Versión Español
The Nicaraguan government has violated the human rights of Cuban, Haitian, and African immigrants on their way to the United States, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) warned Wednesday.
The allegation was made by Enrique Gil, the IACHR’s representative, who pointed out that the attitude of the Nicaraguan government reflects “a wide range of violations of the rights of immigrants” who find themselves “in a situation that is pitiful, and contrary to the standards of the inter-American system,” said Gil, who is in Panama attending a commission meeting.
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Among the cases that the IACHR cited was a November 2014 incident, in which the Nicaraguan government blocked the passage of Cuban, Haitian, African and Asian immigrants trying to reach the United States. The Nicaraguan authorities alleged that these people were violating their national sovereignty.
The border closing of the Central American nation caused thousands of immigrants to be stranded in Colombia, Panama, and Costa Rica, and strained diplomatic relations between these countries.
Another fact highlighted by the IACHR on Wednesday during the session was the murder of eight African migrants on August 4, in addition to the arrests of people providing assistance to immigrants
“It is such a serious situation and a humanitarian horror that the whole world must know what is happening in the state of Nicaragua,” said Margarette May Macaulay, director of the rights of women and people of African descent for the IACHR.
The Nicaraguan government did not send a representative to the commission meeting, a fact which was lamented by the members of the IACHR as well as by observers. “The Nicaraguan State has been extremely insensitive to immigrants, closing its doors to them, and rejecting them in a total act of discrimination” said Marco Carmona, who is executive secretary of the Permanent Commission on Human Rights of Nicaragua.
Source: The Press
