Evaluative report of the biased, politicized conduct of the Interamerican Human Rights Commision in Nicaragua

Translation by Tortilla con Sal

Evaluative report of the biased, politicized conduct of the Interamerican Human Rights Commision in Nicaragua

Foreign Relations Ministry

Republic of Nicaragua

Last May 13th, acting in good faith, our Government of Reconciliation and National Unity invited the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights to carry out a visit to Nicaragua with the aim of observing the human rights situation on the spot in the context of the events of the attempted coup d’etat.

That visit took place between May 17th and 21st of 2018, our Government ensured the Commission the facilities to carry out their work freely, supplying the information required, and dealing with their requests.

On May 21st, the IACHR issued a report with preliminary observations and recommendations based basically on audiovisual information and testimonies edited and manipulated by the authors of the coup attempt and those carrying it out, taking them as entirely truthful without giving the Nicaraguan Government the chance to comment on those unfounded claims.

Despite the sincerity and openness with which our Government attended the IACHR and the abundant evidence and information supplied which prove the violent character of the terrorist acts, hate crimes, tortures, homicides, murders, destruction and arson of public offices and institutions committed by the groups carrying out the coup, these proofs were not reflected in the IACHR’s report, which demonstrates their bias.

The IACHR manipulated the information, turning a coup d’etat into a supposedly peaceful protest, deliberately omitting that most of the people murdered were police officers, State functionaries, Sandinista militants and civilians not involved in the conflict whose causes of death were gunshot wounds inflicted by those carrying out the attempted coup.

The preliminary report repeated and spread the lies of the authors, agents and activists carrying out the attempted coup, contributing to the mass use of social platforms and networks for media and psychological manipulation inciting violence, all with the sole objective of justifying to the international community illegal acts and crimes aimed at breaking the constitutional order.

The IACHR deliberately omits truths inconvenient to the interests of those outside the country who sponsor actions directed at overthrowing Nicaragua’s constitutional government.

Despite that, our Government, displaying its vocation of peace and acting in good faith, accepted and began implementing the IACHR recommendations and addressed the requests of the so called representatives of civil society of the opposition and the Episcopal Conference; in the framework of the National Dialogue the National Police were concentrated in their police stations; an invitation was made to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations, to the Secretary General of the OAS and to the European Union; the formation was agreed of an Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts to support and accompany the investigations begun by the State, while on the other hand, parallel to this, the groups carrying out the attempted coup intensified their actions with abductions, tortures, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, roadblocks, hate crimes, arson and murders.

The same thing happened with the Final Report the IACHR presented to the Permanent Council of the OAS, our Government informed and documented in a timely way for the IACHR every act of violence committed by those carrying out the attempted coup, to which the IACHR was obliged to make at least a few references given the justified complaint of our government.

In its reports, the IACHR has used biased and skewed criteria, intentionally avoiding offering opinions and conclusions when dealing with the violent acts and crimes carried out by “peaceful” demonstrators.

One example of this is that during the existence of what were called roadblocks, terrorist acts were committed, human beings were burned alive, government supporters were tortured and abused, hundreds of Central American transport workers were held hostage and the civil population were unable to leave their houses freely and work.

On this the IACHR said nothing by way of condemnation, denunciation, or expression of concern, despite personally witnessing it on site, thus trying to legitimize this kind of illegal act.

The reports and communiques of the IACHR on Nicaragua are themselves open to question on account of their political bias and work methodology which lacks all scientific rigor, one of the most flagrant faults being the lack of verification of the information that it receives and uses from sources with no credibility.

The IACHR’s conduct together with the United States government and other countries encourages interventionist political maneuvers trying to destabilize and isolate Nicaragua internationally with the objective of overthrowing its constitutional government.

The Interamerican Commission for Human Rights devalues and delegitimizes its activity and that of its officials by adopting political positions in open contravention of the OAS Charter, and the IACHR’s own Rules and Statutes.

The People of Nicaragua demand an end to the IACHR’s participation in the political and media campaign of lies, misrepresentation, slander and stigmatization against our Government of Reconciliation and National Unity.