Epsy Campbell asks the United Nations to intervene in Nicaragua

Vice President Epsy Campbell, said Thursday at the U.N. that the situation in Nicaragua is “not sustainable,” and called on the international community to help solve the “crisis with the potential of growth” with impacts all over Central America.

“When it comes to the life and dignity of people, to their chance of living free of fear and misery, the silence makes us accomplices,” she said from the podium of the United Nations General Assembly.

“That is why Costa Rica raises its voice,” she said, expressing her preoccupation regarding the “disrespect of the rule of law” and the “violations of the human rights” in Venezuela.

Campbell said that the “deterioration of the institutionalization and the systematic erosion of the human rights” in Nicaragua requires worldwide attention.

For this reason, she suggested that the international community and the U.N. General Secretary participate with the preventive diplomacy and help mediate the crisis.

The massive protests that erupted in Nicaragua five months ago against President Daniel Ortega has resulted in more than 320 deaths and 2,000 injured in midst of a violent repression.

Campbell noted an increase of migration and refuge applications of Nicaraguans in Costa Rica, emphasizing a “responsible, orderly and solidary” answer from Costa Rica.

“But of course, Costa Rica cannot carry this weight alone,” she said. “The situation in Nicaragua is not sustainable.”

Thousands of Nicaraguans have fled to neighbor countries, especially to Costa Rica, where at least 23,000 have already sought asylum.

For Campbell, “only the path of committed, effective dialogue between the two parties, with a serious agreement and an agenda of democratization, can be a solution for the conflict that distresses the brother land.”

The dialogue in Nicaragua, mediated by the Catholic Church and started May 16, has been paralyzed since the middle of June. This is due to the government’s violent repression of protests and refusal to accept democratization measures, including early elections.