August 12, 2022
Washington, D.C. In the period from 25 to 29 July 2022, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) made a promotional visit to Miami, Florida, USA, and San José, Costa Rica, to monitor the situation of Nicaraguans forced to flee to these countries due to the crisis that began in Nicaragua on April 18, 2018. To see also : IS AMERICA FOR SALE? China’s plan to replace the United States as a superpower.
The IACHR is grateful to the United States and Costa Rica for their openness to this visit. The delegation was led by the Nicaraguan rapporteur, Commissioner Esmeralda Arosemena de Troitiño, who was accompanied by the technical staff of the Executive Secretariat of the Special Monitoring Mechanism of Nicaragua (MESENI). IACHR’s rapporteur on freedom of expression, Pedro Vaca, was also part of the delegation in Costa Rica.
During the working visit, the IACHR held working meetings with Nicaraguan civil society groups and organizations in Miami and San José. It also collected over twenty testimonies from Nicaraguans forced to move to these countries. In Costa Rica, the IACHR held protocol meetings with Foreign Minister Arnoldo André Tinoco and migration and human rights authorities.
In the United States, the IACHR received information and testimony about the increasing number of Nicaraguans fleeing to the United States due to repression in Nicaragua, as well as the various threats and acts of harassment or violence they face in transit to that country. . Similarly, the people interviewed talked about long waiting times for asylum applications and difficulties in obtaining identity documents or legal protection, among other challenges.
Costa Rican civil society has recognized the openness of the state to the thousands of people who move there. At the same time, they reported problems for Nicaraguans seeking international protection in that country regarding access to work, health, housing and education. The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and the increase in emigration from Nicaragua have further exacerbated the situation. By 2022, the number of Nicaraguan refugees and asylum seekers in Costa Rica had reportedly doubled to 150,000, according to UNHCR.
As part of its outreach and training activities in Costa Rica, the IACHR presented a report on the human rights situation in Nicaragua, included in Chapter IV.B of its 2021 report. In addition, MESENI’s technical team organized two trainings in both the United States and Costa Rica on the Inter-American System and International Standards for Memory, Truth, Justice, and Reparation.
During its visit to both countries, the IACHR received information and testimony confirming that the crisis in Nicaragua continues to worsen. The breakdown of the principle of separation of powers has allowed the entire state apparatus to be used to repress and persecute Nicaraguan civil society, the church, the press, and all those considered opponents of the government, forcing them to flee the country.
Of particular concern to the IACHR is the plight of more than 180 political prisoners held in conditions inconsistent with human dignity, many of them in fragile health; as well as the anxiety, fear and suffering their families endured both in Nicaragua and in exile. In many cases, they cannot have contact with their minor sons and daughters. Similarly, the accelerated closure of public space continues to force thousands of Nicaraguans into exile, including members of more than a thousand organizations whose legal status has been arbitrarily revoked this year. The IACHR also learned of arbitrary restrictions on entry and exit, including confiscation of passports and arbitrary detention of people for several hours.
The IACHR and the Office of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression (RFOE) were also informed of the increasingly violent persecution of independent journalism and the risks associated with journalism in Nicaragua today. In recent weeks, the IACHR and RFOE listened to the stories of journalists forced to leave the country, who spoke of the atmosphere of self-censorship and media silence zones created by the authorities’ escalating repression. They also described an almost complete shutdown of access to news sources due to widespread fear of speaking publicly about the human rights crisis in the country. In addition, they received information about the situation of journalist Miguel Mora, who has been in custody since June 2021 and has been on hunger strike for 40 days to protest the authorities’ refusal to allow him to see his son. The IACHR and the RFOE express their solidarity with the Nicaraguan press, thank them for the information provided and once again pay tribute to the courage and commitment with which they continue their work.
The IACHR commends the efforts of the States of Costa Rica and the United States to host Nicaraguans forcibly displaced by the crisis in their country; at the same time, it calls once again on States to guarantee the human rights of Nicaraguans, including the right to seek and receive asylum, non-refoulement and non-refoulement, non-discrimination and justice; as well as economic, social and cultural rights, such as the right to work, housing, education and social security, from the moment they apply for refugee status or other international protection. To this end, the IACHR calls on States to ensure that the difficulties faced by many Nicaraguans in obtaining identity documents do not prevent them from exercising their rights.
Finally, the IACHR calls on all countries in the region to implement a strategy based on shared responsibility and a comprehensive human rights approach to the drivers of the forced displacement of the people of Nicaragua and their need for protection, including through the provision of asylum and other protection. measures or for humanitarian reasons. In addition, it encourages Member States to support Costa Rica so that it has the necessary capacity to implement the principles of solidarity and international protection.
The IACHR is the principal autonomous organ of the Organization of American States (OAS), with mandates derived from the OAS Charter and the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission is mandated to promote respect for human rights in the region and acts as an advisory body to the OAS in this area. The IACHR consists of seven independent members who are personally elected by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their country of origin or residence.
The Office of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression is an office established by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to encourage the protection of the right to freedom of thought and expression in the hemisphere, given its fundamental role in strengthening and development. of the democratic system.
The main autonomous organ of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission is mandated to promote the respect and protection of human rights in the region and acts as an advisory body to the OAS in this area. The commission is composed of seven independent members who are individually elected by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their country of origin or residence.
