A recent article in La Prensa details ongoing invasions and thefts of the lands of Indigenous communities in Nicaragua, particularly Miskito, Rama, Mayangna and Afro-descendant communities on the northern and southern Caribbean coasts.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights firmly established Nicaragua’s international obligation to uphold Indigenous land rights in the 2001 Awas Tingni case, and the state went on to adopt domestic laws to implement the decision. Unfortunately, Nicaragua suspended its Indigenous land titling efforts in 2014, thereby openly encouraging illegal invasions and settlements.
“Colonial nations throughout our continents established themselves by stealing Indigenous lands and resources and undermining our governments. This was a terrible historical wrong, and it is an unbearable violation of the rights of Indigenous peoples today,” said Chris Foley, Executive Director of the Indian Law Resource Center. “That this type of large-scale criminal activity and violations of Indigenous peoples’ land rights is occurring now, in 2024, without any response from Nicaragua’s government, is deeply troubling.”
Read the original Spanish language article at: https://www.laprensani.com/2024/12/18/derecho-humano-ni/3414599-invasion-y-desplazamiento-la-lucha-de-las-comunidades-indigenas
To read a version of the article in English translated by the Indian Law Resource Center, please visit: https://indianlaw.org/sites/default/files/documents/2024_La_Prensa_Nicaragua_Article%20%28EN%29%20%28Clean%29.pdf