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having regard to its previous resolutions on Nicaragua, in particular those of 16 December 2021 (1), 8 July 2021 (2), 8 October 2020, 19 December 2019 (3), 14 March 2019 (4) and 31 May 2018 (5),

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having regard to the statements by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on behalf of the EU of 15 August 2021, 8 November 2021 and 14 March 2022,

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having regard to the statements by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights at the 48th and 49th sessions of the Human Rights Council and to her annual report on the situation of human rights in Nicaragua of 7 March 2022,

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having regard to the statements by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of 23 June 2021, 20 November 2021 and 11 February 2022,

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

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

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having regard to the Agreement establishing an Association between the European Union and its Member States, on the one hand, and Central America on the other (Association Agreement between the EU and Central America),

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having regard to the Council regulations and decisions concerning restrictive measures against serious human rights violations and abuses in Nicaragua,

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having regard to the American Convention on Human Rights of 1969 (Pact of San José),

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having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Nelson Mandela Rules), the UN Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-Custodial Measures for Women Offenders (Bangkok Rules) and the Vienna Convention,

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having regard to Resolution A/HRC/49/L.20 on the promotion and protection of human rights in Nicaragua adopted on 31 March 2022 by the UN Human Rights Council,

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having regard to the Constitution of the Republic of Nicaragua,

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having regard to Rule 144(5) and 132(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.

whereas since April 2018, a framework of state repression has been installed in Nicaragua by the Ortega-Murillo regime, marked by systemic impunity for human rights violations, the deterioration of institutions and the rule of law, and the implementation of an orchestrated strategy with the clear connivance of the judiciary, which aims to silence any dissenting voices;

B.

whereas since 2018, the Nicaraguan authorities have carried out systematic and targeted incarceration, harassment and intimidation of political opponents, the opposition, student and rural leaders, journalists, human rights defenders, business representatives, and artists, who have repeatedly faced death threats, intimidation, online defamation campaigns, harassment, surveillance, assault, judicial persecution and arbitrary deprivation of liberty; whereas, despite these numerous risks, journalists and other human rights defenders continue to perform an essential role in monitoring the situation of human rights and freedoms in Nicaragua;

C.

whereas, in recent years, the Ortega-Murillo regime has adopted and applied an increasingly repressive regulatory framework;

D.

whereas to date at least 182 political opponents are being held in prison in inhumane conditions that do not comply with international human rights obligations such as the Nelson Mandela rules, according to the Special Follow-up Mechanism for Nicaragua (MESENI); whereas seven of these political prisoners were presidential pre-candidates for the 2021 elections; whereas critics of the Nicaraguan regime have been subjected to systematic abuses during detention, including inhumane, humiliating and degrading treatment amounting to torture, which has led to the death of political prisoner and former rebel leader Hugo Torres, among others; whereas the Nicaraguan authorities have also harassed the families and relatives of political prisoners, who have suffered persecution and threats;

E.

whereas the lack of separation of powers and the complete control of the institutions by the Nicaraguan regime has resulted in the subjugation of the judiciary and the Office of the Public Prosecutor to the regime’s will, obliterating the rule of law, judicial independence and civil society organisations, and therefore democracy, in order to establish a dictatorship in Nicaragua;

F.

whereas Nicaraguan courts have handed down guilty verdicts and harsh sentences to any dissenting voices after closed-door trials which failed to uphold basic fair trial guarantees;

G.

whereas the judges and prosecutors in these trials have consistently violated due process; whereas the presumption of innocence was violated by the Office of the Public Prosecutor in a public note;

H.

whereas the continued crackdown and repression has forced thousands of Nicaraguans to flee the country; whereas similar patterns of repression are being observed where attacks on freedom of expression have intensified; whereas threats by the Public Prosecutor’s Office against several journalists and media workers have prompted many of them to leave Nicaragua to seek protection;

I.

whereas in 2022, the Ortega-Murillo regime banned almost 400 non-profit organisations, depriving them of their legal status; whereas the Catholic Church has also been the victim of the Ortega-Murillo regime, as have the Nicaraguan Academy of Language, members of indigenous communities and other minority groups, among others;

J.

whereas the Ortega-Murillo regime violated international law, especially the Vienna Convention, by storming the headquarters and occupying the premises of the Organization of American States, which was expelled from Nicaragua on 25 April 2022;

K.

whereas, following a strongly supported initiative organised by civil society, the UN Human Rights Council established a Group of Human Rights Experts to conduct thorough and independent investigations into all alleged human rights violations and abuses committed since April 2018, including their gender dimension; whereas both the EU and the US have imposed sanctions on Nicaragua;

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