Washington, D.C. / Brussels — March 10, 2026 — The World Liberty Congress (WLC) welcomes the latest report issued by the United Nations Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua, presented to the UN Human Rights Council, which documents systematic repression by the Nicaraguan regime and outlines urgent recommendations to advance accountability and protect victims.
The report concludes that co-presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, along with senior state and party officials, bear responsibility for grave, systematic, and widespread human rights violations since April 2018—some of which amount to crimes against humanity.
The UN experts describe an integrated apparatus of repression combining state institutions and the ruling party to silence dissent both inside Nicaragua and beyond its borders. According to the report, this repression includes arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, torture, confiscation of property, denationalization, and transnational persecution of exiled Nicaraguans.
“The findings confirm what victims, journalists, and human rights defenders have documented for years,” said World Liberty Congress Regional Secretary Jonathan Duarte. “This report makes clear that the regime’s repression is systematic and coordinated at the highest levels of power.”
Key Recommendations from the UN Experts
The World Liberty Congress strongly supports the report’s recommendations and calls on democratic governments and international institutions to implement them urgently.
Among the most critical recommendations:
– Strengthen safeguards against the abuse of international law enforcement mechanisms, including greater oversight of INTERPOL notices to prevent authoritarian regimes from using them to persecute political opponents abroad.
– Apply enhanced human-rights due diligence by financial institutions and anti-money-laundering systems to ensure these frameworks are not manipulated to target political dissidents in exile.
– Require technology companies to conduct stronger human rights impact assessments to prevent their tools from being used for digital surveillance, harassment, and repression against Nicaraguans.
– Consider Nicaragua’s documented transnational repression when making decisions about security cooperation, extradition agreements, foreign aid, and intelligence sharing.
– Increase financial, technical, and protection support for Nicaraguan civil society, independent media, and journalists to sustain documentation of abuses and assistance to victims.
A Call for International Accountability
The World Liberty Congress stresses that the report provides a clear roadmap for action by democratic governments, multilateral institutions, and civil society.
“The international community must move beyond documentation and toward accountability,” Duarte added. “Those responsible for crimes against humanity in Nicaragua must face justice, and victims must receive protection and support.”
The World Liberty Congress also calls on democratic nations to expand targeted sanctions, strengthen protections for Nicaraguan exiles facing transnational repression, and support international justice mechanisms capable of investigating and prosecuting these crimes.
Standing with the People of Nicaragua
The World Liberty Congress stands in solidarity with the victims of repression in Nicaragua and the millions of Nicaraguans forced into exile.
“The courage of the Nicaraguan people continues to inspire the global movement for freedom,” Duarte concluded. “This UN report is a crucial step toward truth, justice, and ultimately the restoration of democracy in Nicaragua.”
