On November 22, 2024 the Nicaraguan legislature rapidly approved a series of more than 100 constitutional reforms sent over by the Executive Branch, which in essence legalized many past actions by the Executive which clearly violated the existing constitution, like the elimination of the prohibition against torture, stripping citizens of their nationality, confiscating their property and subjugating the other branches of government to the Executive branch. Constitutional experts described the reforms as a complete rewrite of the constitution, which requires an entirely different process for its approval.
IACHR condemns the constitutional reform in Nicaragua which “establishes an authoritarian regime”
La Prensa, November 27, 2024
According to the Interamerican Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) the reform reinforces the control of the Executive Branch over the armed forces and the police, “ensuring a repressive apparatus.”
The Interamerican Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) this Wednesday [Nov 22, 2024] condemned the approval in the first legislature of the reform of the Constitution of Nicaragua, which modified more than one hundred articles and “establishes an authoritarian regime in the country and constitutes another serious setback for human rights and democratic principles.”
The reform establishes a model of “direct democracy” which centralizes power in the Presidency of the Republic, now led by a “co-president” and a “co-president” with a six-year mandate, the IACHR criticized in a statement.
This model eliminates the principle of the separation of powers, subordinating even more the Legislative, Judicial and Electoral branches to the control of the Executive, they criticized.
In addition, according to the IACHR, through the reform the control of the Executive was reinforced over the armed forces and the police, “ensuring a repressive apparatus which threatens fundamental rights like the freedom of expression, protest and association.”
“In particular, the use of the Executive is facilitated under ambiguous terms like `the stability of the Republic´ to repress the opposition,” they warned.
Likewise, the “Voluntary Police” was made official, an auxiliary body composed of voluntary citizens, whose behavior has been connected to repressive acts since the protests begun in 2018, noted the organization.
“These measures establish an environment of militarization and social control, intensifying the capacity of the regime to suffocate any dissidence,” warned the IACHR.
Other concerning aspects of the reform include the reduction of the composition and alteration of the functions of the Supreme Court, heightening its lack of independence, they continued.
Likewise, modifications which expanded the powers of the Executive to arbitrarily strip Nicaraguans of their nationality and at the same time confiscate their assets, they added.
The IACHR warned that these modifications violate the fundamental principles of the Rule of Law, representative democracy and the separation of powers established in the Interamerican Democratic Charter.
“The reform formalizes the absolute concentration of power in the Executive,” pointed out this organization, which recalled that this process was widely documented by the IACHR in their report “Concentration of power and the undermining of the Rule of Law”, which identified the rupture of democratic principles and the subordination of all public institutions since the 2018 crisis.
The IACHR recalled that the relationship between human rights, the Rule of Law and democracy is written in the Interamerican Democratic Charter, which establishes that “the peoples of America have the right to democracy and their governments have the obligation to promote it and defend it.”
“Representative democracy is the basis for the Rule of Law and constitutes an essential element for the political, social and economic development of the nations of the region,” they indicated.
They call on the International Community
Within this context, the IACHR issued an urgent call to the international community to redouble efforts aimed at promoting the restoration of democracy in Nicaragua.
Likewise, they exhorted adopting coordinated and effective measures to protect the fundamental rights of the Nicaraguan people and safeguard democratic principles in the region.
The Parliament of Nicaragua last Friday passed in the first legislature amendments to the Constitution, which transform the State, which goes from being a democratic, participatory and representative democracy to a “revolutionary” and “direct democracy” exercised through the Presidency.
The constitutional reform, the 12th which Ortega has promoted since his arrival in power in 2007, also grants absolute power to the president and his wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo, over the other branches of the State, establishes the figure of “co-president”, expands the presidential term from five to six years, and repeals the article which prohibited the practice of torture, among other changes.
