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B9-0315/2022
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MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the instrumentalisation of justice as a repressive tool in Nicaragua

7.6.2022 - (2022/2701(RSP))

with request for inclusion in the agenda for a debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law
pursuant to Rule 144 of the Rules of Procedure

Raffaele Fitto, Anna Fotyga, Karol Karski, Hermann Tertsch, Adam Bielan, Angel Dzhambazki, Assita Kanko, Bogdan Rzońca, Elżbieta Kruk, Elżbieta Rafalska, Eugen Jurzyca, Nicola Procaccini, Ryszard Czarnecki, Valdemar Tomaševski, Veronika Vrecionová, Vincenzo Sofo, Witold Jan Waszczykowski, Zbigniew Kuźmiuk, Charlie Weimers
on behalf of the ECR Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B9-0293/2022

Eljárás : 2022/2701(RSP)
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B9‑0315/2022

European Parliament resolution on on the instrumentalisation of justice as a repressive tool in Nicaragua

(2022/2701(RSP))

The European Parliament,

  having regard to its previous resolutions on Nicaragua,

  having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948,

  having regard to the statement by High Representative Joseph Borrell of 15 August 2021,

  having regard to the statement by Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of 23 June 2021 and 20 November 2021,

  having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in Nicaragua of 8 December 2021, 16 December 2021,

  having regard to the joint statement by 59 countries on Nicaragua of 22 June 2021 adopted at the 47th session of the UN Human Rights Council,

  having regards to the statement by UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Liz Throssell of 9 May 2022,

  having regards to the statement by UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif of 14 December 2021,

  having regard to the statements by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet at the 48th session of the Human Rights Council of 13 September 2021,

  having regards to the Nicaragua country reports by the Office of High Commissioner of Human Rights of 1 July 2018, 17 September 2019, and 11 February 2021,

  having regards to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966,

  having regards to EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders of June 2004, as updated in 2008,

  having regards to declarations on Nicaragua by the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on behalf of the EU, that of 8 November 2021 on the elections in Nicaragua,

  having regards to the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups, and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms adopted by the UN General Assembly on 9 December 1998,

  having regard to Rule 144 of its Rules of Procedure,

 

  1. Whereas Daniel Ortega has been the incumbent President of Nicaragua for 16 years following  and has abolished term limits for the office;
  2. Whereas Daniel Ortega continues to centralize political power around himself, his family, and small number of loyalists; whereas he has made his wife Rosario Murillo the vice president and appointed his children into high-ranking offices;
  3. Whereas Ortega enjoyed much support from Venezuela; whereas the collapse of the Venezuelan economy in 2018 caused support to the Nicaraguan dictatorship to be cut or suspended; whereas protests to these changes were met with state sanctioned violence; 
  4. Whereas despite holding presidential elections every five years they are fraught with claims of fraud; whereas no international observers have been able to observe the election and the free press is heavily restricted and censored;
  5. whereas the IACHR of the OAS has denounced  any of the constitutional reforms that have completely  systematically moulded the Nicaraguan state’s institutional structure to ensure total control of power  to the Sandinista National Liberation Front, undermining the concepts of democracy and the rule of law ; whereas, according to the IACHR, the laws and reforms approved since 2018 are part of a strategy to continuously intensify repression measures against  those opposed to the government official decisions, especially in the context of arbitrary actions by the administrative and judicial bodies,   inhibiting public debate and democratic participation;
  6. whereas the lack of separation of powers and the complete control of the institutions by the Nicaraguan government has  resulted in the subjugation of the judiciary and the Office of the Attorney General to the regime’s will,  obliterating the rule of law and judicial independence;
  7. Whereas during the 2021 elections many pre-candidates running for office were arrested and or detained; whereas this conduct was already seen during the 2018 Nicaraguan elections; whereas opposition politicians, activists, human rights defenders, and journalists have also been arrested and or detained; whereas the Nicaraguan regime has persistently criminalized and persecuted individuals critical of the regime;  whereas a report carried out by Urnas Abiertas, a citizen observatory for the monitoring of the electoral process in Nicaragua, has for the time between 1st October 2020 and 7th November 2021 reported  2.044 acts of political violence in the electoral context; whereas 97,21% (1.987) of  these crimes were committed individually or by groups against citizens in general, men and women in the press, or members of organisations and political parties, whilst the  remaining 2,79% (57) were institutional acts, i.e. violence against organisations, the media or political parties;
  8. whereas the report also points out that the electoral period was marked by judicial persecution against opponents, with 216 cases of prosecution recorded, including summons by the Public Prosecutor's Office and/or the National Police, judicial accusations, convictions, among others. In the period observed, 136 arbitrary arrests were made; whereas at least 191 acts were reportedly of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, some even amounting to torture, against detainees; whereas by February 2022, the Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners counted 168 people suffering political imprisonment, including 7 presidential aspirants; whereas the main aggressors identified being: the National Police, paramilitary or para-police groups, the Public Prosecutor's Office, the judiciary (more than 13 judges close to the dictatorship known to be responsible for many political prisoners’ incarcerations) and sympathisers of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN);
  9.   whereas to date the regime has continued its detentions of political opposition leaders, such as Yubrank Suazo who was captured in the city of Masaya “illegally, arbitrarily and violently in his house”, according to the civil organization Alianza Cívica por la Justicia y la Democracia; whereas the regime has also accelerated its sentencing and prosecution of political opponents,  e.g. the case of Cristina Chamorro, the daughter of former president Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, sentenced to up to 13 years of prison for allegedly “undermine national security”; whereas Mrs. Chamoro was one of many in a series of numerous detentions against opposition leaders, including seven potential presidential candidates, who tried to confront Ortega’s re-election on November 2021 fraud elections;
  10.   whereas many political prisoners are kept incommunicado for up to 8 months; whereas many political prisoners are kept in environments that are degrading both physically and mentally; whereas these arrests and detainment are in blatant violation with the international human rights standards;
  11. Whereas trials for political prisoners are carried out with no transparency; whereas recently harsher punishments have been served; whereas these trials have violated the Nicaraguan penal code by ignoring the presumption of innocence’ clause ; whereas the Office of the Prosecutor publicly stated the need to detain “criminal” and “offenders” in reference to political prisoners;
  12. whereas in 2022, the regime has  upheld  the detentions of political opposition leaders, such as Yubrank Suazo who was reported to have been “illegally, arbitrarily and violently” arrested in his house  in the city of Masaya ; whereas the regime has furthermore accelerated its sentencing and prosecuting of political opponents
  13. Whereas the regime continues to hold many political prisoners in inhuman conditions;
  14. Whereas the continued crackdown and repression has caused thousands of Nicaraguans to flee the country; Whereas the arrest of opposition members has caused the National Assembly of the Republic of Nicaragua to be occupied primarily by deputies loyal to Ortega; whereas this has allowed Ortega to institutionalize oppression;
  15. Whereas recently Ortega ordered over 145 associations and NGO’s and 12 universities to shut down this year only; whereas his domination in parliament allowed this mandate to pass without debate or a single vote in rejection; Whereas Ortega has accused these NGOs of receiving foreign funds to launch the U.S. backed coup; whereas Ortega labelled these institutions as “foreign agents”  ;
  16. whereas the Nicaraguan regime unilaterally ordered the shutdown of an international organization facility, the office of the OAS in Managua, sending police forces armed with machine guns;
  17. whereas Nicaragua and Cuba are the only countries in Latin America that have not yet ratified the Rome Statute, clearly demonstrating their lack of commitment to peace and security;
  18. whereas the Nicaraguan dictatorship has been consistently supported by other dictatorships like Cuba and Venezuela and other members of the Foro de Sao Paulo and the Grupo de Puebla; whereas the Foro de Sao Paulo y Grupo de Puebla are two multilateral organizations with many members linked to Russia’s activities in Latin America;

 

  1. Strongly condemns the actions of the Nicaraguan authorities against the opposition parties, media, journalists, other media workers, human rights defenders, and civil society. This includes the systematic detention and arrest of the political presidential candidates and all the opposition leaders.
  2. Calls for justice based on the misuse of the judicial system including the exclusion of candidates from the elections and the arbitrary delisting of opposition parties, which constitutes a violation of the basic democratic principles and a serious violation of the rights of the Nicaraguan people under the Nicaraguan Constitution and International law.
  3. Condemns the actions performed by the Nicaraguan government to further undermine the credibility of the electoral process, already hampered by electoral reform. The electoral reform fell short of the recommendations of the OAS and the EU Electoral Observation Missions.
  4. Calls for the immediate and unconditional release of the potential candidates: Cristina Chamorro, Arturo Cruz, Félix Maradiaga, and Juan Sebastián Chamorro, and the opposition leaders José Adán Aguerri, José Pallais, and Violeta Granera, and all other political prisoners. Underlines that  only the people of Nicaragua should have the right to choose their representatives through a credible, inclusive, and transparent process, which  should be done without interference from the authorities.
  5. Calls for the Nicaraguan government to release all prisoners and annul all the legal proceedings against them including their sentences. Urges the government to be held accountable for ensuring that conditions of detention comply with its international human rights obligations and within the UN standards Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners -the Mandela Rules.
  6. Condemns the death of Hugo Torres due to harsh detention and notes that on February 12th some of the elderly and ailing detainees have been assigned to house arrest.
  7. Expresses its support to the Nicaraguan citizens protesting against the Ortega-Murillo regime; Stresses that the Nicaraguan people deserve to enjoy the freedoms and rights that are respected in a democracy. calls for the restoration of their rightful legal status to the opposition parties that were arbitrarily banned.
  8. Deplores that the Nicaraguan authorities have repealed restrictive laws, including the law on the regulation of foreign agents. Stresses that International human rights bodies must be authorized to return to Nicaragua, including the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). Regrets the lack of cooperation Nicaragua has shown with regional and international human rights mechanisms
  9. Requests to include in the list of sanctions of the European Council the list of judges involved in the political sentences that have put Ortega's opponents in jail.
  10. Requests to activate the political clauses of the Association Agreement between the EU and Central America, to which Nicaragua is a party, that foresee the suspension of a country not complying with human rights, democracy and the rule of law, to prevent Nicaragua from continuing to enjoy its benefits;
  11. Calls on Member States and the UN Security Council, in accordance with Articles 13 and 14 of the Rome Statute, to open a formal investigation through the International Criminal Court into Nicaragua and Daniel Ortega for crimes against humanity under Article 7 of the Rome Statute, which the Nicaraguan state and Daniel Ortega himself are responsible for: murder, deportation or forcible transfer of people, imprisonment or other deprivation of physical liberty violating fundamental rules of international law, torture, rape or any other form of sexual violence of comparable severity, political persecution, enforced disappearances and other inhuman acts; underlines that these acts are part of a state policy carried out by Daniel Ortega’s dictatorship and have been stepped up since April 2018;
  12. Calls on the EU and its Member States to closely monitor the situation on the ground through their local representatives and embassies in Nicaragua, to enable the issuance of emergency visas and to provide temporary refuge for political reasons in the Member States;
  13. Is deeply concerned about the human rights situation and in particular instances of prosecution based violence, threats, aggression, against persons belonging to the Atlantic Coast communities throughout the last year.
  14. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Secretary-General of the Organization of American States, the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly, the Central American Parliament, the Lima Group, and the Government and Parliament of the Republic of Nicaragua.
Utolsó frissítés: 2022. június 7.
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