Nicaragua: Transnational Repression, Enforced Disappearances and Torture Escalate
63rd regular session of the Human Rights Council
Oral statement by: Juan Carlos Arce
September 21, 2026
We welcome the report presented by OHCHR. In this context, we denounce the increased persecution in Nicaragua and beyond its borders against any person considered to be a dissident; persecution that has severe repercussions on the lives of victims.
On September 14, a second attack took place in Costa Rica against opposition figure Reinaldo Picado, who was shot three times. Transnational repression is not limited to Costa Rica alone: on July 26, in Trojes, Honduras, exiled Nicaraguan Marvin Gámez was shot seven times, and his partner was shot twice; both survived. Another example of this persecution is the removal from the Supreme Court of Justice registry of more than 2,000 lawyers, including four members of my organisation, who continue documenting human rights violations from exile.
Since this Council's last session, the Human Rights Collective Nicaragua Nunca Más has recorded a rise in the number of victims of enforced disappearance; 23 people currently remain in this condition, among them Indigenous Mayangna people and relatives of Indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera, who died in police custody. Likewise, the situation of political prisoners is alarming; for this reason, Nicaragua was placed in the very high-risk category for torture according to the World Organisation Against Torture's (OMCT) 2026 Global Torture Index.
In this context, action by the international community is not an option: adopting every possible measure to protect victims, as well as strengthening the mandates of the GHREN and OHCHR are urgent priorities.
Thank you.