Event background
Four years after the April 2018 protests against the Ortega-Murillo regime, the human rights situation in Nicaragua continues to deteriorate. The application of legal norms openly contradictory to international standards is permanently imposed by the Nicaraguan government to stifle the voices of those who do not submit to its designs, who are generally labelled “traitors to the homeland”. The application of equally arbitrary rules to cancel the legal status of NGOs and other private institutions, including many universities, has also been another tool used by the regime to stifle civil society.
As part of the 4th anniversary of the start of the crisis in Nicaragua, RIDHE, in alliance with various civil society organisations (CSOs), organised two events on 20 and 21 April in the form of webinars: “Voices of Exile – Voices of Hope. Nicaragua united to define its future“.
These two meetings were initiated by the first version of the Week of Unity for Nicaragua from 18 to 24 April 2022, which aims to give visibility to the daily efforts of thousands of human rights defenders (HRDs), collectives, journalists, young academics, relatives of political prisoners, exiles, international organisations and institutions working to build the rule of law in Nicaragua.
On this occasion, the slogan for the week will be #TruthWeCanNicaragua, inviting Nicaraguan citizens inside and outside Nicaragua to play a leading role in denouncing and building a culture of dialogue and peace, based on the conscious and respectful acceptance of the truth that we all need to know, and on the diversity of paths that can be built for the future.
During the week of 18 to 24 April 2022, the RIDHE team promoted a campaign to give a voice to Nicaraguans on social networks so that, overcoming the fear of censorship, they can express themselves and tell us how this reality is experienced in exile.
This campaign consisted of broadcasting 2-minute videos in which we also included the voices of friends of Nicaragua from around the world.
Event programme
