Nicaragua’s authorities committed crimes against humanity – United Nations

A report by United Nations experts has accused the Nicaraguan state of committing crimes against humanity, BBC World Service reported. The document says the Nicaraguan authorities have carried out enforced disappearances, torture and the arbitrary detention of political opponents as part of a widespread and systemic attack on civilians.

Nicaragua’s co-president Daniel Ortega has been in power for nearly 20 years. In July 2026, he declared an end to competitive elections in the country, explicitly stating it was to stop the opposition from seizing government again. In September, the country’s National Assembly passed constitutional reforms that effectively ban opposition parties from future ballots.

The UN experts noted that Ortega’s announcement two months ago merely underscores what their report documents: the systematic dismantling of rights and freedoms required for democratic governance.

The report highlights “disastrous detention conditions”, a severe lack of medical care, and the extreme vulnerability of victims. It presents 17 illustrative cases of disappearance – out of 161 since 2018 – and names several of the 29 people who remain disappeared.

“Democracy is like a house. Elections are its roof. Human rights and fundamental freedoms are its foundations. Without those foundations, the roof cannot stand,” said Jan-Michael Simon, the group’s chair. “A State that resorts to enforced disappearance and allows persons to die in its custody falls short of the minimum human rights standards required for credible democratic governance.”

The report closely examined the case of Brooklyn Rivera, a 73-year-old former legislator and founder of the YATAMA political party. He was held arbitrarily for nearly three years – including two long periods of enforced disappearance – before authorities announced his death on 31 May 2026.

The experts reviewed five public statements made by the Nicaraguan government during Rivera’s final days, alongside an independent medical review by Physicians for Human Rights. The group concluded that the government’s claims were “mutually inconsistent, medically incoherent in critical respects, and shielded from verification by the absence of any independent investigation or autopsy.” The report added that the state had entirely failed to rebut the legal presumption that it was responsible for his death in custody.

“The Nicaraguan Government took Brooklyn Rivera’s freedom, then his health, then his life,” said Reed Brody, an expert member of the group. “Its explanation for what happened to him is riddled with inconsistencies and undermined by its refusal to allow an independent autopsy and its rush to bury him before his family could even say goodbye.”

The report found that co-president Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, exercised centralised control over the very institutions – police, prisons, and the courts – meant to protect people from such abuses. The document includes diagrams mapping these direct chains of command.

The UN group called on the Nicaraguan government to immediately disclose the fate of the 29 people still missing, unconditionally release all political prisoners, and investigate all deaths in custody. It also demanded that Rivera’s remains be returned to his family for traditional Miskito burial rites.

Finally, the experts urged other nations to prosecute Nicaraguan officials under international law. After nearly four years of investigation, they stressed, the facts are clear: the challenge is no longer to understand the situation, but to respond to it.

Nicaragua has been governed by President Daniel Ortega since 2007, when he returned to power after previously holding office in the 1980s. His wife, Rosario Murillo, has served as vice president since 2017 and was elevated to сo-president following a 2024–2025 constitutional reform that granted the couple joint control over the country’s key institutions. The government has faced international criticism over its suppression of political opposition, restrictions on civil society and the erosion of democratic institutions.

The UN Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua was established by the UN Human Rights Council in March 2022 to investigate alleged human rights violations and abuses in the country. Its latest findings document enforced disappearances, torture, arbitrary detention and other abuses, which the experts say form part of a widespread and systematic attack against civilians.

Keep up with ZMINA on X, Bluesky and LinkedIn – and help us improve by answering a few quick questions here about our English-language coverage.