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The violation of human rights persists in Nicaragua–where many who have taken part in the protests that began in April “have
been forced to hide, have left Nicaragua or are trying to do so”– “requires the adoption of urgent action”. The condemnation emerges from a report published by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, according to which “repression and
retaliation against demonstrators continue in Nicaragua as the world looks away”. According to the UN High Commissioner, Zeid Ra”ad Al Hussein, who as of September will pass this responsibility on to the former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, “The violence and impunity of these past four months have
exposed the fragility of the country”s institutions and the rule of law, and
created a climate of fear and mistrust”.
An immediate and unyielding reply came from Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, who criticized the United Nations, defining it as a “blind” and “biased” organization for
having published a report that is to be “completely” rejected for the way that
it “presents a preconceived analysis of all that has happened since 18 April”.
The protests, which have caused about a hundred deaths and wounded thousands,
appear to the government of Managua as an attempted coup, and have been rejected. “Nicaragua”, continued Ortega, did not invite the delegation of the office of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights to come to observe human rights, nor does the resolution of the General Assembly 48/141
invoked in this precipitous relationship concede this option. He concluded by
saying the delegation went beyond the limits of its mission.
For his part, Al Hussein insisted on the
necessity of intervening as quickly as possible, and invited “the Human Rights Council…to take concrete action to prevent the current crisis from descending into deeper social and political turmoil”.
