Your Excellency Madam President of Honduras Xiomara Castro, President pro tempore of the Central American Integration System (SICA).
Your Excellencies, Presidents of the member countries of SICA:
- Bernardo Arévalo, President of Guatemala
- Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador
- Rodrigo Cháves, President of Costa Rica
- Laurentino Cortizo, President of Panama
- Luis Abinader, President of the Dominican Republic
- Johnny Briseño, Prime Minister of Belize
The Nicaraguan Democratic Concertation, CDN-Monteverde, made up of a broad sector of people and organizations that seek to restore the rule of law, democracy and freedom in Nicaragua, appreciates the participation of your enlightened government in OAS General Assembly 54 and in particular, its support for the unanimous resolution of the same “Follow-up to the situation in Nicaragua” which, in its introductory part, states the following:
“Recalls that the promotion and defense of democracy for the peoples of the Americas is an obligation established in the Inter-American Democratic Charter, which also establishes that the elements of representative democracy include, among others, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.’ and that the American Convention on Human Rights determines that the States Parties to it ‘undertake to respect the rights and freedoms recognized therein and to ensure to all persons subject to their jurisdiction the free and full exercise of those rights and freedoms, without any discrimination for reasons of race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, economic status, birth, or any other social condition’ and that these obligations fall upon the States Parties, individually and collectively”.
In view of the announcement of a meeting of presidents of SICA, the highest body of the Central American Integration System: We are fully confident that, in accordance with Article 4 (i) of the Tegucigalpa Protocol, your Excellencies will act in full “respect for the principles and norms of the Charters of the United Nations (UN) and the Organization of American States (OAS)”.
Article 3 of the Tegucigalpa Protocol in its paragraph a) – calls upon the countries you direct to:
- To consolidate democracy and strengthen its institutions on the basis of … unrestricted respect for human rights.
Article 4 considers the protection, respect and promotion of human rights as the fundamental basis of the Central American Integration System:
For this reason, we respectfully request the highest authorities of the region to reiterate within SICA what their enlightened governments have eloquently expressed within the OAS:
- “Urge the Government of Nicaragua to ensure the cessation of all human rights violations and to take effective measures for the restoration of democratic institutions, especially its obligation to observe the rule of law and human rights.
- Call on the Government of Nicaragua to restore the exercise of the rights of persons deprived of their rights including, but not limited to, the deprivation of their nationality and the right to enter or leave Nicaragua. In addition to insist on the immediate end of impunity of State institutions and other actors that commit serious human rights violations.
- Urge the Government of Nicaragua to immediately and unconditionally release all persons who have been deprived of their liberty for political or religious reasons.
persons who have been deprived of their liberty for political or religious reasons. - Urge the Government of Nicaragua to respect all precautionary measures granted by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), in particular the one issued on April 25, 2024, which asks it to refrain from repressing and arbitrarily detaining leaders of evangelical churches, and to provide information on the physical and psychological health of the eleven religious leaders of “Puerta de la Montaña”, who are being held in maximum security facilities.
- Call upon the Government of Nicaragua to engage constructively with the Inter-American Human Rights System, facilitating international scrutiny within the framework of international law, allowing the IACHR and its Special
Inter-American Human Rights System, facilitating international scrutiny within the framework of international law, allowing the entry into its territory of the IACHR and its Special Follow-up Mechanism, as well as other competent international bodies.”
In the spirit of utmost respect for your Government, we request to remind the Government of Nicaragua that recognizing a government such as the Taliban, which has historically been associated with serious human rights violations, severe restrictions on individual freedoms, and has been considered an extremist regime that seeks the destruction of our Western civilization and promotes terrorism; has severe implications for the regional security of Central America; and is very complicated from an ethical and human rights perspective. For all of the above reasons, we appeal to your proven good judgment to ask the Government of Nicaragua to reconsider this measure.
Governments have a responsibility to promote and protect the fundamental rights of their citizens, and recognizing a government that fails to meet these standards could be seen as a validation of its actions and policies.
Once again, we thank the regional authorities for the strong support for democracy, the rule of law and human rights, which your authorities have reiterated at the 54th OAS General Assembly.
Elíseo Núñez Morales Executive Secretary
Member of the Political Directorate CDN-Monteverde