HRC63 - NB8 Statement - ID on the High Commissioner's report on Nicaragua

63rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council
Interactive Dialogue on the High Commissioner's report on Nicaragua
Statement delivered by Estonia on behalf of the Nordic-Baltic States 
21 September 2026

Mr President, High Commissioner,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Nordic-Baltic States. We thank the High Commissioner for the report which depicts the deteriorated situation of human rights in Nicaragua.

We are alarmed by the systematic dismantling of human rights and democratic freedoms in Nicaragua.

We condemn the persecution of those considered to be opponents of the government. Arbitrary detention, intimidation, exile, and suppression of dissent cannot be justified as domestic politics.

We call on the Nicaraguan authorities to release all those arbitrarily detained and end restrictions on independent media, human rights defenders, and civil society.

We call on the authorities to restore the political rights of all Nicaraguans, end persecution and discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity, and uphold the human rights and dignity of all without discrimination.

We urge the authorities to engage with regional and international human rights mechanisms. We strongly support the investigations and public reporting of the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua (GHREN).

We condemn the abolition of democratic elections and the instrumentalization of gender-based violence as a tool of political repression.

High Commissioner, how can we safeguard free and meaningful elections in Nicaragua?

I thank you.