{"id":29541,"date":"2021-12-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-10T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/csw-yeo.1wp.site\/press\/csw-welcomes-organisation-of-american-states-resolution-on-human-rights-in-5505\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T19:05:24","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T18:05:24","slug":"csw-welcomes-organisation-of-american-states-resolution-on-human-rights-in-5505","status":"publish","type":"press","link":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/press\/csw-welcomes-organisation-of-american-states-resolution-on-human-rights-in-5505\/","title":{"rendered":"CSW welcomes Organisation of American States resolution on human rights in Nicaragua"},"content":{"rendered":"
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CSW welcomes a resolution<\/a> on the human rights situation in Nicaragua, adopted by the Permanent Council of the Organisation of American States (OAS) in a special meeting held on 8 December.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It comes amidst growing international scrutiny and pressure on the Nicaraguan government to promote democracy, to release all political prisoners and to grant justice to all victims of the human rights crisis that began in April 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The resolution urges the Government of Nicaragua \u201cto urgently and as a first step, release all political prisoners\u201d. The document also included a call for \u201cthe immediate return of international human rights bodies, such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights\u201d to the country<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The OAS Secretary-General Luis Almagro is mandated by the resolution to \u201curgently seek a meeting with the Government of Nicaragua in order to convey this decision and to secure the Government of Nicaragua\u2019s commitment to accepting a high-level good offices mission to undertake the steps set out in this Resolution.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The concerns expressed in the resolution are consistent with research by CSW and numerous other human rights organisations. In its 2021 annual report, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommended<\/a> that the US State Department retain Nicaragua on a Special Watch List \u201cfor engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Religious leaders who stand up for human rights in the country have faced harassment, arbitrary detention, physical violence and threats, while foreign religious leaders have had their residence visas arbitrarily cancelled or have been prevented from returning to the country. CSW has received reports that church services and special celebrations have been surrounded or arbitrarily cancelled by police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two of the many political prisoners and opposition leaders detained by the Nicaraguan government in recent months include Pastor Wilber Alberto P\u00e9rez and Edgard Francisco Parrales Castillo, a former priest and the former Nicaraguan ambassador to the OAS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 15 December 2020, Protestant Pastor Wilber Alberto P\u00e9rez was kidnapped for promoting the \u2018Navidad sin Presos Pol\u00edticos\u2019\/\u2019Christmas without Political Prisoners<\/a>\u2019 campaign. In March 2021, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH), on 22 November 2021, Edgard Francisco Parrales Castillo (79), was detained outside his home in Los Robles neighbourhood in the capital city of Managua, by two men dressed in civilian clothing, following criticisms he made about President Daniel Ortega\u2019s decision to withdraw Nicaragua from the OAS. He is currently being held in Managua in the \u2018Direcci\u00f3n De Auxilio Judicial\u2019 (Judicial Assistance Department), commonly referred to as \u2018El nuevo Chipote\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CSW\u2019s Head of Advocacy Anna Lee Stangl said: \u201cCSW welcomes increased attention to human rights abuses in Nicaragua at the OAS and reiterate calls for the release of Edgard Parrales and Pastor Wilber Alberto P\u00e9rez, and all political prisoners unjustly detained in the country. In addition, we remain concerned by the broader deterioration of human rights, including the right to freedom of expression, which has taken place in Nicaragua. The OAS and other international human rights bodies can play a vital role in holding the Nicaraguan government to its international human rights obligations. We reiterate the recommendations made in yesterday\u2019s resolution, and encourage the international community to strengthen mechanisms to monitor human rights violations across Nicaragua and maintain pressure on the government.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notes to Editors<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n
  1. The resolution<\/a> recalled all previous resolutions made since 2018 that expressed grave concern about the deterioration of democratic conditions in Nicaragua and its failure to comply with Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n
  2. The resolution, \u201cThe situation in Nicaragua\u201d, was adopted the 51st<\/sup> regular session of the OAS General Assembly on 12 November. It declared that the Nicaraguan presidential elections held on 7 November had \u201cno democratic legitimacy,\u201d and instructed the Permanent Council to assess the situation in accordance with the OAS Charter and the Inter-American Democratic Charter. This collective assessment was held on 29 November.<\/li>\n\n\n
  3. On 19 November, following the 12 November resolution, the Government of Nicaragua announced its decision to withdraw from the OAS. However, the 8 December resolution stipulates that despite the denunciation, Nicaragua is still bound by its obligations to the OAS and the Inter-American Democratic Charter, and it also has a duty to abide by its international human rights obligations.<\/li>\n\n\n
  4. Featured image credits: Facebook\/Nicaragua y el mundo<\/a><\/em>and Twitter\/@DinoAndinoE<\/a><\/em><\/li>\n\n<\/ol>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    CSW welcomes a resolution on the human rights situation in Nicaragua, adopted by the Permanent Council of the Organisation of American States (OAS) in a special meeting held on 8 December.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":43678,"template":"","categories":[],"regions":[137,142],"class_list":["post-29541","press","type-press","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","regions-latin-america","regions-nicaragua"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press\/29541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press\/29541\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40125,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press\/29541\/revisions\/40125"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29541"},{"taxonomy":"regions","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/regions?post=29541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}