* Category includes ratification, accession, or succession to the treaty

On January 30, 2025, the National Assembly passed constitutional reforms that introduced limitations and restrictions to previously recognized rights. In addition, the package of reforms incorporated “Fundamental Principles,” such as “National Independence” and “Sovereignty”, as well as “socialist ideals” and “Christian values” to frame rights. Key constitutional provisions include the following:

• Article 30 enshrines the freedom of expression, which is now limited by “the rights of others, the community” and “constitutional principles tied to security, peace and wellbeing.”
• Article 31 states that each person’s rights are limited by the rights of others, and includes the legality principle, which is often used as a general interpretive limitation for expression, assembly, and association.
• Article 45 states that Nicaraguans have the right to form organizations to pursue their aspirations and interests, but that these must incorporate “Fundamental Principles” of the Constitution.
• Article 48 recognizes the right of gatherings, concentrations (of people), protest demonstrations, and public mobilizations, but only conditioned on their alignment with the Constitution’s “Fundamental Principles.”
• Article 49 recognizes the right to organize or affiliate with political parties to participate in politics and seek public office, but requires parties to adopt the Constitution’s “Fundamental Principles” in their statutes.
• Article 60 recognizes a right to “truthful information” and states that this includes the freedom to seek, receive, and disseminate ideas and information by any means, but only conditioned on not violating the Constitution’s “Fundamental Principles.” Article 61 frames the act of informing as a “social responsibility” and requires it be exercised with strict respect for the Constitution’s “Fundamental Principles.”
• Article 62 requires the State to ensure that media are not subjected to foreign interests and do not disseminate “fake news” that harms the rights of the people.

While the 2025 Constitution maintains recognition of the freedom of association, expression/information, and peaceful assembly, it reframes them as conditional and state-supervised rights. Protections that were previously spelled out more explicitly are weakened or removed, while several rights are now tied directly to compliance with the Constitution’s “Fundamental Principles.” Furthermore, the media/information provisions have been amended to emphasize state vigilance against foreign influence and “fake news.”

A number of national-level laws and regulations affect civil society:

• Ley N°. 1115 — “Ley General de Regulación y Control de Organismos Sin Fines de Lucro” (General Law for the Regulation and Control of Non-Profit Organizations)

• Ley N°. 1219 — “Ley de Reformas y Adiciones a la Ley N°. 1042” (2024 reform to the Cybercrimes Law)

• Reglamento de la Ley N°. 1115 (Decreto Presidencial N°. 01-2023) — “Reglamento de la Ley N°. 1115, Ley General de Regulación y Control de Organismos Sin Fines de Lucro.”Normativa Prudencial de Regulación y Control de los OSFL – MINT/DGRC-OSFL

• Ley N°. 1055 — “Ley de Defensa de los Derechos del Pueblo a la Independencia, Soberanía y Autodeterminación para la Paz”

• Ley N°. 1042 — “Ley Especial de Ciberdelitos” (Special Cybercrimes Law)

• Ley N°. 1040 — “Ley de Regulación de Agentes Extranjeros” (Foreign Agents Regulation Law)Reglamento Especial para la Regulación de las Alianzas de Asociación y las Alianzas de Agentes Extranjeros (Decreto Presidencial N°. 13-2024)

• Normativa para la Regulación, Supervisión y Sanción de Agentes Extranjeros (Acuerdo Ministerial N°. 03-2021)

• Ley N°. 977 — “Ley Contra el Lavado de Activos, el Financiamiento al Terrorismo y el Financiamiento a la Proliferación de Armas de Destrucción Masiva” (AML/CFT/CPF Law)

• Decreto Ejecutivo N°. 15-2018 — “Reglamento de la Ley N°. 977” (Implementing Regulation)

• Ley N°. 822 — “Ley de Concertación Tributaria” (Tax Concertation Law)

• Law No. 499 — “Ley General de Cooperativas”

• Law No. 331 — Ley Electoral (Electoral Law)

• Law No. 185 — Código del Trabajo (Labor Code)

We are unaware of any pending NGO legislative / regulatory initiatives at this time. If you are aware of pending initiatives, write to ICNL at ngomonitor@icnl.org.

Law 1115 (the General Law of Regulation and Control of Non-Profit Organizations) establishes Organizaciones Sin Fines de Lucro (OSFL; English: “NPOs”) as a legal form by which civil society may organize and operate. The Ministry of Interior recognizes and regulates NPOs. NPOs are explicitly classified according to their purpose, as follows:

• Religious and/or charitable organizations;
• Social, cultural, and educational organizations;
• Sports, physical education, and physical recreation organizations; and
• Business associations.

The other legal forms include associations, foundations, federations, and confederations, which are constituted by public deed before a notary. Associations require the existence and agreement of at least five founders, while foundations require at least three founders. Articles 16 and 18 of Law 1115 specify the required contents of NPOs’ public deeds of incorporation and statutes.

Regulations also distinguish between national NPOs and foreign NPOs operating in Nicaragua, which are each subject to specific documentary and registration requirements.

On August 22, 2024, Law 1212, which reforms laws regulating NPOs, including Law 822 (Tax Agreement Law), was published and entered into force. This law eliminated the income tax exemptions previously enjoyed by NPOs. Section 3 of Article 32 of Law 822, which granted exemption to “churches, denominations, confessions, and religious foundations with legal personality, with respect to their income from activities and assets used exclusively for religious purposes,” was repealed. Additionally, Section 4 was modified to exclude from the exemptions non-profit institutions of the following nature: sports, artistic, scientific, educational, cultural, business associations, charitable, and social assistance institutions; and those organized as civil associations, foundations, federations, confederations, and business chambers.

At the municipal level, exemptions from income tax and property tax (Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles, IBI) are available to:

• Churches and religious faiths, for temples and offices used for religious purposes;
• Non-profit charity and social assistance institutions;
• Cultural, scientific, sports and artistic institutions;
• Unions and associations of workers and professionals;
• Professional associations that are not-for-profit; and
• Non-profit civil associations, foundations, federations, and confederations with legal standing, but only with respect to assets and income used exclusively to fulfill their stated purposes.

Nicaragua’s legal framework for citizen participation is framed less as a rights-based participation system and more as a state-led model of “direct democracy” and “popular protagonism”. The 2025 Constitution affirms that sovereignty resides in “the People” and is exercised through institutions and representatives, while also embedding language about participation across political and sectoral domains—most notably by recognizing citizens as “protagonists” in the formulation, implementation, evaluation, oversight, and follow-up of public policies. In addition, the Constitution preserves formal channels for public involvement through mechanisms such as citizen legislative initiatives and sectoral participation in areas like education and community life.

The existence of certain enabling laws and regulations (e.g., Law 475 (Law of Citizen Participation, 2003) and its Regulation, Decree 8-2004 (2004)) does not, however, reflect the reality in practice. Most legislation is introduced directly by the President through an expedited process in which there is no public consultation. Public participation in general is excessively hampered by authoritarian actions, which have led to fewer civic organizations, the cancellation of political parties, and the forced exile of civil society activists and practitioners.

Relevant constitutional provisions include the following:

• Article 2 frames sovereignty as residing in “the People” and states that the People exercise “protagonism” through instruments of direct democracy, participating and deciding in the construction of the political, economic, cultural, and social system.
• Article 46 establishes that Nicaraguans are “protagonists” in the formulation, execution, evaluation, control, and follow-up (seguimiento) of public policies.
• Article 47 recognizes the right to elect and be elected and to run for public office, subject to constitutional limitations.
• Article 49 recognizes the right to organize or affiliate with political parties to participate in politics and seek public office (and conditions parties’ statutes to the Constitution’s “Principios Fundamentales”).
• Article 134(5) explicitly includes “citizens” among those who can initiate laws when backed by no fewer than 5,000 signatures.
• Article 148 assigns the electoral authority exclusive competence to organize and supervise elections, plebiscites, and referendums.
• Article 81 recognizes Caribbean Coast peoples’ right to preserve identity, adopt their own forms of social organization, and administer local affairs according to values and traditions.
• Article 160 assigns the “Procuraduría General” (Attorney General’s Office) a role that includes promoting “control social” of public administration, which offers a constitutional basis for citizen oversight.

There are no constitutional restrictions on the right to associate, except for associations formed to commit crimes or act against the constitutional order.

Under Law 1115, the power to grant legal status to NPOs was transferred from the National Assembly to the Ministry of the Interior. Establishing an NPO involves a three-step process:

• The NPO’s legal representative must submit a request for legal personality to the General Directorate of Registration and Control of NPOs, addressed to the Minister of the Interior and accompanied by the documents required under Article 20 of Law 1115.
• If approved, the Minister issues a ministerial agreement, which must be published in La Gaceta.
• To begin operations, the NPO must be registered with the General Directorate and its Statutes must also be published in La Gaceta.

Article 25 of Law 1115 provides broad discretion for regulatory officials to deny legal recognition of NPOs, including when;

• The NPO does not fall within the scope of Law 1115.
• The application or accompanying documents contain formal defects.
• The application fails to meet legal requirements.
• The documentation conflicts with the NPO’s Constitutive Act or Statutes.
• There is a presumption of illegality in the act or document submitted.
• The requirements established in Law 1115 are not met.

If registration is denied, the NPO may file an appeal for review (Recurso de Revisión) before the Directorate and, if necessary, a subsequent appeal (Recurso de Apelación) with the Minister of Governance. These appeals exhaust the available administrative remedies, leaving only the option of seeking judicial protection (Recurso de Amparo).

The 2025 Normativa Prudencial de Regulación y Control de los OSFL (“Normativa Prudencial”) was adopted not only to implement the Law 1115 (General Law for the Regulation and Control of Non-Profit Organizations), but also to define the Ministry of the Interior (MINT)’s additional responsibilities and expand its operational powers regarding NPOs’ registration, oversight, and sanctions. Specifically, Law 1115 centralizes NPO regulatory authority under the MINT and creates broad reporting and compliance obligations, backed by administrative penalties including the cancellation of registration. Meanwhile, the Normativa Prudencial operationalizes Law 1115 by detailing how the MINT authorizes, registers, supervises, and administratively sanctions NGOs and by setting up procedural requirements, compliance obligations, and enforcement frameworks (including graduated infractions and sanctions). A side-by-side comparison of Law 1115 and the Normativa Prudencial is in the below chart:

The Nicaraguan government has imposed tight controls over foreign funding for civil society. In September 2015, it informed the foreign diplomatic corps and international organizations that resources from abroad could no longer be directly received by NPOs but must instead be channeled through government institutions. This policy immediately led to the removal of a representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the closure of at least five of its projects.

In October 2020, Law 1040 (Foreign Agents Regulation Law) came into force, which introduced extensive restrictions, including:

• Requiring NPOs receiving foreign funds to register as foreign agents;
• Granting the Ministry of the Interior broad authority to demand information verifying the use of funds; and
• Establishing sanctions, including possible cancellation of legal personality for undefined violations of “public order”; strict controls for receiving and using foreign donations; onerous reporting requirements on receipt and use of foreign funds; and unlimited and undefined information requirements to identify certain donors, enabling wide discretion in enforcement.

Law 1115 further reinforces these restrictions by requiring NPOs to notify the General Directorate of Registration and Control of NPOs of the Ministry of the Interior 15 days in advance of taking measures to receive donations and to report the final destination of those funds. The 2025 Normativa Prudencial de Regulación y Control de los OSFL further operationalizes these constraints by requiring highly granular documentation on donations and their origin, related agreements, and the destination and use of funds as part of routine compliance reporting. This expands the practical reporting and verification burden around foreign-funded resources.

The Nicaraguan Constitution recognizes freedom of expression and related participatory political rights, including the ability to raise complaints and criticize public authorities. Article 30 on freedom of expression affirms that Nicaraguans may freely express their thoughts in public or private, individually or collectively, through oral, written, or any other means. However, the 2025 constitutional text explicitly conditions this right on not infringing the rights of others, “the community,” and the constitutional “principles of security, peace and wellbeing,” which introduces broad, values-based limitations that can be interpreted expansively in practice. 

In practice, ordinary legislation and enforcement patterns often further narrow these constitutional guarantees. For example, the Special Cybercrime Law (Law No. 1042) criminalizes the “propagation of false news” through Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), among other offenses, which creates criminal exposure for online speech and encourages self-censorship.  In September 2024, reforms to the cybercrime framework updated the offense language to cover “false or distorted” news, reinforcing the state’s ability to sanction speech on vague and elastic grounds. 

Since the 2018 protests and political crisis, authorities have frequently portrayed independent journalists, activists, and CSOs as participants in an alleged “coup attempt” and have used this narrative to justify harassment, censorship, and criminalization. The 2025 constitutional reform’s reliance on undefined concepts such as “wellbeing” and “security” as limits on expression has been criticized by UN human rights officials as enabling further restrictions on civic and political freedoms. 

The Nicaraguan Constitution formally recognizes the right to peaceful assembly. However, the 2025 constitutional text reframes this right by conditioning it on compliance with the Constitution’s “Fundamental Principles” and on regulation by the relevant law. Article 48 recognizes “meetings, gatherings, demonstrations and public mobilizations” but subjects its exercise to these broad constitutional principles and to statutory regulation. This introduces discretion for restrictive interpretation in practice.

Despite formal guarantees, since September 2018, authorities have systematically prevented public demonstrations by groups perceived as critical of the government. A series of National Police communications in 2018 openly treated public protests as a public order and security threat and asserted police control over whether demonstrations could proceed. International reporting continues to describe Nicaragua’s sustained pattern of repression and the effective closure of civic space, including constraints on exercising assembly rights in practice.

Enforcement

International monitoring bodies describe Nicaragua as maintaining a closed civic space where basic civil and political rights, including the ability to organize, mobilize, and publicly dissent, remain severely constrained in practice. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights’s Annual Report 2024 (Chapter IV.B on Nicaragua) explicitly notes the persistent prohibition of social protests and broader measures aimed at suppressing civic participation in physical and digital spaces. 

In parallel, The Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH)’s 2025 UPR submission describes a continued environment where historically recurring marches (e.g., International Women’s Day) are no longer allowed and where police harassment and intimidation around activists’ homes and meetings persists.  UN experts warned in September 2025 of escalating repression extending beyond borders, consistent with a broader enforcement posture that treats dissent and organizing as a security problem rather than a protected civic activity.

Criminal Penalties

Nicaragua’s Penal Code contains a set of public order misdemeanors in Title II (Arts. 528–533) (“Faltas contra el orden y la tranquilidad pública”) that authorities can use against organizers or participants in gatherings. One such misdemeanor is “disobedience to authority” (Article 528), which, along with related provisions, penalizes the refusal to comply with orders, obstruction, or failures to comply with police action. These offenses are lower threshold tools that can be paired with administrative policing practices to deter or punish protest activity.

Beyond misdemeanors, Law No. 1055 (2020) (“Ley de Defensa de los Derechos del Pueblo a la Independencia, la Soberanía y Autodeterminación para la Paz”) enables the state to treat a wide range of opposition activities—broadly framed around “altering the constitutional order,” “inciting foreign interference,” or related conduct—as threats to sovereignty and peace. It has been used as a basis for political disqualification and for linking dissent to state security narratives. 

UN Experts uncover corrupt financing of repression and spy network targeting exiles (March 2026)
Nicaragua’s Government is financing the repression of its opponents through the illegal diversion of public funds and targeting exiles through a transnational surveillance and intelligence network, the UN Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua warned in its latest report. The report to the Human Rights Council called on the Government of Co-Presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo to ensure accountability, restore civic space, and take meaningful measures to guarantee the rights of all Nicaraguans, including those in exile. At least a dozen cases of killings or attempted killings of exiled critics have been reported, including the June 2025 murder in Costa Rica of retired army major and Government critic Roberto Samcam.

IACHR urges release of all people held in arbitrary detention in Nicaragua (February 2026)
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) condemns the ongoing repression in Nicaragua, which is marked by continued arbitrary detentions and the deprivation of freedom for political reasons of anyone perceived as opposing the current regime. The human rights situation in Nicaragua continues to be among the most serious observed across the Americas. As the IACHR has documented, the regime now firmly established in the country is authoritarian, based on control, surveillance, and repression of anyone perceived as an opponent—including individuals previously associated with the regime—and extending beyond the country’s borders.

Nicaragua shutters another 169 civil society groups as purge intensifies (August 2024)
Nicaragua’s government has banned 169 NGOs for allegedly not complying with sector regulations, according to a resolution published in the government gazette. The organizations included Save The Children Canada, religious groups, livestock and agricultural associations, and foundations fighting diseases such as cancer and HIV/AIDS. The move represents a further blow to civil society as part of a longstanding crackdown on groups viewed as hostile by President Daniel Ortega.

Nicaragua threatens religious and speech freedom (January 2024)
The Nicaraguan government seized the prominent Jesuit-run Central American University (UCA) – just one of many instances of the recent rampage of President Daniel Ortega’s administration against academic and religious freedom. “Nicaragua is, at this time, the North Korea of Latin America,” said a former Nicaraguan diplomat and political exile, who studied at UCA. Ortega has also taken away the status of roughly 3,300 NGOs that work to promote social and political change.

Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, on Nicaragua: “Continued and Widespread Deterioration of Human Rights” (September 2023)
“I am deeply saddened by the continued and widespread deterioration of human rights in Nicaragua. Punishing and locking out those who voice their views, and further intensifying the country’s isolation, are policies that do not serve the interests of the Nicaraguan people – or even the authorities. I hope that during our dialogue today, this Council will be able to discuss how to unlock solutions, with new ideas that could support the authorities to reverse course.”

Five Years into Nicaragua’s Human Rights Crisis, IACHR Calls for Restoration of Democracy (April 2023)
On the fifth anniversary of the start of social protests in Nicaragua, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) stresses its solidarity with victims of the serious human rights violations perpetrated in that country since April 18, 2018, as well as with their families. The Commission further calls for the restoration of democracy in Nicaragua, allowing free, participatory, and transparent elections; for the adoption of a system of checks and balances; and for the implementation of procedures aimed at ensuring truth, justice, and redress.

Crimes against humanity likely committed in Nicaragua (March 2023)
Unveiling their first report to be delivered to the Human Rights Council, the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua urged the international community to impose sanctions on those responsible. The experts concluded that President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo “put into practice these crimes” which continue today. “Based on this investigation, we can conclude that widespread and systematic human rights violations that amount to crimes against humanity – and are motivated by political reasons – have been committed against civilians by the Nicaraguan Government since 2018,” said Jan Simon, Chair of the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua.

Nicaraguan Government Breaks Records in Human Rights Violations (January 2023) (Spanish)
The Government of Nicaragua headed by former Sandinista guerrilla Daniel Ortega broke records in terms of human rights violations in 2022, according to a report by the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality). It noted that “2022 closed as the year with the most closures of non-governmental organizations and an exodus never seen before in the history of Nicaragua.”

UN Human Rights Committee Calls on the State of Nicaragua to Refrain from Cancelling Legal Personalities of CSOs (November 2022)
The UN Human Rights Committee issued 17 recommendations to Nicaragua on different topics, including among them: the independence of the judiciary, deaths due to police violence, the situation of prisoners in Nicaraguan jails, freedom of expression, violence against women, the situation of indigenous peoples and freedom of association.

NGOs Denounce Systematic Violations of Freedom of Association in Nicaragua (October 2022)
At least 18 organizations denounced in a public hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) the “extreme situation in relation to the systematic violation of freedom of association and the right to defend human rights in Nicaragua.”

Nicaragua’s dictatorship is criminalizing democracy (September 2022)
In Nicaragua, businesses are extorted by mafia-like police officers, Catholic leaders are persecuted for supporting democracy, residents (even Americans) are detained and sentenced for decades, and civil society organizations have been shuttered. The family Ortega dynasty has criminalized democracy, ensuring that freedom of expression, political participation, movement and beliefs are legally eliminated.

Ortega Tightening Authoritarian Grip (August 2020)

Riot control besieged express picket in Managua (August 2019) (Spanish)

Inter-American Court’s President orders Nicaragua to adopt urgent measures to protect the life and integrity of the members of two human right defense organizations (July 2019) (Spanish)

Letter from Human Rights Watch to the EU on Nicaragua (July 2019)

Treasury Sanctions Members of Nicaraguan President Ortega’s Inner Circle (June 2019)

MEPs demand sanctions against the Ortega government for democratic deterioration in Nicaragua (April 2019) (Spanish)

State must put an end to a year of brutal repression (April 2019) (Spanish)

International organizations set up International Observatory on the situation of Human Rights in Nicaragua (January 2019) (Spanish)

State of Nicaragua suspends presence of MESENI and GIEI (December 2018)

Treasury Sanctions Three Nicaraguan Individuals for Serious Human Rights Abuse and Corrupt Acts (July 2018)

Escalation of violence in Nicaragua (July 2018) (Spanish)

Carter Center Condemns the Continued Violence in Nicaragua (June 2018)

Rights commission condemns abuses during Nicaragua protests (May 2018)

Report on Nicaragua: the democratic deterioration and the Ortega-Murillo dynasty (March 2018) (Spanish)

Nicaragua at the Highest Level of Corruption in Latin America (February 2018) (Spanish)

IACHR speaks on denial of entry to Nicaragua of its officials (November 2017) (Spanish)

Government prevents entry of human rights rapporteur of the IACHR (November 2017) (Spanish)

Actions of the Ministry of the Interior affect other 24 local organizations (October 2017) (Spanish)

Nicaragua lives “modern authoritarianism” (June 2017) (Spanish)

Nicaraguans are less free, according to US index (June 2017) (Spanish)

European Union calls for respect for democracy and human rights in Nicaragua (February 2017) (Spanish)

Amnesty International Annual Report 2016/17 (February 2017)

Carlos Fernando Chamorro denounces intimidation and political espionage (October 2016)

Civil society organizations punished (August 2016)

Civil society marchers harassed by government shock forces (August 2016)

Deterioration of Human Rights in Nicaragua (August 2016)

Deterioration of human rights in Nicaragua (June 2016) (Spanish)

AI denounces threats to indigenous human rights defenders in Nicaragua (February 2016) (Spanish)

CENIDH Appeals Unconstitutional Security Act (February 2016) (Spanish)

Freedom House Latin America Director Denied Entry to Nicaragua (February 2016)

The government does not like people to organize (January 2016)

Human rights situation in Nicaragua is negative at the end of the year (December 2015)

La guerra de Ortega contra las ONGs (October 2015) (Spanish)

UNDP to close projects (October 2015) (Spanish)

Circulation of Draft Amendments to the Law of Non-profit Legal Entities (July 2015) (Spanish)

Government Deports Lawyers of CEJIL (July 2015) (Spanish)

Report on Human Rights and Conflicts in Central America: Nicaragua Recedes in Citizen Participation (April 2015) (Spanish)

Government Creates Law to Control Internet (April 2015) (Spanish)

Report presents serious concern regarding the situation of human rights defenders in the region (September 2010)

The foregoing information was collected by the ICNL Civic Freedom Monitor partner organization in Nicaragua.

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued a preliminary report after its visit to the country on May 17-21, 2018, which included the following recommendations:

1. Cease immediately the repression of the demonstrators and the arbitrary detention of those who participate in the protests.
2. Respect and guarantee the full enjoyment of the right to protest, freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and political participation of the population.
3. Create an international investigation mechanism on the acts of violence that occurred, with guarantees of autonomy and independence to ensure the right to the truth and to properly identify those responsible.
4. Guarantee the life, integrity and security of all the people who are demonstrating and exercising their rights and public liberties and suffering the consequences of the environment of repression, especially students, children and adolescents.
5. Offer effective guarantees to protect the people who gave testimony to the IACHR or who in some way participated in its activities in the country; and refrain from taking or allowing retaliation against them.

The GIEI (Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts) mission in Nicaragua began on July 2, 2018 and lasted until December 19, 2018, when its members were expelled from the country by the Nicaraguan authorities, one day before the group of experts presented its report. The MESENI (Special Monitoring Mechanism for Nicaragua) was also expelled on that occasion.

Among its recommendations, the GIEI report included:

• That the government guarantee that the right of assembly be fully respected and ensured through due protection of public demonstrations, in conformity with applicable international standards and human rights norms.
• That the government cease the harassment against human rights defenders, journalists and other social leaders, and ensure the necessary conditions so they can fully exercise their rights and perform their job. In particular, freedom of expression, right of assembly and freedom of association.

That was the beginning of pressure from the international community, which continued to mount during more than four years, including actions taken by UN, OAS, the U.S government and other governments, European Parliament, and European Union, among others.

Chapter IV of the IACHR Annual Report included a special section on Nicaragua in 2021, which stated, “the IACHR observes with alarm the amplification of administrative and legislative obstacles and measures to prevent the sustainable functioning and effectiveness of civil society organizations defending human rights and institutions that provide basic humanitarian services in Nicaragua. …contrary to inter-American standards because they seek to curtail democratic debate and undermine the rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association, participation in public affairs, protest, and the right to defend rights.”

On August 29, 2022, the IACHR presented a report (available in Spanish) with an assessment of the activities held by its Special Monitoring Mechanism for Nicaragua (MESENI)—which has been in place for four years—and the results they have attained. Other related reports include the following:

• October 7, 2022: OAS General Assembly approves Resolution AG/RES. 2995 (LII-O/22). THE POLITICAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS CRISIS IN NICARAGUA.
• October 3, 2022: Nicaragua must restore full enjoyment of civil and political rights, particularly freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, media and civic assembly: UN and IACHR experts.
• December 2022: MESENI Bulletin. October – December 2022. Human Rights Situation in Nicaragua.

United Nations

On March 2019, UN Human Rights Council issued a resolution expressing concern over the increasing restrictions on civic space and expressions of dissent in Nicaragua, including the closure of independent media outlets and the cancellation of legal registration and seizure of assets and goods of a number of CSOs, particularly human rights organizations. However, on March 2022, a new resolution was adopted and the last report on the human rights situation in Nicaragua pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 49/3 was presented on September 13, 2022. This report stated that “attacks on the freedom to associate have increased exponentially. This year, the legal personalities of 1,512 human rights, development and other organizations, professional associations, including medical associations, entities linked to the Catholic Church and others, have been cancelled, totaling at least 1,578 over the past four years.”

The Decision of the Human Rights Council on September 20, 2019 adopted the outcome of the review of Nicaragua, comprising the report thereon of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), which contained 259 conclusions and/or recommendations that were submitted by 90 delegations and called on Nicaragua to respect civil society, freedom of association, and peaceful demonstration, among other human rights.

On May 5, 2022, in a letter addressed to the Nicaraguan Government (available in Spanish), UN experts (Special Rapporteurs) stated the cancellation of the legal personality of hundreds of associations “represents a clear pattern of repressing civic space.”

European Parliament

The European Parliament has also adopted resolutions on Nicaragua, with the last one on December 16, 2021, in which it considered that the Nicaraguan regime deprived the people of Nicaragua of their civil and political rights and the freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly, outlawed scores of civil society organizations and did not respect its commitments on human rights and fundamental freedoms under Nicaragua’s Constitution, the Inter-American Democratic Charter and international covenants to which the country is a party.

Organization of American States OAS

For additional information on the Special Monitoring Mechanism for Nicaragua (MESENI), please see the following link.