The UN has denounced that stripping Nicaraguan dissidents of their citizenship goes against international law

The UN expressed deep concern on Friday over legislative reforms in Nicaragua that they allowed him deprive more than 300 dissidents of their citizenshipwarning that this was against international law.

“Recent law reforms in Nicaragua that allow for the stripping of nationality for arbitrary reasons are contrary to Nicaragua’s obligations under international and regional human rights law,” the UN refugee agency said. .

“International law prohibits arbitrary deprivation of nationality, including for racial, ethnic, religious or political reasons,” he said.

The statement came after a Nicaraguan court of the dictator Daniel Ortega this week stripped of citizenship 94 exiled dissidents and declared them “traitors to the fatherland”.

Among them was perhaps Nicaragua’s most acclaimed living author, Sergio Ramirezwho was once the vice president of Ortega, a Catholic bishop, Silvio Baezand several former comrades-in-arms of Ortega in the left-wing Sandinista Front that came to power in 1979, only to lose the 1990 elections.

The same measure was applied to 222 dissidentswho were released from prison and deported last week, and had their citizenship revoked by the Ortega regime after it boarded them on a flight to Washington.

Ortega returned to power after the 2007 elections. Since large-scale street protests against his rule erupted in 2018, Ortega has employed heavily armed paramilitary squads to crush the opposition and has imprisoned all major political figures. ‘opposition.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has expressed its “serious concern” over the “arbitrary” withdrawal of the nationality of more than 300 Nicaraguan opponents and warned that this type of measure increases the risk of statelessness.

“The exercise of fundamental rights, including freedom of expression, freedom of assembly or other rights associated with a person’s political opinions, can never justify deprivation of nationality,” he stressed. . UNHCR in his statement.

He also pointed out that Nicaragua is part of the international conventions for reduce statelessness and highlighted a global plan of action that obliges all states to “prevent the denial, loss or deprivation of nationality on discriminatory grounds”.

UN chief Antonio Guterres also expressed concern over recent moves by Nicaragua to strip dissidents of their citizenship.

“It should be remembered that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stipulate that everyone has the right to a nationality and that no one should be arbitrarily deprived of it,” Guterres spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Thursday.

“The right to a nationality is a basic human right,” he said. “There must be no persecution or reprisals against human rights defenders or people who express critical views.”

(With information from AFP and EP)

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