On September 21, 2026, Colectivo 46/2 participated in an interactive dialogue at the United Nations Human Rights Council regarding the latest report by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the situation in Nicaragua. The OHCHR report, covering the period from June 15, 2025, to June 15, 2026, warns of the intensifying dismantling of democratic institutions and the rule of law, alongside a growing concentration of power and the closure of civic space.
Systematic Dismantling and Civic Closure
The document highlights that over the past eight years, 5,539 organizations have been arbitrarily dissolved, and at least 56 media outlets have been closed. The Office documented forced disappearances, deaths under state custody, and grave detention conditions. It cautioned that the actual scale of violations may be higher due to fear of reprisals, lack of country access, and non-cooperation by authorities. Furthermore, the report alerts to the expansion of transnational violence, including threats, surveillance, assassinations, arbitrary entry denials, and economic retaliation against journalists, defenders, and perceived opponents.
International Concern and Joint Statement
A joint interregional statement by 47 States expressed concern over the concentration of power and institutional dismantling, reiterating support for free, plural, and transparent elections. The statement also voiced alarm over the persecution of opponents inside and outside the country, specifically citing the death of Brooklyn Rivera under state custody. Delegates called for cooperation with international human rights mechanisms and the release of all arbitrarily detained individuals. Countries including Chile, Paraguay, Brazil, New Zealand, Georgia, Uruguay, Romania, the Czech Republic, Germany, and the United Kingdom raised issues regarding arbitrary detentions, torture, and other forms of persecution.
Colectivo 46/2 Findings on Detainees and Indigenous Rights
Organizations within Colectivo 46/2 emphasized the lethal risks of arbitrary detentions and forced disappearances, noting this pattern has become predominant. They reported that at least 60 people are imprisoned for political reasons, with 23 currently missing, including two minors. The collective highlighted the gendered dimension of repression, documenting 290 arbitrary arrests, 98 prosecutions, and 58 forced disappearances of women defenders since 2018, alongside hundreds of displacements and 559 cases of migratory repression.
Attention was also drawn to indigenous and Afro-descendant territories, where mining concessions are expanding and violence is escalating among Mayangna communities due to land occupation and lack of prior consultation guarantees. Eight Mayangna park rangers and four indigenous leaders are currently held in arbitrary detention.
Call to Action
Colectivo 46/2, comprising 23 national and international organizations, urged the international community to maintain sustained scrutiny, support human rights mechanisms, and demand an end to all forms of repression. The coalition called for the immediate release of detainees, clarification on the whereabouts of the disappeared, and measures ensuring truth, justice, reparation, and protection for victims.
This report was produced by the HuMedia newsroom.
