Nicaragua - August 2024

Through ministerial decrees and provisions, the government has ordered the closure of about 1,500 non-governmental organizations (NGO). Most of the disbanded organizations are religious, but also include educational, medical, social and Indigenous institutions. The government justified the dissolution by arguing the organizations had incurred in alleged omissions in financial disclosure obligations. The property and other assets of the NGOs are to be confiscated by the government. The government also announced that remaining civil society organizations that wish to continue operating will have to do so under a new operational scheme involving “alliances” with state entities. This scheme entails that all programs and projects will have to be approved by the state entities involved, taking away any ability for civil society to operate independently. Since 2018, over 5,200 organizations or roughly 75 per cent of NGOs have been closed. The latest dissolution of NGOs has affected more organizations than any of the previous measures taken against civil society.

Sources: BBC, The New York Times, El Pais, Human Rights Watch