Nicaragua: A Very Current and High-priority Issue at the OAS

Contrary to what the Nicaraguan regime would like, after Nicaragua’s exit from the Organization of American States (OAS) on November 18, 2023, the country’s situation continues to be a present and primary issue for the organization and its member states.

There are several reasons for this. First, the socio-political crisis that began in April 2018, and which the OAS has been permanently monitoring, is not only still ongoing but continues to worsen, as evidenced by the constant human rights violations that those affected continue to denounce and document before the agencies of the Inter-American Human Rights System, the United Nations (UN), the US Congress and other parliaments, including that of the European Union and the English Parliament, and to a broad group of civil society organizations.

Secondly, the fact that the State of Nicaragua has renounced its membership in the OAS does not exempt it from its international obligations, which remain in force because they are general obligations of international law and because it continues to be a part of the mechanisms of the Inter-American System, including the American Convention on Human Rights.

Finally, the lack of a solution to the crisis puts the entire region’s stability at risk. Democracy and freedom must be permanently safeguarded, and situations like those in Nicaragua are examples of what should not happen in the region. We must act so that they do not continue to impact the rest of the region negatively.

Governments of the Americas Acknowledge Human Rights Violations

For the OAS, the situation in Nicaragua is a systematic violation of human rights and democracy, a fact that does not admit discussion among the member states, unlike what happened at the beginning of the crisis in 2018, where resolutions had to be taken to a vote to be approved, since the General Assembly in Lima in 2023, all resolutions on Nicaragua have been adopted by consensus. Look at the text of the footnotes that some member states have left on record to note that, in addition to joining the consensus, no government of the Americas denies that in Nicaragua, human rights are violated, opponents are repressed, and democratic principles are disrespected.

This consensus is reflected in the two resolutions issued by the Permanent Council of the OAS regarding Nicaragua’s denunciation of the OAS Charter.

The first, dated November 8, 2023, states that, despite Nicaragua’s denunciation and consequent withdrawal from the OAS, the Permanent Council will continue to follow the situation in Nicaragua because it remains bound by international law in general and by other inter-American treaties, particularly those relating to human rights and democracy.

The second, on April 3, creates the Group of Voluntary Countries to follow up on the situation in Nicaragua. In response to this mandate, the Group was formed on May 7 and has a more active participation than the previous Working Group on Nicaragua. One of the first actions of the Group of Voluntary Countries was to include the issue of Nicaragua in the OAS General Assembly to be held in Asuncion, Paraguay, from June 26 to 28, and it is also discussing the resolution to be approved in the activity.

In summary, in a very turbulent world with serious conflicts such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the war between Israel and Hamas (Palestine), and the crisis in Haiti in the region, the issue of Nicaragua continues to be very present in the agendas of the OAS and the UN, as well as in the political priorities of many countries in the world.

We know that the Ortega Murillo regime will not be present at the next OAS General Assembly, but Nicaraguan civil society will. The Nicaraguan Democratic Concertation (CDN-Monteverde), as part of these groups, will be present in Asuncion to be the voice of rebuke but also of hope and to accompany the efforts that the OAS, the Group of Volunteer Countries, and the States Parties continue to make in favor of democracy and human rights in Nicaragua.