Amnesty International – In a response to the “Draft Declaration of Support for the People of Nicaragua” presented by the permanent missions of the United States and Nicaragua, to be discussed and voted at the 48th General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International, said the following:
“The OAS member states must not turn their backs on the Nicaraguan people in their hour of need. President Ortega’s government has not shown the slightest inclination of ending its systematic policy of violent repression that has already claimed more than 100 lives in under two months, with the toll rising every day. If the countries of the region ignore the government’s responsibility for these atrocities, they will be complicit in the continued slaughter of protesters and civilians.
“The courageous people, human rights defenders and civil society organizations of Nicaragua need much more than tepid condolences and generalizations; they need a firm commitment to ensure that the extrajudicial executions and other grave human rights violations will not be repeated and go unpunished. True support for the Nicaraguan people would mean holding the state to its international human rights obligations to guarantee truth, justice and reparation for the victims. The state repression must stop.
“The OAS member states must send a clear message that no government will trample on the rights of the people and avoid the scrutiny and condemnation of the international community. The respect and guarantee of the human rights enshrined in the American Convention are non-negotiable.”
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