Challenges for the protection of Nicaragua's indigenous environmental defenders through national and international mechanisms

Mria Luisa Acosta^*

• Centro de Asistencia Legal a Pueblos Indigenas, Bluefields, Nicaragua

Such as, the armed invasion of Indigenous territories by settlers. The extractive policies implemented without due consultation vii . The imposition of government structures parallel to those legitimately elected by the communities; The cancellation of civil associations and confiscation of their property viii . The persecution of independent media outlets, including the closure of community radio stations. The relaxation of the constitutional ix and regulatory framework for the protection of the environment and its natural and cultural assets x ; and, the criminalization of indigenous leaders, defenders of the environment and their territories.As GHREN xi notes: "…the Government has shown that it considers indigenous and Afro-descendant communities as an obstacle to its political, economic and social interests and, therefore, has turned its members into a target of repression" xii . Several Indigenous environmental defenders: Dionisio Robins Zacarías and Donald Andrés Bruno Arcángel -both, active members of the Moravian Church and forest rangers in their communities of Saubí and Kibusna-, along with, Argüello Celso Lino, a school teacher and communal judge, and Ignacio Celso Lino, a communal trustee -in charge of overseen land tenure issues-, natives of community of Suniwás xiii have been sentenced to life in prison, and once in jail, tortured xiv .Despite the IACHR granting precautionary measures in favor of these Indigenous environmental defenders xv , the Nicaraguan regime has not followed it, in fact, the State has not obeyed any resolutions and judgments of the Inter-American Human Rights System, at list during the last five years. During the year of 2023, the Inter-American Court ordered for the environmental defenders' release, which the State also failed to abide xvi . Subsequently, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, stated, that it: "... is convinced that Indigenous Peoples defending their territory are being persecuted and intimidated... the indigenous people have repelled the settlers by exercising community resistance... in a peaceful manner, which is guaranteed by international human rights law" xvii . In addition, it calls for the State of Nicaragua to release and compensate the victims. However, till today, the Indigenous defenders remain imprisoned in cruel, inhuman, and degrading conditions xviii . These defenders were condemned of the Kiwakumbaih massacre, in which, as is routinely the case, state authorities failed to investigate any of the non-Indigenous settlers and armed group leaders, identified by survivors as the actual perpetrators. Instead, they initially criminalized 14 community forest rangers xix and are currently persecuting 33 Indigenous rangers xx . Thus, after a decade of systematic attacks against these indigenous communities, there are 8 indigenous defenders convicted by the judicial system xxi and 18 more imprisoned xxii .Likewise, Indigenous leaders have denounced that the arrival of gold mining companies in their territory coincided with the perpetration of massacres in the communities of Alal in 2020 xxiii , Kiwakumbaih in 2021 xxiv and Wilú in 2023 xxv . Although the latter had protection measures from the IACHR, the State also failed to implement them. Furthermore, The Government uses criminalization against Indigenous authorities, defenders and forest rangers, as a way to dissuade Indigenous community members from defending their territories. In the context of a strong cultural and identity-based dimension, human rights violations and violence are clearly demoralizing and weakening the social fabric of their communities.Consequently, Indigenous defenders are restricted from moving within their territories and prevented from entering the country. Brooklyn Rivera the leader of the Indigenous party YATAMA and member of the national parliament, has been enforcedly disappeared for more than two years, after entering the country despite a State prohibition; and his parliamentary alternate, Elizabeth Enriquez, was arbitrarily sentenced to eight years in prison, along with the cancellation of YATAMA and the closure of its community radio stations xxvi . In order to weaken the indigenous political force, these events occurred before the Caribbean Coast elections carried out in May 2024 xxvii .The persecution against Indigenous defenders was already evident in 2013, the concession for the "Gran Canal Interoceanico de Nicaragua" the route of which would affect Indigenous and Afro-descendant territories was granted without prior consultations with these peoples. In response, Indigenous authorities and leaders initiated the Case of the Rama and Kriol Peoples and Others v. Nicaragua xxviii , which ordered the State to "observe due diligence guidelines in administrative or judicial processes that address threats to human rights defenders and/or community leaders… as well as in relation to alleged acts of imposition by illegitimate governments or leaderships" xxix . However, the imposition of parallel governments to those legally elected, and violence nonetheless continues. Several defenders and their families are in exile. As acts of resistance, they raise their voices from abroad xxx ; while others make efforts to cope with exile from their own worldview xxxi . Furthermore, a constitutional reform approved in early 2025 further concentrates power in the executive branch, reducing the judicial system to become a mere "organ" under its control xxxii . This effectively nullifies the already precarious national protection mechanisms, leaving these peoples and their defenders as the only option of invoking the protection of international human rights law. Despite the adverse and urgent situation, Indigenous defenders resist both on the ground as well as in exile, convinced that their territories and culture cannot survive otherwise. They continue to engage with the IAHRS as well as reaching out to UN special procedures, which have raised their voices regarding the plight of Indigenous defenders. Likewise, the OHCHR is closely monitoring the situation, and the Human Rights Council created the GHREN, which, since April 2018, has identified 54 senior government officials, including Co-Presidents Ortega and Murillo, as perpetrators of serious human rights violations xxxiii .Although the Nicaraguan regime has not been receptive to the actions of these international organizations, the extensive documentation compiled constitutes the basis for building historical memory and eventually achieving the right to truth, justice, reparation, and the guarantee of non-repetition in Nicaragua. Meanwhile, this documentation could also constitute the potential basis for initiating actions before the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. Single measures, will nor achieve the