From World Movement for Democracy

As the crisis in Nicaragua reaches nearly a year, the World Movement remains heartened by actions taken by the international community to defend Nicaraguan citizens. Since protests broke out in April 2018, the World Movement has issued several Democracy Alerts concerning the crisis in Nicaragua. To learn more about the past year’s events, read our Alerts on violence against peaceful protesters in April, targeted attacks against civil society leaders, and the recent shuttering of NGOs and independent media organizations. More recently:

On December 28, 2018, the World Movement Steering Committee Chairperson and former United Nations (UN) Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict Zainab Bangura issued a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calling for concrete action towards the government of Nicaragua in defense of democracy and fundamental freedoms. In the letter, she reminds him: “The lives and dignity of thousands of people, as well as the defense of citizenship, civil society, and democratic institutions, not only of Nicaragua, but of the entire region, depend on this.” Read the full letter here.

In late January 2019, World Movement Steering Committee member Ana Gomes led a European Parliament special mission to meet with Nicaraguan political prisoners, journalists, and civil society members. While there, she published interviews with political prisoners at La Esperanza women’s prison. She notes on Twitter, “[Are they] broken by being thrown in jail by the #Murillo-Ortega regime? NO! They are ever stronger, these brave women.” The videos are available in Spanish here.

The trip follows a letter sent earlier this month by 31 Members of European Parliament (MEPs) to Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, thanking her for speaking out against Ortega government’s repressive measures. The letter noted that “it is clear that the government does not intend to engage in, or even permit the presence of, ‘dialogue on justice and democracy’…[and]…further action must be taken.” We hope the international community will continue to speak out on behalf of Nicaraguans whose voices have been silenced by this repressive government.

On January 6, 2019, a coalition of 72 Nicaraguan social and political movements outlined the crisis and requested help from the international community. You can read their letter here.