UN human rights experts have formally accused Nicaragua's co-presidents, Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, of establishing a dictatorship. The group claims there are reasonable grounds to believe that crimes against humanity have been committed against the population since 2018.
The 2018 crackdown and the 2021 illegitimate election
The current political landscape in Nicaragua is a direct evolution of the mass protests that occurred in 2018. Following a bloody government crackdown that killed hundreds of citizens, the Sandinista Party consolidated total control over the nation's police, courts, and prisons. As reported by the UN expert group, this consolidation paved the way for the 2021 election, which the international community widely views as illegitimate because the government jailed all viable opposition candidates before the vote.
The UN experts, led by Jan-Michael Simon, suggest that the ultimate goal of the Ortega-Murillo administration is permanent dynastic rule. This transition has been facilitated by a new constitution adopted last year, which effectively stripped the legislature and judiciary of their independence, placing them under the direct control of the co-presidents.
The statelessness of 452 declared "traitors"
Since February 2023, the Nicaraguan government has increasingly used citizenship as a tool of political warfare. Reed Brody, a member of the UN expert group and a human rights lawyer, noted that at least 452 Nicaraguans considered political opponents have been declared traitors and stripped of their citizenship. This systematic process has left hundreds of individuals stateless, including former Sandinista leaders, a former vice president, and every presidential candidate from the 2021 election.
This campaign of statelessness is part of a broader pattern of political persecution. According to the report, the government has utilized arbitrary detentions, forced disappearances, and the seizure of homes and possessions to eliminate any remaining domestic opposition.
A campaign targeting 5,000 religious and civil organizations
The erosion of civil society in Nicaragua is evidenced by the shuttering of more than 5,000 organizations arcoss the country. These targeted entities are largely religious in natrue, reflecting a strategic effort by the Ortega administration to dismantle the social structures that might host dissent. the UN experts claim there is no longer any space left for independent press or critical nongovernmental organizations within the country's borders.
Beyond the physical borders of Nicaragua, a transnational surveillance network has also been identified. This network reportedly monitors, intimidates, and attacks the hundreds of thousands of Nicaraguans living abroad to prevent them from organizing against the regime.
The push for an International Court of Justice intervention
While the UN expert group is urging member states to bring a case against Nicaragua to the International Court of Justice, the path to legal accountability remains uncertain.. It is currently unclear if the international community will provide the necessary political or legal pressure to enforce the convention on statelessness. furthermore, the Nicaraguan government has dismissed the Human Rights Council as "manipulated" and "obsolete," raising questions about whether any formal diplomatic engagement can succeed while the administration continues to label human rights investigations as neo-colonialist aggression .
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