Nicaragua Rejects IACHR Visit, Prefers “Internal Procedures” First

HAVANA TIMES — The Nicaraguan government rejected the  IACHR’s petition to make a pressing visit to the country in order to investigate the recent violence and protests, where at least 46 people have died, the government claiming that “internal procedures” need to be completed first.

An autonomous body of the OAS, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) asked Daniel Ortega’s government, on April 24th, for permission to visit the country and assess what happened. However, on May 1st, they received the Executive’s response asking for them to “wait for internal procedures to be carried out.”

“In this regard, the State informed that the President has made a call for a national dialogue which is open to every social sector and that the National Assembly has created a “Truth, Justice and Peace Committee,” the IACHR revealed in a statement they issued on Thursday.

IACHR laments Nicaragua’s closed attitude

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has set up a “coordination room and a prompt, comprehensive response” in order to give “special attention to the human rights situation in Nicaragua” and repeated “its request for the State’s consent to them visiting the country urgently.”

“In light of calls made by civil society and the students who protested against the State’s policies, and in complying with its order, the IACHR is explicitly repeating its pressing request for consent to carry out a visit so as to verify what happened, as well as the measures being taken to protect and ensure human rights in the country,” the Commission noted in its statement.

“In accordance with its mandate, the IACHR has been watching Nicaragua close itself off to international scrutiny when it comes to human rights, for years now,” he added.

And he concluded: “the IACHR is making a call to the Nicaragua government to open itself to international scrutiny, which will contribute to building a constructive dialogue process in Nicaragua.”

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OAS needs to address the issue

Anti-government protests in Nicaragua have been going on for 16 days already and there have been at least 46 fatalities, however the Organization of American States (OAS) hasn’t summoned any meetings to address this issue and isn’t planning on organizing one officially for the time being.

According to the organization’s US ambassador, Carlos Trujillo, Washington is working alongside Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Costa Rica, Panama and Canada so that the OAS’ Permanent Council can address this issue.

Human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Freedom House, as well as US senators such as Marco Rubio, have asked that OAS that its Human Rights Commission, the IACHR, investigate the recent deaths in Nicaragua.

The protests in Nicaragua were sparked by public rejection of Ortega’s social security reform decree and have led to a movement against Ortega’s 11 years in power.

Information taken from EFE news agency.

Translated by Habana Times