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NICARAGUA
The cultural and historic roots of the seven indigenous peoples of Nicaragua lie both in the Pacific region, which is home to the Chorotega
(221,000), the Cacaopera or Matagalpa (97,500), the Ocanxiu or Sutiaba
(49,000) and the Nahoa or Náhuatl (20,000), and also on the Caribbean
(or Atlantic) Coast, which is inhabited by the Miskitu (150,000), the SumuMayangna (27,000) and the Rama (2,000). Other peoples who enjoy collective rights in accordance with the Political Constitution of Nicaragua
(1987) are the black populations of African descent, known as “ethnic
communities” in national legislation. These include the Creole or Afrodescendants (43,000) and the Garífuna (2,500). Among the most important regulations are Law 445 on the Communal Property System of Indigenous Peoples and Ethnic Communities of Nicaragua’s Atlantic Coast
and of the Bocay, Coco, Indio and Maíz Rivers which, from 2003 on, also
stipulates the right to self-government in the titled communities and territories. The 2006 General Education Law also recognises a Regional Autonomous Education System (SEAR). In 2007, Nicaragua voted in favour
of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and, in 2010,
ratified ILO Convention No. 169.
The Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) came to power in
Nicaragua in 1979, subsequently having to face an armed insurgency
supported by the United States. Indigenous peoples from the Caribbean
Coast, primarily the Miskitu, took part in this insurgency. In order to put an
end to indigenous resistance, the FSLN created the Autonomous Regions of the North and South Atlantic (RAAN/RAAS1), on the basis of a
New Political Constitution and the Autonomy Law (Law 28). Having lost
democratically held elections in 1990, Daniel Ortega, of the FSLN, returned to power in 2007. Ortega is in the middle of his third presidential
term in office (2011-2016) and has now managed to amend the Constitution to enable perpetual re-election.
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1
3
2
4
1. Mayangna territories
2. Rama y Kriol territory
4. Planned route of the Interoceanic Canal
I
3. Chorotega Communities
ssues of particular significance in the Autonomous Regions of Nicaragua during
2015 included discussions on the construction of the Interoceanic Canal; the
removal from office of the national deputy Brooklyn Rivera, for many decades one
of the most prominent indigenous leaders in Nicaragua; and the clashes between
mestizo settlers and Miskitu communities in the Northern Caribbean Coast Region, which led to scores of deaths and hundreds of refugees. Lastly, in the north
of the country, the Chorotega communities made progress in protecting their ancestral territory.
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Lack of information about the Nicaragua Interoceanic Canal
In March 2015, the Ecological Society of America (ESA) – the largest society of ecology
professionals in the world, founded in 1915 – asked President Daniel Ortega to initiate
discussions between scientists, the Nicaraguan government and the Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Company Ltd (HKND Group) regarding the environmental aspects of the canal before continuing with the canal project.1
At Florida International University, Miami, USA, a panel of experts met in
March 2015 with representatives of the consultancy group Environmental Research Management (ERM), which had been contracted to carry out the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for the Canal. The panel described the ESIA as scientifically weak and technically inadequate, and the
conclusions of the 14-volume study as “scientifically indefensible”.2
On 19 and 20 November, the Academy of Sciences of Nicaragua invited 15
international experts to analyze the ESIA at the Central American University
(UCA) in Managua. The workshop’s main question was this: what is the basis
for claiming that the canal will have “a net positive impact”Sergio Rincón, a
columnist for Sin Embargo, indicates that “the document lists a series of recommendations through which companies can anticipate, control, contain and resolve
conflicts with communities over land in addition to providing information on how to
lease, expropriate and guarantee the area and exploit it.”a claim that has led the
government to approve the ESIA and HKND to interpret it as definitive authorization for the construction of the Canal—while the ESIA itself is at the same
time pointing out that seven additional studies have yet to be carried out? In
summary, the expert panel found
that there is no basis for concluding that this project is beneficial overall.
There are many important issues summarized in the ESIA document which
clearly state that there will be Moderate or Major Impacts of Residual Significance which must be remedied prior to construction of the project. The
report does not meet appropriate international standards in the analysis of
these impacts in several ways. It is superficial, general, and rather too
qualitative for assessing environmental and social impacts of this megaproject. We, therefore, recommend to stop the Project, analyze the impacts and risks quantitatively, and to take appropriate actions.3
MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA
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The hearing before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
The most significant event following the official inauguration of the canal construction works on 22 December 20144 was a sit-down demonstration on the
Pan-American Highway by peasant farmers, and the ensuing police clampdowns. A Belgian journalist who covered the event was expelled from the country, and other journalists were detained and interrogated. The police presence
in the area of Nueva Guinea lasted for several months, in spite of the local inhabitants’ opposition.5 In December 2014, several representatives of indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples from the Autonomous Region of the Southern Caribbean Coast (RACCS) requested precautionary measures from the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). These measures
should ensure that no construction work is carried out until these peoples have
been consulted, since 52% of the canal’s route goes through the RACCS and
will affect their territories. In March 2015, during the 154th period of ordinary
sessions, the IACHR granted a thematic hearing to the peasant farmers who,
together with human rights organizations and members of the Rama and Kriol
Territorial Government (GTR-K), had suffered from the police clampdowns in
December 2014.6 The state sent a high-level delegation that tried to play down
the importance of the clampdowns and said that a process to obtain the free,
prior and informed consent of the Rama and Kriol people was being undertaken. This was denied publicly by the Rama representative, who was a member
of the petitioners’ delegation to the hearing.7 The IACHR subsequently requested that the state provide information regarding the group’s complaints.
In May 2015, the State of Nicaragua refused entry to lawyers from the
international NGO Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL),8 which
had taken part in the IACHR hearing on the Canal.9
Submission and approval of the Environmental
and Social Impact Study (ESIA)
Another important event was the submission of the canal’s ESIA by ERM to the concession holder, HKND. After 17 months of studies, the report was handed over discreetly by HKND to the government on the night of 5 May. During the preceding
month, the executive summary had been available on HKND’s webpage. Days after it
was approved by the government, ERM put up the full 14,000 pages of the study on
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the internet. On 24 September 2015 a presentation of more than eight hours was
given to public officials and groups linked to the government. This event was called a
“public consultation”, even though the study had already been submitted. It was in this
context that the Cocibolca Group,10 in a press conference, expressed their rejection of
the so-called public consultation for not meeting the minimum procedural and legal
requirements and for not having invited, in particular, the affected local residents nor
the national sectors that had expressed concern at the project. The ESIA was approved by the Nicaraguan government in the same way it had been presented, by
means of an unpublished Resolution, and therefore unknown to the general public.11
The contents of the ESIA
Among the most significant points in the ESIA is the confirmation that Nicaragua
lost nearly 40% of its forest cover between 1983 and 2011. The average rate of
loss over the 28-year period was 400 km2 per year, and the highest deforestation
rates in the past 26 years occurred between 2009 and 2011.
The ESIA concludes that the canal will not be able to avoid a direct impact on
the Rama people of Bangkukuk Taik and on the lands of the Rama and Kriol territory, which stretches along the entire Caribbean Coast. The canal could also
have significant adverse effects on biodiversity, some of which would not be directly mitigable. In addition, the process of expropriation of lands and forcible resettlement has thus far not complied with international standards.
The ESIA also points to the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the
environmental, health and safety guidelines established by the World Bank as
international best practice for projects affecting indigenous peoples and their
lands. All consultations with indigenous peoples should be carried out in line with
international standards, and free, prior and informed consent should be guaranteed before the construction of the canal is begun.
The ESIA also notes that “currently, the Nicaraguan government is carrying
out a formal consultation with GTR-K on the project”. However, according to the
Black Creole Indigenous Community of Bluefields, which will be affected by the
Canal in the same way as the Rama and Kriol peoples, the government has not
carried out any consultation process but has instead divided the community by creating a parallel government which is obedient to its interests.12 In this respect, GTRK stated publicly that in January 2015 they had formally submitted to the government the “Guidelines on the implementation of a consultation process in the Rama
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95
and Kriol territory in relation to the Nicaragua Interoceanic Grand Canal project and
related sub-projects”, which had been approved by the Territorial Assembly of the
Rama and Kriol Peoples on 18 December 2014. However, without considering the
provisions of that document, the government made a tour of the communities in the
Rama and Kriol territory in late January and early February,13 denying them the right
to have an international observer and technical and legal advisors.14
In accordance with relevant international standards, the ESIA agrees with the
indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples of the Caribbean Coast on the need to
conduct a consultation process in order to obtain their free, prior and informed
consent, a demand that these peoples have been making since July 2013. They
had even lodged a constitutional challenge with the Nicaraguan Supreme Court
concerning the lack of consultation of Law No. 840 (the “Special Law for the Development of Nicaraguan Infrastructure and Transport, with reference to the Canal, Free Trade Zones and Related Infrastructure”).15 They are proceeding with
their appeal to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Confrontations between settlers and Miskitu communities
After weeks of violence that included abductions, rape, fatal and non-fatal shootings,
the burning of houses and ranches, the leveling of scores of hectares of crops, and the
displacement of an unknown number of settlers and indigenous families, the head of
the Nicaraguan Army stated: “We note that these things will not be resolved by force
by any of the sectors involved. We are not in favor of the use of force; indeed, on the
contrary, we are seeking a means of dialogue and rapprochement in order to find a
solution”.16 On 12 September, the Auxiliary Bishop of the Vicariate of Bluefields suggested creating a “Truth Commission to find those responsible and bring them to justice and, in this way, see who the victims are and who has caused the injustices, in
order to build a just and peaceful society”.17 The Indigenous Unity Movement of the
Caribbean Coast called on the government to facilitate the creation of such a commission, through a statement from its president on 9 September:
We urge the establishment of a multi-sectoral commission before the start of
this long weekend, so it can begin to address the conflicts in the indigenous
territories and, above all, seek a peaceful solution.
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The president of Li Auhbra territory stated that 18 members of communities in the
Río Coco region and in Waspám had died since January.18
Denunciations by YATAMA
On 16 September 2015, YATAMA (Yapti Tasba Masraka Nanih Aslatakanka)
—the organization of the Yapti Tasba Nation and a movement for the identity
and struggle of the Nicaraguan Miskito people—denounced life-threatening attacks on indigenous leaders, allegedly by members of the Sandinista National
Liberation Front (FSLN), together with the police and the army. On 14 September, a drunken group of people armed with pistols attacked YATAMA’s building
in Waspám, Wangki Territory, where a group of the organization’s members
were guarding the community radio station because of threats of arson. During
the shooting, nine indigenous people were wounded, including Mario Leman
Müller, an ex-combatant of the Indigenous Resistance and a member of the
Indigenous Board in Wangki. They identified “the ringleaders of the attackers”
to be the local town clerk, an ex-regional councilor, the son of a Sandinista exmayor and a cousin of a government coordinator. The leader, Leman Müller,
died on 15 September. YATAMA reports that the police and the army in Waspám both knew of the attack and that during the shooting the indigenous group
requested protection but received no response. YATAMA further reports that on
15 September, a truck coming from the communities of Tasba Raya in Waspám
municipality was attacked by a unit of the Nicaraguan army, resulting in three
people injured, including the vice-president of the Indigenous Territorial Government of Wangki Twi Tasba Raya, who suffered punctured lungs.19 They furthermore reported that the Nicaraguan government was militarizing the municipalities of Waspám and Puerto Cabezas, transferring large numbers of specialized anti-riot forces and soldiers by truck.20
The state’s reaction
The President of the Republic announced on 9 September that an Inter-Institutional
Commission had already been created to offer indigenous communities the necessary assistance with communal land titling in the Northern and Southern Caribbean
regions, so that they could recover properties protected by the Law on the Autonomy of the Caribbean Coast. This would apply particularly in reserves such as the
MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA
97
Indio Maíz biological reserve. These reserves belong not only to the State of Nicaragua but also to the entire planet, yet they experience serious problems of incursions by settlers.21 On 23 September, the Office of the Attorney General (PGR) announced that it was re-activating a special commission in the Afro-descendants’
traditional territories of the Caribbean and Alto Wangki-Bocay, to be presided over
by the PGR. The purpose of the Commission would be to investigate the territorial
conflict between indigenous peoples and settlers in Waspám, in the Autonomous
Region of the Northern Caribbean Coast (RACCN), where it has already caused
several deaths and forced displacements of communities. The Special Commission
would include the national police, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and the judiciary.
The objective would be to re-establish social harmony and take legal proceedings
against all those who were implicated in the “criminal acts related to the trafficking
and occupation of Indigenous Communal Lands and other related crimes listed and
punishable under the Penal Code which had come to light, and support the efforts
of the government to protect the resources of the indigenous peoples and of Mother
Earth”, according to a communication from the PGR.22 Nonetheless, indigenous
people state that the aforesaid commission has still not been established.
Deputy Brooklyn Rivera removed from his seat in Parliament
On 21 September 2015, the president of the FSLN in the National Assembly demanded the immediate lifting of the immunity of the YATAMA deputy, Brooklyn
Rivera, accusing him of the illegal sale of lands in RACCN where, over the past
15 days, there had been clashes between indigenous peoples and settlers who
were invading indigenous communal territories. Rivera asked Parliament to create a special commission to investigate the accusations made against him but he
was ignored, and the Sandinista deputies removed him from office without observing the correct legal procedures.23 Nonetheless, to date Rivera has still not
been charged by the judiciary for the alleged crimes.24
Indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants before
the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)
The Center for Justice and Human Rights of the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua
(CEJUDHCAN) and CEJIL raised the matter of the human rights of indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants on the Northern Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua at the
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156th session of the IACHR, which took place on 16 October 2015. They denounced
the invasion and usurpation of their territories in RACCN by settlers; the violation of
the right to self-determination in the Black Creole Indigenous Community of Bluefields by means of the creation of parallel authorities who are amenable to the Nicaraguan government; and the lack of consultation over the mega-canal project.25
The IACHR grants precautionary measures in favor
of the Miskitu indigenous people
Given the increased frequency and intensity of settler attacks, on 14 October
2015 the IACHR granted the precautionary measures requested by members of
indigenous communities to prevent irreparable damage to their rights to life and
personal integrity. The Miskitu communities concerned were Esperanza, Santa
Clara, Wisconsin and Francia Sirpi, in the indigenous Miskitu territory of Wangki
Twi Tasba Raya in the RACCN. According to CEJUDHCAN, some 54 indigenous
people were assaulted between 2013 and 2015, 24 of whom were murdered. In
addition, hundreds of people, principally women and children, have been forced
to flee because of the widespread violence. Nonetheless, according to the IACHR, up to now “the Nicaraguan State has done nothing to protect these communities. On the contrary it has undertaken reprisals against the beneficiary communities by suspending social welfare projects”.26
Nicaragua before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights gave authorization on 1 October 2015
to begin processing the case “María Luisa Acosta and Others vs. Nicaragua”. The
case concerns serious irregularities committed by the Nicaraguan legal system during the criminal proceedings related to the murder of Francisco José García Valle,
husband of María Luisa Acosta, an advocate of indigenous peoples’ and Afro-descendants’ rights. The murder was carried out by contract killers in the victim’s
house in Bluefields on the Nicaraguan Southern Caribbean Coast on 8 April 2002.
At that time, the victim’s wife was the coordinator of the Center for Legal Assistance
for Indigenous Peoples (CALPI), but she was also the legal representative of the
indigenous and Afro-descendant communities of the Laguna de Perlas basin and of
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99
the Rama and Kriol territory, which were affected by the illegal sale of Cayos Perlas
and other properties by Peter Tsokos and Peter Martínez Fox.
CALPI, CEJUDHCAN, and the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH) considered it appropriate to obtain accreditation in the Inter-American
Court of Human Rights in order to represent the victims. The case presents many
of the challenges that Nicaragua needs to address in relation to the protection of
human rights advocates, judicial independence and impunity. The Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has indicated that “a lack of
investigation into violations against advocates, and of punishment of those responsible, is the most important factor contributing to the risk faced by advocates,
because it leaves them defenseless and without protection”.27
The Chorotega indigenous people of northern Nicaragua
Since 2012, the Chorotega have been undertaking a process of geo-referencing
aimed at documenting their entire territory. By 2014, they had developed an initial
outline of the territory. In 2015, through a project with the Nicaraguan Council for
Voluntary Certification (CONICEFV), funded by the Danish NGO Forests of the
World, they geo-referenced forested areas and water sources in the Chorotega
territory and the territory of the indigenous communities of San Antonio and Santa Bárbara in northern Nicaragua. This has helped them gain a better overview of
the territory and the natural resources within it.
In order to strengthen indigenous institutions and governance, the Chorotega people have developed a proposal for the consolidation28 of the indigenous communal
property. This is important because it will allow the territorial governments to exercise
control over land tenure, as well as put indigenous governance into practice.
In addition, relations with the Nicaraguan Supreme Court have been strengthened. Between 2014 and 2015, three specialized courses on the administration
of intercultural justice were organized, targeting officials in the ordinary legal system including judges, magistrates, secretaries, police, prosecutors and public
defenders. Spaces are being created to establish mechanisms for better communication and coordination between judges and indigenous authorities for the
purposes of conflict mediation and resolution, especially in relation to land tenure.
There has also been an improvement in coordination with the Attorney General’s
Office and the Property Administration in relation to the administration of the col-
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lective territories since each territory has its “Royal Titles” granted by the Spanish
Crown confirming that the people concerned are the owners of their historical and
ancestral territories.29 
Notes and references
1
The letter was presented to ESA’s president, David Inouye, at the Nicaraguan Embassy in Washington, and copied to the U.S. Ambassador in Nicaragua, Phyllis M. Powers, the Nicaraguan
Ambassador in the USA, Francisco Campbell Hooker, and the president of HKND, Wang Jing.
http://www.laprensa.com.ni/2015/03/09/nacionales/1795420-rechazo-global-al-canal
2 http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2015/world/nicaragua-canal-environmental-assessmentcriticized-as-scientifically-weak-technically-inadequate/
3 http://cienciasdenicaragua.org/images/imagenes/notificas_pdf/II_Taller/DeclaracionFinal2doTaller.pdf
4 It is relevant to note that apart from a 300-meter extension of a trail in the Brito area of Rivas
department on the Pacific Coast, no other infrastructural work has been carried out on the canal.
5 http://www.laprensa.com.ni/2015/01/26/politica/1771409-asedio-policial-en-nueva-guinea
http://www.laprensa.com.ni/2015/01/17/nacionales/1766803-campesinos-impiden-entrada-decamionetas-con-encuestadores
6 VIDEO of the hearing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOxVVwrKnBc
7 VIDEO: Members of the Bankukuk Taik/Punta de Águila Community talk about the lack of consultation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jYzOGTHCKQ
8 CEJIL is a non-governmental organization founded in 1991 by a group of human rights defenders
in the Americas to protect and promote human rights in all member states of the Organization of
American States (OAS). A central element of its work is the defense of human rights before the
Inter-American Commission (IACHR) and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. CEJIL is
based in Washington D.C. (Ed.).
9 http://www.laprensa.com.ni/2015/05/15/nacionales/1832877-niegan-ingreso-a-abogado-de-cejil
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-75VtGy6MM&feature=youtu.be
10 The Cocibolca Group is a Nicaraguan National Platform of NGOs, academics, technicians, professionals, and people of indigenous and African descent, seeking to inform and promote knowledge on the Canal project and its impact among Nicaraguan society and the world (Ed.).
11 http://www.ondalocal.com.ni/noticias/147-la-consulta-un-acto-propagandistico/
12 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvWKXU54K4s&feature=em-upload_owner#action=share
13 http://www.laprensa.com.ni/2015/02/05/nacionales/1777240-indigenas-exigen-ser-escuchados
14 http://www.laprensa.com.ni/2015/10/08/departamentales/1915392-ramas-y-kriol-quieren-observador-internacional
15 Published in La Gaceta Diario Oficial No. 110, 14 June 2013.
16 http://www.laprensa.com.ni/2015/09/09/politica/1898612-desalojo-de-siete-familias-en-zona-indigena
17 http://www.laprensa.com.ni/2015/09/13/nacionales/1900960-terror-en-suelo-indigena
18 http://www.laprensa.com.ni/2015/09/12/departamentales/1900662-creciente-tension-en-tierrasindigenas y http://www.laprensa.com.ni/2015/09/15/nacionales/1902137-celebracion-de-fiestaspatrias-en-waspam-termina-en-hecho-sangriento
101
http://www.laprensa.com.ni/2015/09/16/nacionales/1902585-ejercito-embosca-a-indigenas
19 http://www.laprensa.com.ni/2015/09/16/nacionales/1902585-ejercito-embosca-a-indigenas
20 http://www.laprensa.com.ni/2015/09/16/nacionales/1902716-yatama-responsabiliza-al-gobierno-por-muerte-de-dirigentes-indigenas
21 http://www.el19digital.com/articulos/ver/titulo:33390-gobierno-acompanara-defensa-de-losderechos-de-las-comunidades-indigenas-frente-a-invasores-y-estafadores22 http://www.laprensa.com.ni/2015/09/23/nacionales/1906959-pgr-reactiva-comision-para-investigar-conflicto-territorial-en-waspam
23 Rivera was the plaintiff in the case of YATAMA vs. Nicaragua before the Inter-American Court of
Human Rights in 2005, in which the Court established the international responsibility of the Nicaraguan state for violating the political rights of YATAMA’s candidates.
24 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15Mkkmhs_Ps
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1dD57fxzqM&ebc=ANyPxKp78YknhxszccofhVjvTyRRUrx
Ql1sb1c4wa-deIlDSHMSpOehmQcBzOrSC1q5dmKvReD3c
25 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1tLDq15d4o
26 http://www.agenciasnn.com/2016/01/cidh-concede-medidas-cautelares-pueblos.html
27 Merits Hearing (“Audiencia de Fondo”) of the case before the Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bUfilT4cP8
http://www.buzzfeed.com/fredam2/murder-and-manifest-destiny-on-the-mosquito-coast
28 Property regularization and awards, rights of possession and leasehold, for members of the indigenous peoples and third parties in the territory.
29 Information provided by lawyer Wilmer Gutiérrez of the Chorotega people.
Dr. María Luisa Acosta is a Nicaraguan lawyer. She graduated from the Universidad Externado de Colombia, Bogotá and has several university degrees including a Master’s in Natural Resources and the Environment from the University of
Barcelona, and a Master’s in comparative law plus a Juris Doctor from the University of Iowa, USA. She has worked with indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants in Nicaragua and Central America for 23 years. She is the Coordinator of the
Center for Legal Assistance for Indigenous Peoples (CALPI).