November 8.- The Group of Experts on Human Rights on Nicaragua (GHREN) has issued the report entitled “Violations and abuses of human rights to education, academic freedom and other fundamental rights against students, teachers, academic managers and other university personnel” (A/HRC/55/CRP.6), an exhaustive analysis of the human rights situation in the Nicaraguan education system. “This report presents detailed evidence of systematic violations and abuses against university autonomy and academic freedom, pointing out how the Nicaraguan government has exercised repressive control over the educational environment, impacting students, teachers, managers and other members of university staff,” said the International Network for Human Rights Europe (RIDHE).
Notable findings include:
- Dismantling University Autonomy: The government has restricted university independence through legal reforms and financial control, closing critical universities.
- Expulsions and Restrictions on Education: Critical students and teachers face retaliation, such as expulsion and blocking of degrees, violating rights to education and freedom of expression.
- Political Control in Educational Institutions: Political proselytism in universities, which affects ideological diversity, is denounced.
- Labor Rights Violations: Critical teachers have been unjustly dismissed, deteriorating educational quality.
- Generalized Repression and Persecution: Beyond the educational sphere, the report documents the use of practices such as arbitrary deprivation of nationality and restrictions on freedom of movement to control and punish those who oppose the regime, extending rights violations to all areas of citizens' lives.
The GHREN urgently calls on the international community to take action against these systematic violations and advocates intervention to restore respect for human rights in the Nicaraguan education system. This report shows how the repression against the university sector responds to a deliberate effort by the government to suppress any space for dissent and critical thinking, eroding education and fundamental rights in the country.
From RIDHE, we urge society to disseminate this report and to join efforts in the defense of academic freedom and university autonomy in Nicaragua. Educational institutions should be places of freedom and growth, not of repression and political control. Read the full report and join the cause to make this situation visible and demand justice for those who see their basic rights violated in the Nicaraguan educational context.
“Every intern here is a living proof of the human capacity to overcome the most challenging circumstances...
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