Costa Rica expressed its concern over the grave situation in Nicaragua regarding the arbitrary expatriation of more than 300 citizens by the government of Daniel Ortega.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship (MREC) issued a statement expressing that it echoed the recent manifestations by international organizations regarding this matter.
On February 9, 222 imprisoned Nicaraguan opponents of Ortega’s regime were released and deported to the United States.
The National Assembly revoked their Nicaraguan citizenship and the possibility of holding elected office.
In addition, the Nicaraguan judiciary withdrew the nationality of writers Sergio Ramírez and Gioconda Belli and 92 other persons, saying they were guilty of “treason.”
Nicaraguan Vice President Rosario Murillo also stated that this was an “expatriation and transfer of people who were sentenced for attacks against sovereignty.”
“Costa Rica maintains a strong presence in international human rights forums, and thus, the situation in the neighbor country contradicts the obligations of every state in the framework of international law, which prohibits the arbitrary stripping of nationality on racial, ethnic, religious or political grounds,” said Minister a.i. Christian Guillermet-Fernandez.
This way, along with the United Nations and other multilateral organizations, the country points out that the measures taken by the Nicaraguan authorities to promote a legislative reform that allows depriving a person of citizenship arbitrarily contradicts the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, to which Nicaragua is a member.
“Costa Rica calls upon Nicaragua to comply with its international obligations to guarantee the exercise of the right to nationality, take measures to prevent and eradicate statelessness, and respect the human rights of its citizens,” concluded The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship.
