Nicaragua under the Ortega-Murillo regime: a renegade state of international law

Nicaragua severed its relationship with the Organization of American States (OAS), denouncing its Constitutive Charter, to evade the fundamental political and diplomatic mechanisms for the defense of democracy and the promotion and maintenance of peaceful coexistence in the continent. With its withdrawal, Nicaragua intends to dissociate itself from the principles and values of the OAS Charter and the Democratic Charter.

Furthermore, the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship continues to be in permanent contempt of the resolutions and recommendations of the Inter-American System issued by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), MESENI (Special Monitoring Mechanism for Nicaragua) and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR). This was stated by the outgoing president of the IACHR before the Permanent Council of the OAS, Ricardo Perez Manrique.

Nicaragua has also failed to address the recommendations of the universal system, issued by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Group of Experts on Human Rights in Nicaragua (GHREN).

The Ortega-Murillo regime has disregarded the Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic Relations and Consular Relations, ignored the immunity of the diplomatic headquarters of the OAS and the Republic of Taiwan in Managua, seized their assets, and inhibited the right to appoint Nicaraguan nationals as honorary consuls. It has also unjustifiably expelled the ambassadors of the Vatican and the Netherlands, without them having to merit such sanction.

The systemic and widespread violation of human rights constitutes a serious breach of international law, both conventional and customary, and sets Nicaragua apart from civilized countries obliged to abide by the fundamental principles of international law. The violation of international humanitarian law, including the murder of at least 350 people, the torture of prisoners of conscience, and the persecution of dissident and opposition voices, is well documented.

It also violates universal and regional human rights treaties, including the Pact of San José, regarding the lack of respect for all categories of human rights.

The Ortega-Murillo dictatorship is in breach of several international treaties signed and ratified, among them the UN Conventions on Statelessness. They have turned the country into a factory of stateless persons, whose number grows daily with the de facto denationalized persons who are prevented from returning to the national territory, affecting the countries where they are forced to take refuge.

They have also violated the United Nations (UN) Convention Against Torture and the American Convention, disregarding even the resolutions of the UN Committee Against Torture, with whom they have refused to cooperate.

The Ortega-Murillo regime flagrantly disrespects the Palermo Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. It devised a structure with branches in four continents to promote the illicit trafficking of irregular migrants, through new air routes that transfer them to Managua International Airport, so that from there they continue their journey by land to the southern border of the United States.

In addition, they promote impunity for those responsible for crimes against humanity, whom they have rewarded with promotions in their positions within public institutions, thus denying access to justice to the victims and refusing to promote lawful proceedings in independent courts.

The Ortega-Murillo disregard the fundamental principles contained in the UN Charter, such as that which proscribes the use of force to seize the territory of another state, that of respect for sovereignty and internationally recognized borders, and that which safeguards the obligation on the peaceful coexistence of states. They supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine and recognized territories of Ukraine and Georgia, which Russia has annexed by force. Nicaragua is one of the three countries that recognize and have diplomatic relations with Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Nicaragua repeatedly violates trade union and employer rights and fails to comply with labor rights conventions, especially Convention 87 on freedom of association and the right to organize, which is implemented by the International Labor Organization (ILO).

Nicaragua faces serious environmental challenges, such as deforestation, contamination of water sources, and loss of biodiversity, which are exacerbated by the indiscriminate exploitation of natural resources in protected areas. The increase in mining contributes to the worsening of the environmental crisis and causes the displacement of indigenous communities. Nicaragua rejected the commitments of the Paris  Climate Agreement, a decision that demonstrates its lack of interest in preserving the environment and places the country on the margins of international commitments on environmental protection and human rights.

The regime fails to comply with the guiding principles and aspirations of democracy and human rights, especially those related to guaranteeing a Central American region in peace, democracy, development, and freedom in accordance with the Tegucigalpa Protocol and the Framework Treaty for Democratic Security in Central America. In addition, it intends to instrumentalize the Central American Integration System (SICA), for the benefit of its alignment with extra-regional powers, which would increase the risk of turning the region into a space of international confrontation.

Establishing a dictatorial regime detached from all democratic practices violates democratic clauses contained in trade treaties signed with the European Union (EU) and North America.

They deny the values and principles of international law that ensure the peaceful coexistence of nations, the Ortega-Murillo regime jeopardizes peace, security, and regional stability.

It is for these reasons that the Concertación Democrática Nicaragüense (CDN-Monteverde), is aware that it is the international community that is called upon to safeguard the validity of and respect for international law and in the face of the impunity promoted by the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship, asks the international community to contribute to ensure that those guilty of these crimes against humanity are brought before the different possibilities offered by international justice, before the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court and the jurisdiction of the countries that contemplate the principle of universal jurisdiction.