Exile and civil death

Serious impacts of arbitrary deprivation

of nationality on individuals defending
human rights and opposing the
dictatorship in Nicaragua

December 2023 / N° 821a

Table of contents

1. International standards on deprivation of nationality 3

2. Arbitrary exile and deprivation of nationality of human rights defenders and

opponents of the regime 4

3. Civil death: impacts of statelessness on the enjoyment of rights 7

3.1 Erasure of public identity records 8
3.2 Confiscation of assets and property 9
3.3 Cancellation of retirement pensions and denial of health care 10
3.4 Permanent suspension from professional practice and inability to access justice 10

4. Protection of persons who have become stateless 12

4.1 Individuals outside Nicaragua 12
4.2 Individuals who remain in Nicaragua 14

5. Recommendations 15
 “To be stateless means that you are deprived of the right to have rights.”
Hannah Arendt1

In February 2023, the Ortega-Murillo regime arbitrarily stripped 317 people of their Nicaraguan nationality,
rendering them, in the vast majority of cases, stateless. The authorities thereby condemned them to a
situation in which they are not considered nationals by any state,2 and therefore cannot exercise rights
and obligations inherent in membership in a political community.3

Those affected by this measure are individuals who have raised their voices to demand respect for
human rights and the restoration of democracy in the country,4 including well-known human rights
defenders, social, political and religious leaders, journalists and other media professionals, as well as
academics and cultural figures.

The judicial decisions ordering the deprivation of nationality of 317 Nicaraguans, as well as subsequent
decisions, reflect the construction of a mechanism of government repression that has been getting
stronger since October 2020.5 During this period, the authorities have promoted the enactment and
selective application of legislation aimed at stifling the defence of human rights, silencing political
opposition and giving state practices of suppressing rights a semblance of legality.6

1. International standards on deprivation of nationality

Nationality is a non-derogable right7, which may not be suspended in time of war, public danger or other
emergency that threatens the independence or security of a state.8 Its exercise implies the right to retain
a nationality9 and imposes on states the duty to protect individuals against arbitrary deprivation of
nationality.10 Numerous international instruments11 have enshrined the “explicit and general prohibition
of arbitrary deprivation of nationality“.12 This protection seeks to shield individuals from the impossibility
of enjoying their rights, which would result from the loss of their nationality.13

1. In 1937, the Nazi regime withdrew the German citizenship of the philosopher Hannah Arendt, who had fled Germany due to the
persecution of the Jewish population. For more than a decade, Arendt was in a situation of statelessness, a subject on which
she reflected in much of her work. For more information, see: UNHCR, “Hannah Arendt: de la apatridia al pluralismo” (Hannah
Arendt: from statelessness to pluralism), 21 April 2022, available at: https://eacnur.org/es/blog/hannah-arendt-de-la-apatridia-
al-pluralismo-tc_alt45664n_o_pstn_o_pst
2. A ccording to Article 1 of the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, “the term ‘stateless person’ means a person
who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law”. Statelessness may result, inter alia, from being
subjected to a procedure for the withdrawal of nationality initiated by the authorities. UNHCR, Guidelines on statelessness NO.5:
Loss and Deprivation of Nationality under Articles 5-9 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, Distr. GENERAL
HCR/GS/20/05, May 2020, para. 9.
3. I/A Court H.R., Case of the Girls Yean and Bosico v. Dominican Republic, Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs,
Judgment of 8 September 2005, Series C No. 130, para. 137. In the same vein, IACHR, Due Process in Procedures for the
Determination of Refugee Status and Statelessness and the Granting of Complementary Protection, 5 August 2020, para. 295.
4. F IDH, “Nicaragua: Outrage at new arbitrary action by the Ortega-Murillo regime”, 16 February 2023, available at: https://www.
fidh.org/en/region/americas/nicaragua/nicaragua-outrage-at-new-arbitrary-action-by-the-ortega-murillo
5. F IDH/CENIDH, ¡Basta ya de impunidad! Ejecuciones extrajudiciales y represión en Nicaragua, ¿hasta cuándo? (Accountability now!
Extrajudicial executions and repression in Nicaragua), February 2021, pp. 22 et seq., available at: https://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/
rapportnicaragua764es.pdf
6. F IDH/CENIDH, Nicaragua: Las nuevas leyes de la represión (The New Laws of Repression), November 2021, available at: https://
www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/obs_nicaragua_04.pdf
7. I/A Court H.R., Case of expelled Dominicans and Haitians v. Dominican Republic, Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and
Costs, Judgment of 28 August 2014, para. 253.
8. I ACHR, Human Mobility, Inter-American Standards, Human Rights of Migrants, Refugees, Stateless Persons, Victims of Human
Trafficking and Internally Displaced Persons: Norms and Standards of the Inter-American Human Rights System, 31 December 2015,
para. 467.
9. U
 N Human Rights Council, Human rights and arbitrary deprivation of nationality, Report of the Secretary-General, 14 December 2009,
A/HRC/13/34, para. 21.
10. I/A Court H.R. Case of expelled Dominicans and Haitians v. Dominican Republic, Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and
Costs, Judgment of 28 August 2014, para. 254.
11. F  or example, Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides that “[n]o one shall be arbitrarily deprived of
his nationality”. UN General Assembly Resolution 50/152 urged states to adopt legislation prohibiting arbitrary deprivation of
nationality as a measure to reduce statelessness.
12. U  N Human Rights Council, Human rights and arbitrary deprivation of nationality, Report of the Secretary-General, 14 December 2009,
A/HRC/13/34, para. 21.
13. I/A Court H.R., Case of expelled Dominicans and Haitians v. Dominican Republic, Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and
Costs, Judgment of 28 August 2014, para. 254.

3 FIDH - Exile and civil death

While the determination of the loss of nationality falls within the internal competence of states, this
discretion is not absolute, as international law imposes certain limits on its exercise.14 The first is the
duty of states to prevent, avoid and reduce statelessness. In accordance with this duty, states are
obliged not to adopt practices or legislation “whose application contributes to increasing the number
of stateless persons”.15 The second limit is the guarantee of equal and effective protection of the law
without discrimination,16 which implies that states must ensure that “no one is denied or deprived of
their nationality on the basis of discriminatory grounds”.17

2. Arbitrary exile and deprivation of nationality of human rights

defenders and opponents of the regime
On 9 February 2023, without warning, the Ortega-Murillo regime released 222 political prisoners and
banished them.18 At around 4 a.m., these people were expelled by air to the United States.19 At 8:30 a.m.,
when they were already on the aeroplane,20 the decision of the Managua Court of Appeals was
announced.21 According to the reading of the decision by Octavio Ernesto Rothschuh Andino, President
of the First Chamber of the Court since 2021, all these people were “deported”, declared “traitors to the
homeland” and their citizenship rights suspended for life.22

Deportation is a legal concept under migration law, that is only applicable to foreigners who commit
crimes in another country. The expulsion of the 222 political prisoners amounted to exile, a practice
prohibited under international human rights law.23 On this point, the Human Rights Committee24 has
underlined that it is the duty of states to ensure that people enjoy their right to “remain in one’s own
country”, which means that, among other measures, states must refrain from “enforced population
transfers or mass expulsions to other countries”.

On 9 February, the regime adopted an emergency constitutional reform to strip Nicaraguan nationality
from all persons declared “traitors to the homeland”.25 The National Assembly approved the amendment
in the first term, in a session that lasted less than 30 minutes, without prior publicity or debate.26 The
reform constitutes a reversal of the provisions of Article 20 of the Nicaraguan Constitution, which
expressly prohibits deprivation of nationality of Nicaraguan nationals.27

14. U N Human Rights Council, Human rights and arbitrary deprivation of nationality, Report of the Secretary-General, 14 December 2009,
A/HRC/13/34, paras 19 and 20.
15. I/A Court H.R., Case of expelled Dominicans and Haitians v. Dominican Republic, Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and
Costs, Judgment of 28 August 2014, para. 256.
16. I/A Court H.R., Case of the Girls Yean and Bosico v. Dominican Republic, Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs,
Judgment of 8 September 2005, Series C No. 130, para. 140.
17. U N Human Rights Council, Human rights and arbitrary deprivation of nationality, Report of the Secretary-General, 14 December 2009,
A/HRC/13/34, para. 58.
18. F IDH/CENIDH, Nicaragua: New turn in the human rights crisis, February 2023, p. 3, available at: https://www.fidh.org/en/region/
americas/nicaragua/nicaragua-new-turn-in-the-human-rights-crisis
19. F IDH, “Nicaragua: 222 political prisoners released from jail and banished from the country”, 9 February 2023, available at:
https://www.fidh.org/en/region/americas/nicaragua/nicaragua-222-political-prisoners-released-from-jail-and-banished
20. OHCHR, Human Rights Situation in Nicaragua, Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 10 August 2023,
A/HRC/54/60, para. 28.
21. C anal 4 Nicaragua, Transmisión especial desde el Complejo Judicial de Managua (Special broadcast from the Judicial Complex
in Managua), 9 February 2023, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWHLqIJbWQA&lc=UgwhS3rKu8B-
3dmpbcx4AaABAg. See also: Judiciary, “Declaración del Magistrado Presidente de la Sala Penal Uno del Tribunal de Apelaciones
de Managua” (Declaration of the President of the First Criminal Chamber of the Managua Court of Appeals), 10 February 2023,
available at: https://www.poderjudicial.gob.ni/prensa/notas_prensa_detalle.asp?id_noticia=12261Una
22. F IDH/CENIDH, Nicaragua: New turn in the human rights crisis, February 2023, p. 3, available at: https://www.fidh.org/en/region/
americas/nicaragua/nicaragua-new-turn-in-the-human-rights-crisis
23. Ibid.
24. U
 N Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 27 (67), Freedom of Movement (Article 12), 1 November 1999, CCPR/C/21/
Rev.1/Add.9, para. 19.
25. F IDH/CENIDH, Nicaragua: New turn in the human rights crisis, February 2023, p. 3, available at: https://www.fidh.org/en/region/
americas/nicaragua/nicaragua-new-turn-in-the-human-rights-crisis
26. O HCHR, Human Rights Situation in Nicaragua, Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 10 August 2023,
A/HRC/54/60, para. 30.
27. F IDH/CENIDH, Nicaragua: New turn in the human rights crisis, February 2023, p. 3, available at: https://www.fidh.org/en/region/
americas/nicaragua/nicaragua-new-turn-in-the-human-rights-crisis

FIDH - Exile and civil death 4

According to the Constitution, in order to enter into force, the reform must be debated and approved in a
second term, which will begin on 9 January 2024. However, on 9 February 2023, the National Assembly
approved Law No. 1145, also under the emergency procedure.28 This law implements the regressive
reform, in breach of the provisions of the Constitution itself, as well as the international human rights
obligations of the state of Nicaragua.29

These provisions on “loss of nationality” constitute a new attempt by the Ortega-Murillo regime to
legitimise and give a semblance of legality to its official discourse.30 According to this discourse, people
who have denounced the escalating repression and opposed the dictatorship are internal enemies,31
who have renounced their Nicaraguan nationality because they are serving the interference of foreign
powers.32 With the enactment and selective application of these provisions, the arbitrary deprivation of
nationality against these persons considered to be opponents was presented as a measure authorised
by the Constitution and legislation.

On 10 February 2023, the day after the approval of Law No. 1145, the first decisions to withdraw Nicaraguan
nationality were announced, through which the regime rendered Nicaraguan nationals stateless. The
President of the First Chamber of the Managua Court of Appeals, Octavio Ernesto Rothschuh Andino,
publicly read out a decision of the Court ordering the withdrawal of Nicaraguan nationality from
222 exiled persons, in application of Law No. 1145.33

In an interview that day, the President of the National Assembly, Gustavo Porras Cortés, confirmed
that the various institutions were working under the same order to carry out the exile and deprivation
of nationality of this group of people.34 According to Porras Cortés, each institution had done its part,
including the National Assembly, which was in charge of “guaranteeing that these people were not
Nicaraguans, because they are traitors to the homeland”.35

On 10 February, the judiciary also deprived Bishop Rolando Álvarez Lagos of his Nicaraguan nationality.
The Bishop Álvarez Lagos was arbitrarily detained in August 2022, after he publicly urged the police and
paramilitaries to cease attacks on the church and its media.36 A day after the religious leader refused to be
exiled,37 the second judge of the criminal district of Managua, Nadia Camila Tardencilla Rodríguez, sentenced
him to 26 years in prison, declared him a “traitor to the homeland” and ordered the permanent suspension of
his citizenship rights, and the loss of his nationality. These sanctions were imposed without charge or trial.38

On 15 February 2023, the President of the Managua Court of Appeals, Ernesto Leonel Rodríguez Mejía,
publicly read out a decision handed down the same day. In it, first instance judges convicted

28. L aw No. 1145, Ley Especial que Regula la Pérdida de la Nacionalidad Nicaragüense (Special Law regulating the loss of Nicaraguan
nationality).
29. F IDH/CENIDH, Nicaragua: New turn in the human rights crisis, February 2023, p. 3, available at: https://www.fidh.org/en/region/
americas/nicaragua/nicaragua-new-turn-in-the-human-rights-crisis:
30. F IDH/CENIDH, Call for an International Mechanism against Impunity in Nicaragua, February 2022, p. 7, available at: https://www.
fidh.org/en/region/americas/nicaragua/call-for-an-international-mechanism-against-impunity-in-nicaragua
31. Ibid.
32. T his point is illustrated by Daniel Ortega’s speech in November 2021. Referring to the people deprived of their freedom on
political grounds, he stated that they were serving “Yankee imperialism”, which is why “they should be taken there, to the
United States, because they are not Nicaraguans, they stopped being Nicaraguans a long time ago, they have no homeland.
They should be taken there, so that they can serve there as what they are, slaves of the Empire, traitors to the homeland”.
For more information, see: El País, “La Casa Blanca prohíbe la entrada a EE UU de funcionarios del régimen de Nicaragua”
(White House bans Nicaraguan regime officials from entering the US), 16 November 2021, available at: https://elpais.com/
internacional/2021-11-16/la-casa-blanca-prohibe-la-entrada-en-ee-uu-de-funcionarios-del-regimen-de-nicaragua.html
33. In this regard, the Judge stated that “in compliance with the decision issued at 9:40 on the morning of 9 February 2023, we
have ordered the loss of Nicaraguan nationality of 222 people who were declared traitors to the homeland, in accordance with
Law No. 1145, the special law regulating the loss of Nicaraguan nationality”. For more information, see: Canal 4 Nicaragua,
Transmisión especial desde el Complejo Judicial de Managua (Special broadcast from the Judicial Complex in Managua),
10 February 2023, available at: https://www.facebook.com/Canal4nicaraguanoticias/videos/1371063433695771/
34. G HREN, Report of the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua, 2 March 2023, A/HRC/52/63, para. 107, unofficial translation
available at: https://reliefweb.int/attachments/5139728f-d2c5-4a4d-a12b-6d739abd2c94/EN.pdf
35. C anal 4 Nicaragua, Doctor Gustavo Porras en la Revista En Vivo con Alberto Mora (Dr. Gustavo Porras on En Vivo Review with
Alberto Mora), 10 February 2023, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXW_HawQHvI
36. F IDH/CENIDH, Nicaragua: New turn in the human rights crisis, February 2023, p. 9, available at: https://www.fidh.org/en/region/
americas/nicaragua/nicaragua-new-turn-in-the-human-rights-crisis
37. O HCHR, Human Rights Situation in Nicaragua, Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 10 August 2023,
A/HRC/54/60, para. 14.
38. Ibid. See also: Canal 4 Nicaragua. Transmisión especial desde el Complejo Judicial de Managua (Special broadcast from the
Managua Judicial Complex), 10 February 2023, available at: https://www.facebook.com/Canal4nicaraguanoticias/
videos/1371063433695771/

5 FIDH - Exile and civil death

94 Nicaraguans of undermining national integrity and declared them “traitors to the homeland” and
“fugitives from justice”. They also ordered the permanent loss of their citizenship rights and the
deprivation of their nationality, in accordance with Law No. 1145. These decisions were made without
any prior procedure in which the persons concerned could present their defence.39

Among the 94 people convicted were human rights defenders, journalists, writers and academics, most
of whom were in forced exile at the time they were rendered stateless by the regime.40 Others were
forced to leave the country irregularly, three days after the decision, taking with them only their identity
documents and the clothes they were wearing.41

From this group, the human rights defender Vilma Nuñez de Escorcia, President and founder of CENIDH,
one of the most emblematic human rights organisations in the country, remains in Nicaragua.42 Despite
the arbitrary withdrawal of its legal status and the confiscation of its assets by the regime, CENIDH has
continued its work, which began more than 33 years ago, in the struggle for freedom and democracy,
documenting and denouncing repression and supporting victims in their search for truth and justice.

Vilma Nuñez de Escorcia is currently FIDH Deputy Secretary General and was shortlisted, together with
Bishop Rolando Álvarez Lagos, for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.43 This award is the
highest tribute paid by the European community, through the European Parliament, to individuals and
organisations for their outstanding contribution to the protection of human rights.

The arbitrary nature of depriving 317 individuals of their Nicaraguan nationality is reflected in four
aspects. First, the imposition of this sanction did not observe the principle of legality,44 according to
which the state should have adopted a sufficiently precise legal basis to allow a person to reasonably
foresee the consequences of actions which trigger a withdrawal of nationality.45 The conduct referred to
in Law No. 1055, which would give rise to a declaration as “traitor to the homeland”, 46 is formulated in
excessively vague and imprecise terms,47 failing to provide a clear indication of the conduct that would
lead to the loss of nationality.48

Moreover, Law No. 1145, in addition to being unconstitutional,49 was applied retroactively, by drawing
adverse consequences from actions that took place prior to its enactment.50 This also constitutes a
violation of the principle of legality, since persons can only be deprived of their nationality for acts or
omissions which, at the time of their commission, carried this consequence.51

39. F IDH, “Nicaragua: Revocación arbitraria de la nacionalidad a la presidenta del CENIDH Vilma Núñez” (Nicaragua: Arbitrary
deprivation of the nationality of CENIDH President Vilma Núñez), 16 February 2023, available at: https://www.fidh.org/es/
temas/defensores-de-derechos-humanos/nicaragua-revocacion-arbitraria-de-la-nacionalidad-a-la-presidenta
40. Ibid.
41. Office of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Communication to the State of Nicaragua,
18 September 2023, Ref: AL NIC 3/2023, pp. 5 and 7.
42. F IDH, “Nicaragua: Revocación arbitraria de la nacionalidad a la presidenta del CENIDH Vilma Núñez” (Nicaragua: Arbitrary
deprivation of the nationality of CENIDH President Vilma Núñez), 16 February 2023, available at: https://www.fidh.org/es/
temas/defensores-de-derechos-humanos/nicaragua-revocacion-arbitraria-de-la-nacionalidad-a-la-presidenta
43. F IDH, “Nicaragua: Vilma Nuñez and Bishop Alvarez nominated for European Parliament Human Rights Prize”,
20 September 2023, available at: https://www.fidh.org/en/region/americas/nicaragua/nicaragua-vilma-nunez-and-bishop-
alvarez-nominated-for-european
44. O HCHR, Human Rights Situation in Nicaragua, Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 10 August 2023,
A/HRC/54/60, para. 43.
45. U NHCR, Guidelines on statelessness No.5: Loss and Deprivation of Nationality under Articles 5-9 of the 1961 Convention on the
Reduction of Statelessness, Distr. GENERAL HCR/GS/20/05, May 2020, para. 92.
46. L aw No. 1055 of 2020 De Defensa de los Derechos del Pueblo a la Independencia (on the defence of the rights of the people to
independence) establishes that “the addressees of this law will be considered “traitors to the homeland” under such criminal
offences as “acts of treason”, “crimes that jeopardise peace” and “crimes against the Constitution of the Republic of Nicaragua”,
disqualifying them from running for elected office (article 1)”. FIDH/CENIDH, Nicaragua: Las nuevas leyes de la represión (The
New Laws of Repression), November 2021, available at: https://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/obs_nicaragua_04.pdf
47. Ibid, p. 19.
48. O
 ffice of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Communication to the State of Nicaragua,
13 July 2023, Ref: OL NIC 1/2023, p. 3.
49. A
 s stated above, the constitutional reform that authorises the deprivation of nationality of persons declared to be “traitors
to the homeland” has not yet been approved in accordance with the established constitutional procedure. Furthermore, both
the reform and Law No. 1145 are contrary to Article 20 of the Constitution, which prohibits the deprivation of nationality of a
Nicaraguan native.
50. O ffice of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Communication to the State of Nicaragua,
13 July 2023, Ref: OL NIC 1/2023, pp. 4 and 5.
51. T
 his provision follows from the general principle that “a person may not be tried for conduct that was not an offence at the
time the conduct occurred”. UNHCR, Guidelines on statelessness No.5: Loss and Deprivation of Nationality under Articles 5-9 of the

FIDH - Exile and civil death 6

Second, the order of withdrawing nationality was in violation of due process, which is essential to
“prevent abuse of the law” and to ensure that “decisions on nationality matters do not contain any
element of arbitrariness”.52 None of the persons concerned were informed in advance of the existence
of proceedings against them for “treason against the homeland” and deprivation of their nationality,
nor were they given the opportunity to be heard and to provide facts, arguments and evidence in their
defence. Notification of the initiation of proceedings, access to legal counsel and a fair hearing are
minimum procedural safeguards that must be respected in such cases.53

Furthermore, the decisions on the loss of nationality do not contain a statement of the factual, evidentiary
and legal grounds on which the judges based their decision to impose this sanction. The absence of
a reasoned decision demonstrates a blatant disrespect for a guarantee that is linked not only to the
safeguarding of due process, but also to the proper administration of justice.54

Thirdly, the deprivation of nationality was based on discriminatory grounds, linked to the exercise of
fundamental rights by the persons concerned, including freedom of expression, freedom of association,
the expression of political opinions, as well as the right to defend human rights. The Office of the Special
Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders recognised the discriminatory motivation behind
this measure, underlining that it was “a very severe form of persecution, aimed at limiting their capacity
for action, destroying their social fabric, as well as affecting their physical and mental health”.55

Finally, the judicial decisions of 10 and 15 February rendered most of the 317 persons sanctioned
stateless, in clear violation of the commitment made by the Nicaraguan state in 2013, with the ratification
of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. According to Article 8.1 of the Convention,
states must not deprive a person of their nationality if such deprivation would render them stateless.
Under international human rights law, any deprivation of nationality that leads to statelessness is
generally considered to be arbitrary.56

3. Civil death: impacts of statelessness on the enjoyment of rights

As a political and legal bond linking individuals to a state, nationality is the basis of their political and civil
status.57 For this reason, nationality is considered a “prerequisite” for the exercise of other rights.58 When
a state arbitrarily deprives a person of their nationality, it renders them a “non-citizen” in relation to it,59
and places them in a situation of extreme vulnerability with regard to the full enjoyment of their rights.60

After rendering them stateless, the Ortega-Murillo regime aggravated the effects of the arbitrary
deprivation of nationality through a series of decisions aimed at bringing about the civil death of the
persons concerned. On the basis of the loss of their status as Nicaraguan nationals, the authorities
annulled their civil identity records and decreed the loss of their civil, political, social and property rights.
These measures have left them in a situation of “legal non-existence”, and have systematically affected
their status as rights holders, as well as their capacity to exercise rights and incur obligations.

1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, Distr. GENERAL HCR/GS/20/05, May 2020, para. 93.
52. U N Human Rights Council, Human rights and arbitrary deprivation of nationality, Report of the Secretary-General, 14 December 2009,
A/HRC/13/34, para. 43.
53. In the words of the Inter-American Court, “any person against whom deprivation of nationality proceedings are instituted must
be guaranteed due process in order to avoid arbitrariness and ensure that the persons concerned are in a position to defend
their rights”. I/A Court H.R, Case of Habbal et al. v. Argentina, Judgment of 31 August 2022, paras 93 and 97.
54. Ibid, para. 68.
55. U nofficial translation. Office of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Communication to the State
of Nicaragua, 18 September 2023, Ref: AL NIC 3/2023, p. 8.
56. UN Human Rights Council, Human rights and arbitrary deprivation of nationality, Report of the Secretary-General, 14 December 2009,
A/HRC/13/34, para. 27.
57. I/A Court H.R., Case of expelled Dominicans and Haitians v. Dominican Republic, Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations
and Costs, Judgment of 28 August 2014, para. 255. In the same vein, I/A Court H.R., Advisory Opinion OC-4/84, Proposed
Amendments of the Naturalization Provisions of the Constitution of Costa Rica, 19 January 1984, para. 32.
58. Ibid.
59. U
 N Human Rights Council, Human rights and arbitrary deprivation of nationality, Report of the Secretary-General, 14 December 2009,
A/HRC/13/34, para. 47.
60. I/A Court H.R., Case of expelled Dominicans and Haitians v. Dominican Republic, Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and
Costs, Judgment of 28 August 2014, para. 257.

7 FIDH - Exile and civil death

 3.1 Erasure of public identity records

The Nicaraguan authorities have denied at least 43 of the 317 persons arbitrarily deprived of their
nationality61 access to copies of civil registry documents, including identity cards and birth certificates,
as well as university student records. The response received in denying access to their documents was
that they “did not exist” in the registers.62

The nullification of the public identity registers of persons arbitrarily deprived of their nationality reflects
a deliberate decision by the Ortega-Murillo regime to deny recognition of their existence as persons
before the law, and to exclude them from the institutional legal order. This situation seriously undermines
their legal personality and implies a total disregard for their status as rights holders.63

The authorities have extended the effects of the nullification of identity records to all legal acts in which
the persons arbitrarily deprived of their nationality are named, thus affecting their rights and those of
their families. There are documented cases in which the state has also erased the birth registration of the
children of the affected persons from the Civil Registry,64 thereby putting them at risk of statelessness.65

One fear expressed by stateless persons is that the cancellation of their identity records will affect the
right to filiation of their children under the age of 18.66 Given their legal non-existence, children could
end up being legally “without parents”. This situation would affect the right to preserve identity, which
implies that the official records recognise the name, nationality and family relations of the children.67 In
view of this situation, the Office of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders,
together with other special procedures, requested the state of Nicaragua to provide information “on
the legal grounds for erasing the names of parents from birth certificates and legal documents of their
children, in particular those under 18 years of age”.68

The nullification of identity records also affected the rights of third parties. This is illustrated by the
case of Ernesto Medina Sandino, former rector of the American University in Managua (UAM), who
was arbitrarily deprived of his nationality, along with 93 other persons, by the judicial decision of
15 February 2023. At the time of the decision, the academic had been out of the country for two years,
due to the persecution he suffered for his defence of the students who participated in the 2018 protests,
and his public condemnation of the acts of violence and repression perpetrated against them by the
regime.

The only property on which Ernesto Medina Sandino’s name appeared in the Nicaraguan property
registry was the house that he and his eleven siblings inherited from their mother. Although this
property was sold in 2022, the buyer could not register it as his property, following the judicial decision in
February 2023, as the deed of sale contained the name of the academic. The land registry officials stated
that the transaction was “unlawful”. The property was later occupied by the police and confiscated by
the authorities.

61. O HCHR, Human Rights Situation in Nicaragua, Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 10 August 2023,
A/HRC/54/60, para. 33.
62. Ibid.
63. A ccording to the Inter-American Court, the right to juridical personality “represents a parameter to determine whether a
person is entitled to any given rights”, and therefore “the violation of this recognition presumes an absolute disavowal of the
possibility of being a holder of [the civil and fundamental] rights and obligations”. I/A Court H.R., Case of Anzualdo Castro v.
Peru, Preliminary Objection, Merits, Reparations and Costs, Judgment of 22 September 2009, Series C No. 202, paras 87 and 88.
64. O HCHR, Human Rights Situation in Nicaragua, Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 10 August 2023,
A/HRC/54/60, para. 33.
65. A ccording to UNHCR, “Persons are often at risk of statelessness because they have difficulties proving they possess links
to a State. Lack of birth registration and personal documentation create such a risk”. UNHCR, UNHCR Action to Address
Statelessness, Division of International Protection, 2010, para. 33.
66. Office of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Communication to the State of Nicaragua,
18 September 2023, Ref: AL NIC 3/2023, p. 5.
67. A ccording to Article 8.1 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by the State of Nicaragua in 1990, “States Parties
undertake to respect the right of the child to preserve his or her identity, including nationality, name and family relations as
recognised by law without unlawful interference”.
68. O ffice of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Communication to the State of Nicaragua,
18 September 2023, Ref: AL NIC 3/2023, p. 9.

FIDH - Exile and civil death 8

 3.2 Confiscation of assets and property

Among the sanctions imposed by the judiciary on 316 persons69 arbitrarily deprived of their nationality,
the state ordered the “freezing and confiscation” of all real-estate assets and companies registered in
their names, either in their personal capacity or as partners.70

International human rights bodies described this measure as an “arbitrary, disproportionate punishment
for crimes”71 that violates the rights to enjoy an adequate standard of living and to property.72 It is also a
sanction that exposes stateless people, especially older persons, and their family members who remain
in Nicaragua to increased vulnerability due to the loss of rental income from their properties.73

The judicial decision of 15 February 2023 ordered confiscation against 94 persons rendered stateless.74
On 9 June 2023, it became known that an order had been issued by the First Chamber of the Managua
Court of Appeals, dated 19 May, by which the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic was requested
to proceed with the “confiscation” of real estate, companies and shares belonging to 222 persons who
had been released from prison and exiled.75

By August 2023, at least 78 homes and other properties had been seized by the authorities.76 The
confiscations were preceded by police occupation of the properties and property records were erased.77
In some cases, the confiscated property belonged to relatives of persons arbitrarily deprived of their
nationality, including their children under the age of 18, who were not named in the court decisions
ordering the expropriation.78

Those who live in these properties, including relatives of stateless persons, denounced the siege by the
authorities, and expressed their fear of being evicted at any moment. They reported that the Office of
the Attorney General of the Republic was charging them rent to stay in the houses and required them to
formalise their “occupational status”.79

Confiscation measures have also included the blocking of bank accounts and the freezing of funds,80 thus
preventing those arbitrarily deprived of their nationality from disposing of their savings and recovering
the money deposited. In the case of Ernesto Medina Sandino, the freezing of his accounts took place
in March 2023, without any formal notification. The academic asked the bank, on two occasions, to
confirm whether his accounts had been frozen and since when the measure had been in place. To date,
he has not received any response to his requests.

69. According to the information available, Bishop Rolando Álvarez Lagos was not subject to confiscation of assets and property.
70. O HCHR, Human Rights Situation in Nicaragua, Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 10 August 2023,
A/HRC/54/60, para. 41.
71. I ACHR, “IACHR Rejects Ongoing Repression and Human Rights Violations in Nicaragua”, 16 June 2023, available at: https://
www.oas.org/en/iachr/jsForm/?File=/en/iachr/media_center/preleases/2023/123.asp. In the same vein, see: IACHR,
“Nicaragua: IACHR and REDESCA Express Concern About Violations of Property and Social Security Rights”, 14 April 2023,
available at: https://www.oas.org/en/iachr/jsForm/?File=/en/iachr/media_center/preleases/2023/061.asp
72. O HCHR, Human Rights Situation in Nicaragua, Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 10 August 2023,
A/HRC/54/60, para. 43.
73. Ibid., para. 42. In the same vein, see: IACHR, “Nicaragua: IACHR and REDESCA express concern About Violations of Property
and Social Security Rights”, 14 April 2023, available at: https://www.oas.org/en/iachr/jsForm/?File=/en/iachr/media_center/
preleases/2023/061.asp
74. F IDH, “Nicaragua: Revocación arbitraria de la nacionalidad a la presidenta del CENIDH Vilma Núñez” (Nicaragua: Arbitrary
deprivation of the nationality of CENIDH President Vilma Núñez), 16 February 2023, available at: https://www.fidh.org/es/
temas/defensores-de-derechos-humanos/nicaragua-revocacion-arbitraria-de-la-nacionalidad-a-la-presidenta
75. IACHR, “IACHR Rejects Ongoing Repression and Human Rights Violations in Nicaragua”, 16 June 2023, available at: https://www.
oas.org/en/iachr/jsForm/?File=/en/iachr/media_center/preleases/2023/123.asp. In the same vein, see: Confidencial, “Dictatorship
orders confiscation of assets of 222 banished former political prisoners”, 14 June 2023, available at: https://confidencial.digital/
english/dictatorship-orders-confiscation-of-assets-of-222-banished-former-political-prisoners/. See also, DW, “Ortega confisca
propiedades a 222 expresos desterrados” (Ortega confiscates property belonging to 222 exiled prisoners), 10 June 2023, available
at: https://www.dw.com/es/ortega-confisca-propiedades-a-222-expresos-pol%C3%ADticos-desterrados/a-65876899
76. O HCHR, Human Rights Situation in Nicaragua, Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 10 August 2023,
A/HRC/54/60, para. 42.
77. I ACHR, “Nicaragua: IACHR and REDESCA Express Concern About Violations of Property and Social Security Rights”,
14 April 2023, available at: https://www.oas.org/en/iachr/jsForm/?File=/en/iachr/media_center/preleases/2023/061.asp
78. O HCHR, Human Rights Situation in Nicaragua, Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 10 August 2023,
A/HRC/54/60, para. 42.
79. I ACHR, “Nicaragua: IACHR and REDESCA Express Concern About Violations of Property and Social Security Rights”,
14 April 2023, available at: https://www.oas.org/en/iachr/jsForm/?File=/en/iachr/media_center/preleases/2023/061.asp
80. O ffice of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Communication to the State of Nicaragua,
18 September 2023, Ref: AL NIC 3/2023, p. 7.

9 FIDH - Exile and civil death

 3.3 Cancellation of retirement pensions and denial of health care

The Ortega-Murillo regime erased the older persons who had been arbitrarily deprived of their nationality
from the registers of the Nicaraguan Institute of Social Security (INSS). As a result, after the judicial
decisions of February 2023, they could not access payment of their pensions, nor the issuance of
certificates proving that they were insured under the social security system.81

Access to a retirement pension is a right that those concerned acquired by fulfilling the requirements
of the Social Security Scheme, as provided for by law, and by completing the corresponding retirement
formalities. Most of those affected have had this entitlement for many years.82

Pension payments were suspended abruptly and no official notification or information on the reasons
for their cancellation was given to those concerned. On 10 March 2023, human rights defender
Vilma Nuñez de Escorcia went to the offices of the Nicaraguan Institute of Social Security (INSS), where
she used to collect the pension that she had been receiving for 22 years. Two officials there informed
her that her record was not in the INSS system, and that her pension was “cancelled”. The human rights
defender did not obtain any further information.

Notwithstanding the manifest arbitrary nature of the state’s actions and the lack of effective remedies
for the protection of rights in Nicaragua, Vilma Nuñez de Escorcia appealed to the authorities and
requested that her rights be respected and re-established. On 27 March, she submitted a written
application to the INSS requesting the payment of her pension. On 7 June, the human rights defender
reiterated this claim after the INSS denied her the health care to which she is entitled as a retiree. On
5 June, she was denied her monthly medication, and staff at the clinic where she was being treated
told her that she had been erased from the social security system. The INSS has not responded to
any of these requests.

Denial of access to a social protection system, based on deprivation of nationality, increases the
vulnerability of older persons and disproportionately affects their rights.83 Following the February 2023
judicial decisions, those rendered stateless lost protections that they had received by law and which
were entitlements, such as income security in old age and access to health and care services. Statutory
pension contributions and the payment of pension allowances are protected by the rights to property84
and to social security,85 and are essential to ensure the human dignity of older persons and the promotion
of their rights.86

3.4 Permanent suspension from professional practice and inability to access justice

On the basis of Law No. 1145, the Supreme Court of Justice, through the National Council for Judicial
Administration and Careers,87 disqualified for life 26 of the 317 stateless persons from practising their
profession as lawyers and notaries public.88 The president of the Court, Alba Luz Ramos Vanegas,
the vice-president, Marvin Ramiro Aguilar García, and judges Juana Méndez Pérez and
Virgilio José Gurdián Castellón considered that these persons “lost” their right to hold their titles and

81. O HCHR, Human Rights Situation in Nicaragua, Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 10 August 2023,
A/HRC/54/60, para. 34. In the same vein, IACHR, “Nicaragua: IACHR and REDESCA Express Concern About Violations of
Property and Social Security Rights”, 14 April 2023, available at: https://www.oas.org/en/iachr/jsForm/?File=/en/iachr/media_
center/preleases/2023/061.asp
82. O ffice of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Communication to the State of Nicaragua,
18 September 2023, Ref: AL NIC 3/2023, p. 5, 7 y 8.
83. I ACHR, “Nicaragua: IACHR and REDESCA Express Concern About Violations of Property and Social Security Rights”,
14 April 2023, available at: https://www.oas.org/en/iachr/jsForm/?File=/en/iachr/media_center/preleases/2023/061.asp
84. A ccording to the Inter-American Court, the right to property protects the right to receive a pension as an entitlement, since it is
“a right that has been incorporated into the patrimony of the persons”. I/A Court H.R, Case of the “Five Pensioners” v. Peru (Merits,
Reparations and Costs), Judgment of 28 February 2003, para. 102.
85. A ccording to the Human Rights Committee, social security “includes the right to access and maintain benefits, whether in
cash or in kind, without discrimination, in order to secure protection”. It also includes “the right not to be subject to arbitrary
and unreasonable restrictions of existing social security coverage”. Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 19, The
right to social security (article 9), E/C.12/GC/19, 4 February 2008, paras 2 and 9.
86. Ibid, para. 1.
87. T he National Council of Judicial Administration and Careers is a body of the Supreme Court of Justice, established in
Article 165 of the Political Constitution of Nicaragua and in Article 4 of Law No. 501. For more information, see: Directorate
General of Judicial Careers, Judicial Branch of Nicaragua, available at: https://www.poderjudicial.gob.ni/carrerajudicial/
88. O HCHR, Human Rights Situation in Nicaragua, Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 10 August 2023,
A/HRC/54/60, para. 35.

FIDH - Exile and civil death 10

exercise the legal profession, as a consequence of the withdrawal of Nicaraguan nationality.89

In two rulings issued on 11 May, the Supreme Court of Justice ordered the definitive suspension of their
professional practice and the cancellation of their academic qualifications. It also required them to hand
over, within 24 hours, the diplomas, seals and licenses that accredited them as lawyers and notaries
public, as well as the protocols and books in their custody for their professional practice.90

The Supreme Court of Justice imposed this sanction in violation of the due process rights of those
affected, as it did not hold a prior proceeding allowing them to be heard and to avail themselves of all the
means for their defence. In addition, it used deprivation of nationality as an argument to dismiss the cause
of action of the legal claims requesting review of the sanctions and protection against their effects.

One of those disqualified from practising law attempted to file a writ of amparo (appeal for protection)
against the decision of the Supreme Court of Justice. On five occasions,91 the Office for the Reception
of Cases and Writs of the Central Judicial Complex of Managua refused to receive the application. On
25 May, the person concerned was finally able to file the writ, alleging violations of the rights to due
process and the principle of legality.

The day following receipt of the application, Henry Antonio Morales Olivares, judge of the First Civil
Chamber of the Managua Court of Appeals, ruled that the writ of amparo was “inadmissible” on the
grounds that the person had been declared a “traitor to the homeland” and sentenced to the loss of
Nicaraguan nationality and their rights as a citizen.

In light of this dismissal, on 31 May 2023, the person concerned requested to the First Civil Chamber
of the Court of Appeal for certification of the main items in the file of the writ of amparo. Access to this
documentation is a requirement to be able to appeal the decision due to its unlawfulness. On 7 June,
the First Civil Chamber of the Court of Appeal rejected the request, declaring it “out of time”, despite the
fact that it had been submitted within the time limit set by law.

This case demonstrates that the suppression of the rights of persons rendered stateless also includes
the undue restriction of their right to access to justice. Those concerned have no effective remedy to
challenge the arbitrary deprivation of their nationality and the decisions aggravating its effects, nor do
they have access to effective means of redress to enable them to have their nationality restored and
end their stateless status.92

The way in which the judiciary arbitrarily deprived 317 individuals of their Nicaraguan nationality, and
issued decisions that maintained and aggravated the effects of an illegitimate measure that is contrary
to international human rights law, demonstrates that individuals have no effective access to impartial
and independent justice and that the judicial system has been co-opted by the Ortega-Murillo regime.
On this point, the IACHR recently stated that “the lack of independence of the justice administration
system has facilitated the use and manipulation of criminal law to criminalise and prosecute those who
criticise or oppose the government”.93

In conclusion, those arbitrarily deprived of their nationality find themselves in a situation of manifest
lack of protection, given that there are no effective, impartial and independent domestic legal means
of redress and reparation for the violations of their human rights. Claims to assert their rights, besides
being unsuccessful, also exacerbate their situation of vulnerability, since it makes them more visible to

89. A ccording to the National Council of Judicial Administration and Careers, “In accordance with the Nicaraguan legal system
and regulations governing the profession of lawyer and notary public, these individuals cannot hold the title or exercise the
profession of lawyer and notary public, as they have lost the right to exercise this profession, by virtue of having lost their
Nicaraguan nationality. Supreme Court of Justice. National Council for Judicial Administration and Careers. Resolution of
May 11, 2023. p. 2.
90. Ibid.
91. The Office for the Reception of Cases and Writs of the Central Judicial Complex of Managua refused to receive the application
for amparo on 18, 19, 22, 23 and 24 May 2023.
92. International human rights law recognises the right of persons arbitrarily deprived of their nationality to have access to a
remedy to enable them to have their nationality restored. In this regard, the Human Rights Council, in its Resolutions 7/10 and
10/13, urged States to ensure that persons deprived of their nationality have access to effective remedies, including restoration
of nationality. For more information, see UNHCR, Guidelines on statelessness No. 5: Loss and Deprivation of Nationality under
Articles 5-9 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, Distr. GENERAL HCR/GS/20/05 May 2020, paras 106-107.
93. I ACHR, Closure of civic space in Nicaragua, 23 September 2023, para. 62.

11 FIDH - Exile and civil death

the authorities, exposing them to further reprisals and forms of persecution.
In view of the above, international human rights organisations have concluded that the Supreme Court’s
rulings of 11 May not only constitute “undue interference in the legal profession in Nicaragua,”94 but are
also aimed at creating “an atmosphere of fear and self-censorship among those who defend political
opponents or continue to work in Nicaragua.”95

4. Protection of persons who have become stateless

4.1 Individuals outside Nicaragua

Almost all of the individuals who have been made stateless by the Ortega-Murillo regime are outside
Nicaragua, facing different situations in terms of recognition of their status and the granting of special
protection to allow them to access and exercise their human rights.96 In the case of the 222 women
released from prison and exiled, the US government granted them a temporary residence permit, on
urgent humanitarian grounds, authorising them to stay legally in the country for two years and to apply
for a work permit.97

Another group of people were in exile when the regime arbitrarily deprived them of their nationality. Some
of them have had their refugee status recognised by the governments of the host countries.98 Others are
seeking asylum and are awaiting a final decision on their status.99 In some cases, the applicants do not
have a work permit and the decision on their status has been pending for several years.100

In at least two cases, persons arbitrarily deprived of their nationality left the country irregularly, days
after the decision condemning them to statelessness. One of them was granted refugee status and
another is applying for asylum and is experiencing serious difficulties in accessing the means necessary
for their subsistence.101

One group of people left Nicaragua and went into exile due to persecution by the regime, but on their
arrival abroad they did not take any steps to apply for refugee status. For this reason, at the time of the
arbitrary deprivation of their nationality they were not covered by any international protection regime.102

In response to the arbitrary stripping of nationality carried out by the Ortega-Murillo regime, the
governments of Spain,103 Chile, Argentina, Mexico104 and Colombia105 offered to grant stateless persons

94. O ffice of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Communication to the State of Nicaragua,
13 July 2023, Ref: OL NIC 1/2023, p. 8.
95. I ACHR, “IACHR Rejects Ongoing Repression and Human Rights Violations in Nicaragua”, 16 June 2023, available at: https://
www.oas.org/en/iachr/jsForm/?File=/en/iachr/media_center/preleases/2023/123.asp
96. A t the international level, there is consensus that stateless persons require recognition of their status, as well as the granting
of special protection to enable them to access and exercise their human rights. In this regard, UNHCR has drawn attention to
the importance of States establishing a procedure for the determination and granting of a legal status to stateless persons,
in accordance with the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. UNHCR, Statelessness Determination
Procedures: Identifying and Protecting Stateless Persons, August 2014, p. 1.
97. U S Department of State, “222 Nicaraguan Political Prisoners Released, Enter U.S.—Frequently Asked Questions and Resources”,
available at: https://www.state.gov/222-nicaraguan-political-prisoners-released-enter-u-s-frequently-asked-questions-and-
resources/
98. O ffice of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Communication to the State of Nicaragua,
18 September 2023, Ref: AL NIC 3/2023, pp. 4-7.
99. Ibid.
100. Ibid. See also, Confidencial, “Stateless Nicaraguans assess ways out of migratory uncertainty”, 28 February 2023, available at:
https://confidencial.digital/english/stateless-nicaraguans-assess-ways-out-of-migratory-uncertainty/
101. O  ffice of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Communication to the State of Nicaragua,
18 September 2023, Ref: AL NIC 3/2023, p. 7.
102. C  onfidencial, “Stateless Nicaraguans assess ways out of migratory uncertainty”, 28 February 2023, available at: https://
confidencial.digital/english/stateless-nicaraguans-assess-ways-out-of-migratory-uncertainty/
103. E  l País, “España ofrece la nacionalidad a los 222 presos políticos desterrados por Ortega” (Spain offers nationality to 222 political
prisoners banished by Ortega), 10 February 2023, available at: https://elpais.com/internacional/2023-02-10/espana-ofrece-
la-nacionalidad-a-los-222-expresos-politicos-desterrados-por-ortega.html. See also: El País, “España ofrece la nacionalidad
a los 94 opositores a los que se la ha quitado Daniel Ortega” (Spain offers nationality to the 94 opponents who have been
stripped of it by Daniel Ortega), 17 February 2023, available at: https://elpais.com/internacional/2023-02-17/espana-ofrece-
la-nacionalidad-a-los-94-opositores-a-los-que-se-la-ha-quitado-daniel-ortega.html
104. B  BC News Mundo, “Argentina, Chile y México ofrecen la ciudadanía a los nicaragüenses opositores a los que despojaron de
su nacionalidad” (Argentina, Chile and Mexico offer citizenship to Nicaraguan opponents deprived of their nationality),
22 February 2023, available at: https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-64730172
105. D  W, “Colombia y México ofrecen ciudadanía a apátridas” (Colombia and Mexico offer citizenship to stateless persons),

FIDH - Exile and civil death 12

the nationalities of their states. Between May and July 2023, the Government of Spain granted 90 of
them Spanish nationality by providing them with a naturalisation certificate.106

The granting of a nationality is an essential measure to address the protection needs of stateless
persons and to provide durable solutions to their situation.107 However, its scope only covers persons
who have been arbitrarily deprived of their nationality, and does not take into account the situation of
their family members, including children under the age of 18, who in most cases were also forced into
exile as a result of persecution against their relatives.

This limitation results in families having to go through regular migration procedures that do not take into
account the vulnerability and special nature of their situation. This is the case of Ernesto Medina Sandino,
who was granted Spanish nationality on the basis of a naturalisation certificate pursuant to Royal
Decree 361/2023 of 11 May 2023. The academic had not applied for recognition of his refugee status,
and therefore, despite the granting of nationality, his family members are experiencing difficulties in
regularising their migratory status and obtaining residence permits.

In relation to persons arbitrarily deprived of their Nicaraguan nationality, host states should take into
account that they may be both stateless and refugees. According to UNHCR’s legal assessment of the
situation of persons who were forced to flee Nicaragua, “individuals opposing and those perceived as
opposing the national government” are among the populations requiring international protection as
refugees,108 in accordance with the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.109 Within this
group, UNHCR includes several of the profiles of persons who have been rendered stateless, including
human rights defenders, leaders of political opposition parties and persons perceived as opponents for
supporting demonstrators.110

In terms of the international protection offered by recognition as a refugee or a stateless person,

IACHR considers that recognition under the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees provides
more protection.111 Refugee status grants protections that are not provided for in the regime governing
stateless persons, including the right not to be returned to places where one’s life and liberty would be
in danger, the right not to be punished for irregular entry into a country, and the possibility that refugee
status may be extended to relatives.112

In any case, it should be borne in mind that the 1951 Convention provides for the status of stateless
refugees. These are persons who have left their country owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted,
and “not having a nationality and being outside the country of [their] former habitual residence as a
result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it”. In such cases, UNHCR
has noted that states may recognise both protection statuses through the same procedure.113

23 February 2023, available at: https://www.dw.com/es/colombia-y-m%C3%A9xico-ofrecen-nacionalidad-a-ap%C3%A1tridas-

de-nicaragua/a-64793143
106. S panish nationality was granted gradually and in groups. 14 persons were granted nationality on 11 May (see: https://
www.boe.es/boe/dias/2023/05/12/pdfs/BOE-S-2023-113.pdf); 14 persons were granted nationality on 23 May (see:
https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2023/05/24/pdfs/BOE-S-2023-123.pdf); 18 persons on 29 May (see: https://www.boe.es/
boe/dias/2023/05/31/pdfs/BOE-S-2023-129.pdf); 29 persons on 13 June (see: https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2023/06/14/
pdfs/BOE-S-2023-141.pdf); 8 persons on 4 July (see: https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2023/07/05/pdfs/BOE-S-2023-159.pdf);
7 persons on 11 July (see: https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2023/07/12/pdfs/BOE-S-2023-165.pdf).
107. A ccording to the IACHR “The only circumstance that can put an end to the international protection granted to a stateless
person is acquisition of a nationality”. IACHR, Due Process in Procedures for the Determination of Refugee Status and
Statelessness and the Granting of Complementary Protection, 5 August 2020, para. 375.
108. UNHCR, International Protection Considerations with regard to People Fleeing Nicaragua, HCR/PC/NIC/2023/01, January 2023,
p. 6.
109. A ccording to Article 1 of the 1951 Convention, a person is a “refugee” when (i) he/she is outside the country of his/her
nationality; (ii) he/she has a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a
particular social group or political opinion; and (iii) owing to such fear, he/she is unable or unwilling to avail himself/herself
of the protection of that country.
110. U NHCR, International Protection Considerations with regard to People Fleeing Nicaragua, HCR/PC/NIC/2023/01, January 2023,
pp. 35 and 36.
111. IACHR, Due Process in Procedures for the Determination of Refugee Status and Statelessness and the Granting of Complementary
Protection, 5 August 2020, para. 330.
112. Ibid, paras 330, 334 and 368.
113. UNHCR, Statelessness Determination Procedures: Identifying and Protecting Stateless Persons, August 2014, p. 5.

13 FIDH - Exile and civil death

 4.2 Individuals who remain in Nicaragua

According to the information available, two of those who have become stateless and remain on Nicaraguan
territory are human rights defender Vilma Nuñez de Escorcia and Bishop Rolando Álvarez Lagos. They
are in a situation of extreme defencelessness. On the one hand, they are experiencing systematic
suppression of their human rights as a result of the arbitrary deprivation of their Nicaraguan nationality.
On the other hand, they face repression by the Ortega-Murillo regime without access to any effective
domestic remedy to protect them from the arbitrary exercise of public power.

While Vilma Nuñez de Escorcia is under strict police siege,114 Bishop Rolando Álvarez is in state custody,
in prison, and since 25 March 2023 his physical and psychological condition, as well as his location,
have been unknown.115 On 28 November, the Ministry of the Interior published a press release stating
that Bishop Rolando Álvarez had allegedly received family and medical visits between March and
November 2023.116 Although the information published by the executive branch proves that the Bishop
is in detention, it does not reliably prove either the conditions in which he is being held or his state of
health.

In cases such as theirs, known as “in situ” statelessness cases, the only appropriate protection option
is the restoration of nationality.117 According to UNHCR, the profound connection of persons to their
countries of birth and long-term residence, as well as the absence of links with other nations, imposes
a “political and moral imperative” on the state to restore their nationality status.118 This is also the most
rapid way to resolve the situation of stateless persons.119

The possibilities for the restoration of the rights of Vilma Nuñez de Escorcia and
Bishop Rolando Álvarez Lagos are limited, as they depend exclusively on the discretion of the Ortega-
Murillo regime. The actions taken by the authorities, with the adoption of orders that have exacerbated
the effects of their statelessness, are indicative of their unwillingness to remedy the situation.

In addition, the state of Nicaragua continues to fail to fulfil its international human rights commitments
and to cooperate with UN bodies. On 23 October 2023, the Ambassador and Permanent Representative
of Nicaragua withdrew from the opening session of the periodic review by the Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) after making a statement containing “baseless
accusations”. The Committee then had to proceed with the review without being able to engage in a
constructive dialogue with the state delegation.120

This refusal was notwithstanding the Human Rights Council’s resolution of 27 March 2023, calling on
the state of Nicaragua to cooperate fully with the Office of the High Commissioner, the Human Rights
Council and its mechanisms, and the relevant treaty bodies, “including during its upcoming review by
the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.”121

114. IACHR, Closure of civic space in Nicaragua, 23 September 2023, para. 67.
115. Office of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Communication to the State of Nicaragua,
2 August 2023, Ref: AL NIC 2/2023, p. 4.
116. Confidencial, “Ortega Regime Releases Photos of Alleged ‘Prison Visits’ To Bishop Rolando Álvarez”, 28 November 2023,
available at: https://confidencial.digital/english/ortega-regime-releases-photos-of-alleged-prison-visits-to-bishop-rolando-
alvarez/
117. According to UNHCR, in these cases, the application of a statelessness determination procedure is not appropriate, since
“the appropriate status for such individuals in their ‘own country’ is nationality of the State in question (...), in these cases the
correct mechanism for determining an individual’s or a population group’s status is one that is concerned with the restoration
or conferral of nationality.” UNHCR, Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons under the 1954 Convention relating to the Status
of Stateless Persons, Geneva, 2014, para. 165.
118. Ibid, para. 164.
119. UNHCR, Statelessness Determination Procedures: Identifying and Protecting Stateless Persons, August 2014, p. 9.
120. “ UN women’s rights committee deplores withdrawal of Nicaraguan Ambassador from public review”, 25 October 2023,
available at: https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/10/un-womens-rights-committee-deplores-withdrawal-
nicaraguan-ambassador-public
121. Human Rights Council, Resolution on the promotion and protection of human rights in Nicaragua, A/HRC/52/L.38, 27 March 2023,
para. 20.

FIDH - Exile and civil death 14

Recommendations
The arbitrary deprivation of Nicaraguan nationality in respect of 317 individuals, carried out on 10 and
15 February 2023, shows the intensification of the persecution and punishment of those perceived to be
opponents of the government, including human rights defenders.122 It is also designed to intimidate civil
society as a whole, as it reaffirms that “any person critical of the government and their relatives will be
punished.”123 In short, this measure is yet another step towards the destruction of civic and democratic
space which has been progressively promoted by the regime since 2018, and which aims to ensure that
there is no room for dissent in Nicaragua.124

This document does not provide an exhaustive picture of the situation. The cases presented here
illustrate the seriousness and systematisation of the human rights violations suffered by persons
arbitrarily deprived of their Nicaraguan nationality. However, it should be noted that, at the time of
writing, we do not know the situations of all stateless persons, who may be facing similar or worse
situations of lack of protection than those described in this note.
In response to this aberrant situation, which has no recent precedent in the region, we call on States and
international organisations to:

• Strongly condemn the arbitrary deprivations of nationality imposed by the Ortega-Murillo regime
against 317 Nicaraguans and the measures that have further aggravated the effects of their
statelessness, including the erasure of their public identity records, the confiscation of their
property, and the suppression of their rights to access to justice, to enjoy a retirement pension
and to exercise their profession.

• Call for the repeal of Law No. 1145 of 2023 enabling loss of nationality to be imposed on persons
declared “traitors to the homeland,” and urge the Government of Nicaragua to immediately
restore the Nicaraguan nationality of all persons deprived of it.

• Call for the repeal of Laws No. 977,125 1055126 and 1060,127 which have been invoked selectively
by the Ortega-Murillo regime to persecute dissidents,128 and urge the state of Nicaragua to
immediately repeal the criminal sanctions imposed pursuant to these laws, including the
sentences handed down against the 317 persons arbitrarily deprived of their nationality.

• Urge the state of Nicaragua to immediately and unconditionally release Bishop Rolando Álvarez
Lagos and all political prisoners in Nicaragua.

• Urge the state of Nicaragua to guarantee the integrity and security of human rights defender
Vilma Núñez de Escorcia and Bishop Rolando Álvarez Lagos, who are both stateless in the
country.

• Continue to closely monitor the situation in Nicaragua, with particular emphasis on the
situations of Vilma Núñez de Escorcia and Bishop Rolando Álvarez Lagos, ensuring that their
freedom and their physical and psychological integrity are respected.

122. IACHR, Closure of civic space in Nicaragua, 23 September 2023, para. 67.
123. OHCHR, Human Rights Situation in Nicaragua, Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 10 August 2023,
A/HRC/54/60, para. 75.
124. Ibid, para. 76.
125. Law No. 977 Contra el Lavado de Activos, el Financiamiento al Terrorismo y el Financiamiento a la Proliferación de Armas de
Destrucción Masiva (on money-laundering, the financing of terrorism and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of
mass destruction), adopted in 2018.
126. Law No. 1055 de Defensa de los Derechos del Pueblo a la Independencia, la Soberanía y Autodeterminación para la Paz (on the
defence of the rights of the people to independence, sovereignty and self-determination for peace), adopted in 2020.
127. Law No. 1060 Ley de Reforma y Adición a la Ley Nº.406, Código Procesal Penal de la República de Nicaragua (reforming Law
No. 406 on the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Republic of Nicaragua), adopted in 2021.
128. OHCHR, Human Rights Situation in Nicaragua, Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 10 August 2023,
A/HRC/54/60, para. 21.

15 FIDH - Exile and civil death

To the states that have received Nicaraguan individuals who have become stateless, we recommend
that they:

• Adopt special, simplified and expedited procedures to provide them with protection. These
measures should presume their status as stateless refugees and include their families as
beneficiaries of protection. Given the particular vulnerability caused by statelessness, it is
essential that the procedures envisaged guarantee access to social and economic rights from
the moment individuals apply for protection, and provide durable solutions to their situation,
including the acquisition of a nationality and local integration into the community that has
received them.

We call on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in accordance with its
mandate to prevent statelessness and to act to ensure that stateless persons enjoy fundamental
human rights, to:

• Conduct and disseminate a study on the situation of statelessness among the Nicaraguan
population in order to better understand the scope and dimension of the problem, identify the
populations affected and their protection needs. This research should include the situation of
those who find themselves in a situation of de facto statelessness129 caused by the refusal
of the Nicaraguan authorities to renew their expired passports and to issue other identity
documents.130

• Prioritise assistance and support to Nicaraguan nationals who have been rendered stateless in
the submission of their applications for protection to host states.

• Intervene proactively with the authorities of the host states to advocate for the granting of
protection to Nicaraguan nationals who have been made stateless.

129. According to UNHCR, statelessness can occur when there is no formal act, but where the practice shows that the state
has ceased to consider an individual or group as nationals. For example, by repeatedly refusing to issue or renew their
documents without providing justification. UNHCR, Guidelines on statelessness No. 5: Loss and Deprivation of Nationality under
Articles 5-9 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, Distr. GENERAL HCR/GS/20/05, May 2020, para. 9.
130. O n this point, the IACHR Special Monitoring Mechanism for Nicaragua has received information from individuals who are
unable to return to Nicaragua and have faced the State’s refusal to renew their passports and issue their identity documents.
IACHR, “IACHR Rejects Ongoing Repression and Human Rights Violations in Nicaragua”, 16 June 2023, available at: https://
www.oas.org/en/iachr/jsForm/?File=/en/iachr/media_center/preleases/2023/123.asp

FIDH - Exile and civil death 16

17 FIDH - Exile and civil death
This document was produced with the support
of the Agence française de développement (AFD).
The sole responsibility for the content of this
publication lies with FIDH, and it cannot be
considered to reflect the views of the AFD.

FIDH - Exile and civil death 18

 Keep your eyes open

Establishing the facts - Investigative and trial observation missions

Supporting civil society - Training and exchange
Mobilizing the international community - Advocacy before intergovernmental bodies
Informing and reporting - Mobilizing public opinion
Director of
publication:
Alice Mogwe For FIDH, transforming societies relies on the work of local actors.
Editor: The Worldwide Movement for Human Rights acts at national, regional and international
Éléonore Morel
levels in support of its member and partner organizations to address human rights
Author of
abuses and consolidate democratic processes. Its work is directed at States and
the report:
FIDH those in power, such as armed opposition groups and multinational corporations.
Coordination: Its primary beneficiaries are national human rights organizations who are members
Natalia Yaya,
Jimena Reyes. of the Movement, and through them, the victims of human rights violations. FIDH also
Design: cooperates with other local partner organizations and actors of change.
FIDH/CB

CONTACT
FIDH
17, passage de la Main d’Or
75011 Paris - France
Tel: (33-1) 43 55 25 18
www.fidh.org
Twitter: @fidh_en / fidh_fr / fidh_es
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FIDH.HumanRights/

Dépôt légal décembre 2023 - FIDH (Éd. anglaise) ISSN 2225-1804 - Fichier informatique conforme à la loi du 6 janvier
FIDH1978 (Déclaration
- Exile N°330death
and civil 675) 19
 FIDH
is an
international human rights
NGO
federating 188 organizations
from 116 countries

About fidh
FIDH takes action for the protection of victims of human rights violations, for
the prevention of violations and to bring perpetrators to justice.

A broad mandate
FIDH works for the respect of all the rights set out in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights: civil and political rights, as well as economic, social and cultural rights.

A universal movement
FIDH was established in 1922, and today unites 188 member organizations in
116 countries around the world. FIDH coordinates and supports their activities and
provides them with a voice at the international level.

An independent organization
Like its member organizations, FIDH is not linked to any party or religion and is
independent of all governments.

www.fidh.org