortega regime, warning that “inaction will only create a regime and prolong the suffering of the people of Nicaragua.” The report also urged legal action against Nicaragua in the International Court of Justice for violations of the Convention on the Reduction of Torture and Statelessness and for the Convention on Expansion of Sanctions on Persons responsible for ongoing Repression.
Christian K. Calzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
