STATEMENT BY THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE STATE OF NICARAGUA
179TH REGULAR SESSION OF THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
HEARING: "IMPACT OF COLONIZATION ON INDIGENOUS TERRITORIES OF THE ATLANTIC COAST IN NICARAGUA".
March 18, 2021, 12:00 noon
Wendy Morales Urbina
Attorney General of the Republic
Honorable members of the Commission, ladies and gentlemen representatives of the petitioning organizations, on behalf of the Government of Reconciliation and National Unity (GRUN) of Nicaragua, headed by President Comandante Daniel Ortega Saavedra and Vice President Rosario Murillo, thank you for the opportunity to present to you the great progress we have achieved in terms of the Human Rights of Indigenous and Afro-descendant Peoples in the various territories of the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast.
The Political Constitution of Nicaragua establishes as principles of the nation, the recognition of the original and afro-descendant peoples, of their own identity, their organizational forms, their different authorities and the forms of election of the same; in addition to communal or collective property of their territories.
Additionally, the State of Nicaragua has created and is implementing a series of laws and decrees that strengthen these elements defined by the Constitution, such as the Statute of Autonomy of the Regions of the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua; Law for a Communal Property Regime of the indigenous peoples and communities of the Autonomous Regions of the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua; The Law of Languages of the Indigenous Peoples, Law for Dignified and Equitable Treatment of Indigenous and Afro-descendant Peoples; the Law of Municipalities and its reforms, as well as also having incorporated via sectoral laws aspects that strengthen the rights of the Indigenous and afro-descendant peoples such as the general laws of Education, Health, Environment, forestry, fishing, water, among others.
It has also approved decrees such as the regulations of the Autonomy Statute of the Autonomous Regions, which define specific mechanisms for participation, administration of programs and projects, as well as natural resources by indigenous and afro-descendant peoples' communities, and the decree creating the Inter-institutional Commission for the Defense of Mother Earth in indigenous territories linked to the monitoring of the land titling process of indigenous and afro-descendant peoples .
Likewise, Nicaragua has adopted International Instruments relating to the rights of Indigenous Peoples such as the ILO Convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of 1989 and the Universal Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the United Nations, of which it was a co-sponsor, thus affirming the country's commitment to the recognition of the rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Since the founding of the Nicaraguan State, no government has shown the unquestionable will to fulfill the aspiration for justice and the historical demands of our sisters and brothers of the communities of the Indigenous and Afro-descendant Peoples of Nicaragua's Caribbean Coast, as this Government is doing, which is achieving the objectives of sustainable development, within its Christian and Solidarity model, to transform Nicaragua into a just and inclusive society, for all social sectors and for the common good. This model is based on inclusion, redistribution, participation, protagonism, empowerment and voluntary commitment. In this sense, in the case of the Autonomous Regions of the Caribbean Coast, it does so through the implementation of the Strategy and Development Plan of the Caribbean Coast and the Upper Wangki and Bocay, an instrument that is part of the Human Development Plan of Nicaragua.
This instrument, created from the aspirations and dreams of the inhabitants of the autonomous regions, takes up elements of Nicaragua's Political Constitution and laws where those aspirations are established as the legal framework of reference of the rights of the Indigenous and Afro-descendant Peoples at both national and international level; and defines specific actions to transform the reality of the Nicaraguan Caribbean, which in the past was characterized by exclusion, marginalization and abandonment. The combination of political will, the development of a coherent strategy and the restitution of the rights of indigenous and afro-descendant peoples are the three pillars on which the actions of our government in the Caribbean Coast are based. In that regard, we can mention some actions:
The restitution of individual and collective rights in health, with the implementation of the intercultural health model of the regions that incorporates the active participation through community networks and via the ancestral knowledge of the native peoples in the different levels of health care, thus ensuring greater access and health coverage. Nicaragua has created health care sectors for the Caribbean Coast, especially where communities of indigenous and afro-descendant peoples are located. The sectors are defined on the basis of the traditional organization of the indigenous peoples and incorporate sukias, healers, midwives and traditional doctors as the main protagonists in the extension of health care cover, in coordination with units of the Ministry of Health.
In the same way, the right to free education with equity, quality and human warmth has been guaranteed, the inclusive educational system has been strengthened, respecting local languages and the cosmovision of the native peoples, in addition to access to preschool, primary and secondary education through the Regional Autonomous Educational Subsystem, which has as fundamental strands interculturalism and bilingualism, scientific, technical and humanistic preparation, strengthening the cultural and linguistic identity of the Native and Afro-descendant Peoples; In terms of higher education, there are two Community Universities, and different agreements have been established with the rest of the Public Universities to guarantee more access and opportunities to the young graduates of the secondary schools of Nicaragua's Caribbean Coast.
Significant progress has been made in guaranteeing land communications through the construction of roads using hydraulic concrete, productive roads unprecedented in the history of the Caribbean Coast; in urban and rural electrification, in improving access to communications, in reducing the gap in access to safe water in urban and rural areas, among other things.
Additionally, this process has meant progress in the recognition of the territorial rights of indigenous and afro-descendant peoples through the titling of 100% of the applications submitted by representatives of indigenous and afro-descendant peoples. The Government of Nicaragua has restored the territorial rights to 23 original territories, comprising 304 ancestral communities, 39,531 families, equivalent to 227,185 people; 37,841 km² of titled territories, which corresponds to 31.16% of the national territory.
With the progress in the titling of the lands of the Indigenous and Afro-descendant Peoples, a fundamental element has been the establishment of the Indigenous Territorial Governments, in each of the 23 titled territories, with whom actions have been organized and developed to guarantee their governance. The form of election of the indigenous territorial governments is through territorial assemblies with the participation of the leaders of the communities that make up each territory. The representatives of the Indigenous Territorial Governments were the ones who represented the communities during the stages of diagnosis, conflict resolution, demarcation and titling of the lands, together with the state institutions members of the National Commission of Demarcation and Titling. This process consisted of more than 500 conflict resolution sessions, multiple mediation meetings, installation of boundary markers in each of the boundaries of all the territories in consensus with neighboring territories, among others. It was a process that involved the leadership of all the communities of native and afro-descendant peoples.
On the other hand, the law of demarcation and titling of lands defined that the State would allocate financial resources viathe General Budget of the Republic, and on that score since 2009 the government has ensured these resources through budget allocation, in addition to 25% of taxes on the use of natural resources that are exploited in their territories.
In addition, the territorial governments and State institutions have developed actions to strengthen communication mechanisms by holding periodic coordination and planning meetings for state intervention in each of the territories and their communities. When public or private investment projects or programs are developed, the representatives of the Territorial Governments organize, together with the State and the representatives of the communities involved, the approval processes through free, prior and informed consent. This process guarantees the full participation of the representatives of the native peoples every time school or health infrastructure is built or electricity is installed in the community; similarly when a private company promotes investment. If the private initiative or public investment does not have the consent and approval of the community and the representation of the territory, it is not approved. The Territorial Governments replaced the associations and non-governmental organizations that in the past represented these communities.
One of the challenges is the remediation stage, linked to the presence of third parties on indigenous lands. Each territory has defined a process linked to this stage and it is different in each case. For example, the territory of Karata, in the Municipality of Puerto Cabezas, in the Northern Caribbean, which includes the city of Bilwi, has defined a process of leasing for all those who are not descendants of the families of the communities that make up the territory. This process has been in place for more than 100 years and does not generate major conflict. The Li Lamni territory, in the municipality of Waspam, has defined the establishment of forest wardens as a protection measure to prevent the presence of non-indigenous people in their lands. On the other hand, the territories of Mayangna Sauni Arumka in the municipalities of Rosita and Bonanza or Amasau in the municipality of Waspam have established a manual for the implementation of the remediation stage that includes several procedures to regulate third parties within their territories. In the case of Wangky Maya, in the municipality of Waspam, no actions have been established because there is no presence of third parties on their lands.
Additionally, the State, at the request of the different territorial governments, has developed actions that strengthen the governance of the territories, such as patrolling in the Cerro Saslaya National Park, Cerro Banacruz Natural Reserve, Cerro Cola Blanca Natural Reserve, for the eradication of semi-industrial mining in open air alluvial water resources, through the retention of 10 excavators and the prosecution of 10 miners of Colombian and Dominican origin. As a result of the security activity in the countryside and in order to avoid impunity for these crimes affecting indigenous communities, the criminal justice system has recently heard, prosecuted and convicted 18 cases related to land conflicts in indigenous communities and related crimes, of which 22 people have been charged (26 were arrested and 29 are fugitives),in relation to which 8 trials have been held and in which 14 defendants have been found guilty.
As regards access to justice, Nicaragua recognizes the traditional authorities and establishes territorial and communal assemblies of the native peoples as main components for the exercise of justice. Competitive examinations have been held for the selection of judges and appointments of public defenders, which have appointed native people from the different communities, to ensure that they have full knowledge of the region, and its local languages and customs.
It should be noted, that the State of Nicaragua, has been complying and reporting on the provisional measures decreed by the Honorable Inter-American Court of Human Rights dated September 1, 2016, November 23, 2016 and August 22, 2017.
The Government of Reconciliation and National Unity has accredited that it has not incurred in any violation of the human rights established in the American Convention on Human Rights, rather, it is a guarantor of the restitution and compliance with the constitutional precepts.
Thank you very much
Managua, March 18, 2021