CP/RES. 1110 (2182/18)

RECENT EVENTS IN NICARAGUA

(Adopted by the Permanent Council at its special meeting of September 12, 2018)

THE PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES,

BEARING IN MIND the principles enshrined in the Charter of the Organization of American States, the Inter-American Democratic Charter, the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man, the American Convention on Human Rights, of which Nicaragua is a state party;

RECALLING Article 1 of the Inter American Democratic Charter which states that the peoples of the Americas have a right to democracy and their governments have an obligation to promote and defend it and that democracy is essential for their social, political, and economic development;

REAFFIRMING the Declaration of Support for the People of Nicaragua [AG/DEC. 97 (XLIII-O/18)], adopted by the OAS General Assembly on June 5, 2018;

TAKING NOTE of the Council’s resolution CP/RES. 1108, “The Situation in Nicaragua,” of July 18, 2018, in which the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) was invited to keep the Permanent Council informed as to the functioning of the mechanisms specifically established by the IACHR to monitor the human rights situation in Nicaragua and the follow-up of the implementation of recommendations contained in the report of the IACHR, and which requests the IACHR and the OAS Department for Electoral Cooperation and Observation (DECO), the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the OAS Secretary General and the European Union to support the work of the Verification and Security Commission;

TAKING NOTE ALSO of the Council’s resolution establishing the “Working Group on Nicaragua,” CP/RES.1109 (2175/18) of August 2, 2018, whose mandate is to contribute to the search for peaceful and sustainable solutions to the evolving situation in Nicaragua, including through consultations with the Government of Nicaragua;

UNDERSCORING the importance of the work being conducted by entities such as the IACHR and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights in that country, and OAS member states’ collective commitment under Article 8 of the Inter American Democratic Charter to strengthen the inter-American System for the protection of human rights and the consolidation of democracy in the Hemisphere;

TAKING NOTE of the informational session of the United Nations Security Council regarding “Cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations in the maintenance of peace and security, the situation in Nicaragua,” held on September 5, 2018; and

TAKING NOTE ALSO of the joint statement of the Working Group on Nicaragua of the Permanent Council and the OAS Secretary General, of August 31, 2018,

RESOLVES:

1. To reaffirm its strong condemnation regarding acts of violence, repression and human rights violations and abuses committed by police, parapolice groups and others against the people of Nicaragua documented in the recent reports of the IACHR and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights.
2. To urge the Government of Nicaragua to take immediate steps to investigate the violations and abuses documented in those reports and take effective steps to bring the perpetrators to justice and grant reparations to victims where appropriate, in a framework respectful of rule of law.
3. To urge the Government of Nicaragua to comply with its commitment to facilitate and provide necessary assistance to the IACHR and specifically with the Special Follow-up Mechanism for Nicaragua (MESENI) and the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI) by giving them access to and providing them with information necessary for the proper implementation of their mandates; the same to be granted to with the relevant departments of the OAS General Secretariat including the Department of Electoral Cooperation and Observation (DECO).
4. To express its deep concern over the decision of the Government of Nicaragua to withdraw the invitation to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and urge it to re-establish cooperation with that Office so that it can continue with its constructive work in that country.
5. To call for the development of conditions allowing for the re-establishment of a committed dialogue in good faith between the parties, and to urge the Government of Nicaragua to support an electoral calendar jointly agreed to in the context of the National Dialogue process.
6. To express its regret over the refusal of the Government of Nicaragua to cooperate with the Permanent Council and its Working Group and to urge it to reconsider this decision with a view to seeking peaceful and sustainable solutions to the situation in Nicaragua.
7. To call upon Member and Observer States to implement, in accordance with their respective legal frameworks and applicable international law, appropriate diplomatic measures to assist in the restoration of rule of law and the protection of human rights in Nicaragua.
8. To express the willingness of the Permanent Council to continue monitoring the situation in Nicaragua and consider all possible measures in order to support the search for peaceful and effective solutions to the crisis faced in Nicaragua.

CP39700E04E04

http://scm.oas.org/doc_public/english/hist_18/cp39700e06.doc

Video of the special meeting 12 September 2018. The video is not available in English. Auto generated Spanish subtitles are available in ‘Settings’ on Youtube: