Nicaragua

Cluster Munition Ban Policy

Last updated: 29 July 2015

Five-Year Review: State Party Nicaragua was among the first 30 ratifications that triggered the convention’s entry into force on 1 August 2010. It views existing legislation as sufficient to enforce its implementation of the convention. Nicaragua has attended a couple of meetings of the convention. Nicaragua provided an initial transparency report for the convention in 2011 confirming it has not used, produced, transferred, or stockpiled cluster munitions and does not possess any for research and training.

Policy

The Republic of Nicaragua signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008 and ratified on 2 November 2009. It was among the first 30 ratifications that triggered the convention’s entry into force on 1 August 2010.

Nicaragua has reported its 2009 decree approving ratification of the convention under national implementation measures, indicating it does not intend to enact any specific legislative measures.[1] In May 2011, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed the Monitor that Nicaragua has necessary legal and administrative measures in place to ensure its adherence the convention both “in and out of Nicaragua” and provided the examples of the country’s Penal Code and the Arms, Ammunition and Explosives Act (Law 510).[2]

Nicaragua provided its initial Article 7 transparency report for the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 28 April 2011 and an annual updated report on 30 April 2012.[3] As of 4 June 2015, Nicaragua had not provided any more of the annual updates due by 30 April.

Nicaragua played an active and positive role in the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[4]

Nicaragua has expressed support for the convention in the period since. At the UN General Assembly First Committee on Disarmament and International Security in October 2014, it welcomed the establishment of Central America as the world’s first cluster munition-free zone, following Belize’s September 2014 accession to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, completing universalization of the sub-region.

Nicaragua participated in the convention’s First Meeting of States Parties in Vientiane, Lao PDR in November 2010, but has not attended subsequent meetings, such as the Fifth Meeting of States Parties in San Jose, Costa Rica in September 2014. It participated in the convention’s intersessional meetings in Geneva in 2012 and 2014.

Interpretive issues

Nicaragua elaborated its views on important issues related to interpretation and implementation of the convention in a May 2011 response to the Monitor. In relation to military cooperation by States Parties, it “considers that assistance in prohibited acts performed in joint military operations is not permitted to the States Parties.” On the prohibition on transit, it said that the convention states that States Parties may not “assist, encourage or induce anyone to engage in any activity prohibited to a State Party,” including transfer.[5]

Nicaragua is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is also a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling

Nicaragua has declared that it “does not use, develop, produce, acquire, stockpile, retain or transfer cluster munitions.”[6]

Nicaragua does not retain any cluster munitions for training purposes.



[1] The National Assembly of Nicaragua ratified the convention by Decree No. 5764 on 20 August 2009. Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form A, 28 April 2011.

[2] Response to the Monitor from Alvaro Miguel Padilla Lacayo, Legal Advisor, Department of Democratic Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 31 May 2011; Ley Especial Para el Control y Regulación de Armas de Fuego, Municiones, Explosivos y Otros Materiales Relacionados (Special Law for the Control and Regulation of Firearms, Munitions, Explosives and Other Related Materials), Asamblea Nacional,Law 510, 18 November 2004. Nicaragua has enacted a specific national law to implement the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty: Law for the Prohibition of Production, Purchase, Sale, Import, Export, Transit, Use and Possession of Antipersonnel Landmines, Law No. 321, published in the Official Gazette on 12 January 2000.

[3] The initial report covers the period from 1 August 2010 to 28 April 2011, while the report dated 30 April 2012 is for the period from 1 August 2011 to 29 April 2012.

[4] For details on Nicaragua’s policy and practice regarding cluster munitions through early 2009, see Human Rights Watch and Landmine Action, Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, May 2009), pp. 132–133.

[5] Response to the Monitor from Alvaro Miguel Padilla Lacayo, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 31 May 2011.

[6] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form A, 28 April 2011. No stockpiled cluster munitions were reported, including for training. Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Forms B and C, 28 April 2011.


Mine Ban Policy

Last updated: 18 December 2019

Policy

The Republic of Nicaragua signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997 and ratified it on 30 November 1998, becoming a State Party on 1 May 1999. Legislation to enforce the antipersonnel mine prohibition domestically, Law 321, was enacted on 7 December 1999 and includes penal sanctions.[1]

Nicaragua hosted and was President of the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in September 2001. Nicaragua has twice served as co-chair of the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration (2000–2001, and 2004–2005).

Nicaragua occasionally attends meetings of the treaty, most recently the Sixteenth Meeting of States Parties in Vienna in December 2017 and prior to that, the Fourteenth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in November–December 2015. Nicaragua did not attend the Third Review Conference in Maputo in June 2014. Nicaragua regularly submits annual updated Article 7 transparency reports.

On 5 December 2018, Nicaragua voted in favor of UN General Assembly resolution 73/61 promoting universalization and implementation of the convention, as it has done previously.[2]

Nicaragua is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons and its Amended Protocol II on landmines and Protocol V on explosive remnants of war. It is also party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Production, transfer, stockpile destruction, and retention

Nicaragua has always reported that it has never produced antipersonnel mines and it is not known to have ever exported mines. Nicaragua acquired its stockpile of mines from the Soviet bloc. Nicaragua destroyed its stockpile of 133,435 antipersonnel mines between 12 April 1999 and 28 August 2002.

Nicaragua last reported an update on the total number of antipersonnel mines retained for training and research in 2010, when it reported a total of 448 antipersonnel mines retained for training and stated that 515 mines were destroyed on 18 June 2010.[3] In 2009, Nicaragua had indicated that it would prepare a plan for reducing the number of mines retained for training following the completion of its demining program.[4] From 2007–2009, Nicaragua reported a total of 1,004 antipersonnel mines retained for training.[5] In previous years, Nicaragua reported consuming some of its retained mines.[6]



[1] Law for the Prohibition of Production, Purchase, Sale, Import, Export, Transit, Use and Possession of Antipersonnel Landmines, Law No. 321, published in the Official Gazette on 12 January 2000.

[2] “Implementation of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction,” UNGA Resolution 73/61, 5 December 2018.

[3] The 448 mines retained are: 200 PMN-2, 124 PMN, 84 POMZ-2M, 30 PPMI-SR11, and 10 PMFH. Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form D, 31 December 2010. Nicaragua has reported the same information in subsequent reports.

[4] Interview with Dr. Juan Umaña, Technical Secretary, CND, San Fernando, 4 March 2009.

[5] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form D, 13 April 2009; Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form D, 28 February 2008; and Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form D, 28 February 2007.

[6] It consumed 19 and 17 retained mines in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form D, 28 February 2007; and Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form D, 8 February 2006.


Mine Action

Last updated: 17 September 2012

CONTAMINATION AND IMPACT

Nicaragua was contaminated by mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) as a result of armed conflict between 1979 and 1990.

Mines

In June 2010, at the Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Nicaragua announced it had cleared all known mined areas and had therefore fulfilled its obligations under Article 5 of the treaty.[1] However, a residual threat from mines may remain as an incident subsequently occurred in October 2010.[2]

Explosive remnants of war

Nicaragua has a residual ERW problem, especially from unexploded ordnance (UXO) throughout the country. According to the Nicaraguan Demining Commission (Comisión Nacional de Desminado, CND), the problem is impossible to document on a national level.[3] With the completion of mine clearance, reports of ERW contamination are only received as a result of the risk education program.[4]

MINE ACTION PROGRAM

Key institutions and operators

Body

Situation on 1 January 2012

National Mine Action Authority

Nicaraguan Demining Commission (CND)

Mine action center

CND

International demining operators

Organization of American States (OAS) (for quality management)

National operators

Nicaraguan Army Engineer Corps

International risk education operators

OAS

With Nicaragua having completed mine clearance, CND’s role has diminished, as managing funds and conducting mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) risk education in Nicaragua are the sole responsibility of the Organization of American States (OAS). In 2011, OAS and the Nicaraguan Army Engineers coordinated the clearance of ERW and quality assurance of operations, with Norway providing the funding through the OAS.[5]

In 2012, the OAS and 34 personnel from the Nicaraguan Army Engineer Corps planned to clear 1km2 of ERW in the Gocen District, Mateare Municipality, on the Chiltepe Peninsula,[6] a nature reserve and popular weekend leisure and eco-tour destination on Lake Managua, 15km north of the capital, Managua.[7] Gocen is an impoverished area with no permanent water supply or electricity. The main means of earning a living is through crushing stone. There is concern that people may try to collect scrap metal from the ordnance in order to generate income.[8]

The OAS is due to complete its mission in Nicaragua by the end of 2012, and then withdraw.[9]

LAND RELEASE

Compliance with Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty (and in accordance with the one-year extension request granted in 2008), Nicaragua was required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 May 2010. In June 2010, Nicaragua announced it had cleared all known mined areas in time and had fulfilled its Article 5 clearance obligations.[10]

Battle area clearance in 2011

In 2011, in Las Palomas, Matagalpa, the Nicaraguan Army Engineer Corps cleared five areas covering 275,000m2 and found and destroyed 4,106 ERW, of which 2,529 had been identified through reports to the army by the local population. In 2010, 125 reports had led to the destruction of 62 antipersonnel mines (all were reported prior to completion of mine clearance operations) as well as 838 items of UXO in 77 communities.

Quality management

The OAS conducted quality assurance on 25% of the area cleared in 2011.[11]

RISK EDUCATION

The OAS conducted 54 house visits for 425 persons in 2011 to inform them of possible ERW nearby.[12] In 2012 the OAS planned to conduct a short risk education campaign through local radio with an emphasis on safe behavior in case of encountering any ordnance.[13]



[1] Statement of Nicaragua, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 22 June 2010; and Carlos Espinoza Flores, “Nicaragua libre de minas antipersonales” (“Nicaragua is free of antipersonnel mines”), “Comité Solidaridad Sandinista” (“Sandinista Solidarity Committee”), 13 June 2010.

[2] Email from Johanna García, Database Officer, OAS, 28 April 2011.

[3] Telephone interview with Dr. Juan Umaña, Technical Secretary, CND, 9 August 2010.

[4] Emails from Carlos J. Orozco, Regional Coordinator, OAS, 3 May and 13 June 2011.

[5] Interview with Carl Case, Director Office of Humanitarian Mine Action, OAS, 12 March 2012.

[6] Emails from Carlos J. Orozco, OAS, 3 May and 13 June 2011 and 10 April 2012; and OAS, “Projects 2011–2012.”

[8] OAS, “Projects 2011–2012.”

[9] Interview with Carl Case, Director, Office of Humanitarian Mine Action, OAS, 12 March 2012.

[10] Statement of Nicaragua, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 22 June 2010; and Carlos Espinoza Flores, “Comité Solidaridad Sandinista,” 13 June 2010.

[11] Email from Carlos J. Orozco, OAS, 10 April 2012.

[12] Ibid.

[13] OAS, “Projects 2011–2012.”


Support for Mine Action

Last updated: 10 September 2012

Support for Mine Action

In June 2010, Nicaragua announced it had fulfilled the obligations under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, having cleared all known mined areas.[1] Since then, Nicaragua has been addressing a residual problem of explosive remnants of war throughout the country.

In 2011, Norway, through the Organization of American States (OAS), contributed NOK1,292,344 (US$230,685) for mine action.[2]

In 2007–2011, eight international donors contributed US$10.5 million to Nicaragua through the OAS.

Summary of contributions in 2007–2011[3]

Year

Donors

International contributions (US$)

2011

Norway

230,685

2010

Italy

416,116

2009

Italy, Netherlands, Spain, US

2,041,563

2008

Canada, Italy, Japan, Norway, Spain, US

3,320,998

2007

Canada, Denmark, Italy,  Spain, US

4,493,022

Total

 

10,502,384

 

 

 



[1] Statement of Nicaragua, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 22 June 2010.

[2] Norway average exchange rate for 2011: NOK5.6022 = US$1. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2012.

[3] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Ingunn Vatne, Senior Advisor, Department for Human Rights, Democracy and Humanitarian Assistance, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 15 March 2012; See ICBL-CMC, “Country Profile: Nicaragua: Support for Mine Action,” 18 October 2010; Email from Carl Case, Program Director, AICMA, OAS, 19 May 2011.


Casualties and Victim Assistance

Last updated: 06 October 2016

Action points based on findings

  • Dedicate resources to implementation of socioeconomic inclusion and psychosocial support programs; create sustainability and decrease dependence on international cooperation.
  • Ensure there is an active coordination mechanism for victim assistance that includes all relevant bodies working on disability issues.
  • Increase awareness of Law 763 on the rights of persons with disabilities and dedicate resources to its implementation and enforcement.
  • Effectively implement the law on Assistance to Ex-Combatants for Peace, Unity and National Reconciliation.
  • As a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty, report on progress and challenges on victim assistance activities before national and international audiences. 

Victim assistance commitments

The Republic of Nicaragua is responsible for a significant number of landmine survivors and survivors of other explosive remnants of war (ERW) who are in need. Nicaragua has made commitments to provide victim assistance through the Mine Ban Treaty, Protocol V of the Convention on Conventional Weapons, and is also a State Party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Nicaragua ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on 7 December 2007.

Casualties Overview

All known casualties by end 2015

1,303 (92 killed; 1,211 injured)

Casualties in 2015

0 (2014: 0)

 

There were no mine/ERW casualties identified in 2015 in Nicaragua.[1] In 2014, no casualties were reported, while in 2013, one civilian ERW casualty occurred when a man was injured in October in the department of Leon.[2] This was consistent with recent low annual casualty figures following the completion of antipersonnel mine clearance in 2010.[3] The last reported landmine casualty occurred in 2010.[4]

When last reported in March 2014, 1,303 mine/ERW casualties (92 killed, 1,211 injured) had been recorded in Nicaragua, including 42 deminers (five killed, 37 injured).[5]

Victim Assistance

There were at least 1,205 mine/ERW survivors in Nicaragua as of May 2015.[6]

Victim assistance in 2015

Between 2002 and 2013, all registered mine survivors in Nicaragua had received support from the Organization of American States (OAS), with international funding to access physical rehabilitation and/or economic inclusion assistance. However, these services could not be provided in 2014 and 2015 as the OAS did not receive new funds.[7]

The Nicaraguan Demining Commission’s (Comisión Nacional de Desminado, CND) Sub-Commission for Medical Assistance and Rehabilitation of Mine Survivors is the victim assistance coordination mechanism and the Ministry of Health is the focal point. Both have been largely inactive in recent years.[8]

Global assistance to mine/ERW survivors and their families remains underfunded and inaccessible, especially since major international organizations can no longer carry out operations in the country.

Assessing victim assistance needs

Until 2013, the OAS had been the main organization delivering services to mine/ERW victims in Nicaragua and has provided services to all registered mine survivors. As of May 2016, the OAS remained the focal point of the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA), a database that handles information on demining, mine risk education, and victim assistance. However, the OAS ceased its activities in 2014 due to a lack of funding and closed its office in Nicaragua at the end of March 2016.[9]

The program “A Voice for All” (“Todos con voz”), led by the Ministry of Health, holds a registry of all the country’s municipalities in which it monitors persons with disabilities, although no specific attention is paid to mine/ERW survivors.[10]

In 2014, the Nicaraguan Federation of Associations of Persons with Disabilities (Federación Nicaragüense de Asociaciones de Personas con Discapacidad, FECONORI) led a survey on the barriers met by persons with disabilities in accessing education and employment. The conclusions were used in the planning of activities of organizations of persons with disabilities for 2015–2017.[11]

Victim assistance coordination

In 2015, coordination meetings on disability-related issues were held between the Ministry of Health and representatives of persons with disabilities in the government-based Cabinet of Persons with Disabilities, through the “A Voice for All” program. Coordination efforts were also made by the country’s three federations of persons with disabilities (FECONORI, FEMUCADI, and FENOFADIS).[12] THE ICRC Special Fund for the Disabled (SFD) also held regular coordination meetings with the Ministry of Health through the program, which led to the signature of a framework agreement for 2015–2019. These coordination efforts also resulted in the hiring of a new technical professional in the public rehabilitation center in La Trinidad city, new scholarships for two rehabilitation centers, needs assessment and budget elaboration for peripheral areas that lacked government support, and regular coordination with Integral Health Assistance Local System (Sistema Local de Atención Integral en Salud, SILAIS) directions.[13]

Nicaragua did not provide updates on progress or challenges in victim assistance at the Mine Ban Treaty Fourteenth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in December 2015, at the Convention on Cluster Munitions First Review Conference in Geneva in September 2015, or at the Mine Ban Treaty Third Review Conference in Maputo in June 2014. Nicaragua’s most recent Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report (for calendar year 2012) included no information on casualties or victim assistance.[14] In its most recent Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 report (also for calendar year 2015), Nicaragua indicated that Form H on victim assistance was not applicable.[15]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

In 2015 and into 2016, through the “A Voice for All” program, the Ministry of Health continued to carry out home visits for persons with disabilities and in a situation of vulnerability, especially in remote areas, to provide basic medical care, mobility devices, and refer patients to regional hospitals as needed.[16]

Between 2002 and the end of 2013, all registered mine/ERW survivors had received support from the OAS to access physical rehabilitation and/or economic reintegration assistance. Starting in 2011, OAS support to mine victims was limited to physical rehabilitation; economic reintegration assistance was no longer available.[17] The OAS received no financial support for victim assistance activities in 2014 and 2015 and therefore could not provide assistance to mine/ERW survivors.[18]

In general, mine/ERW survivors have access to the same services as other persons with disabilities, however, there is no specific mechanism to ensure they actually benefit from these services.[19] Furthermore, many persons with disabilities, including ex-combatants and mine/ERW survivors, still lack medical insurance and struggle to earn a decent living.[20] The Nicaraguan Social Security Institute (INSS) does provide financial and prosthesis/orthosis services. However, financial aid is reported to be insufficient—although the amount given has been increasing in recent years—and rehabilitation services are difficult to access for survivors and require long bureaucratic procedures.[21]

Inclusion and participation in victim assistance

In general, war victims, including ERW/mine survivors, participate in the cabinet of persons with disabilities—a body representative of persons with disabilities within the government—and in the federations of persons with disabilities.[22]

In June 2015, the Nicaraguan Federation of Associations of Persons with Disabilities (Federación Nicaragüense de Asociaciones de Personas con Discapacidad, FECONORI) held a regional workshop on inclusive risk management strategies in situations of emergency in Managua. The workshop, supported by UNICEF, included outcomes from a previous forum on risk management and the rights of children and youth with disabilities in Central America.[23]

The Organization of Revolutionaries with Disabilities “Ernesto Che Guevara” (Organización de Revolucionarios Deshabilitados “Ernesto Che Guevara,” ORD) represents 156 ex-combatants, of which 94 are mine survivors. ORD works to ensure that survivors have access to adequate medical care through representations to the Ministry of Health. They reported however, that it remains complicated for members to receive specialized services. ORD also negotiated with the government for improved pensions for ex-combatants with disabilities.[24]

Physical rehabilitation

The Ministry of Health coordinates a network of service providers. The network includes physiotherapy units, rehabilitation services, a teaching hospital, and orthothics production centers.[25] In 2015, a lack of financial support and trained staff remained a challenge to accessing health and rehabilitation services, especially for people living in remote and rural areas.[26] Nicaragua increased investments for the purchase of orthosis and prosthesis components in 2015.[27] Such specialized services are the responsibility of the Nicaraguan Social Security Institute. It was reported in 2015 that the provision of services through the institute was not adequate for addressing the needs of mine/ERW survivors, as it was complex, extremely bureaucratic, and inefficient.[28] State-run clinics and hospitals provided care for veterans and other persons with disabilities, but the general quality of care was reportedly poor.[29]

In 2015, as a result of the negotiations initiated in 2013 with the Ministry of Health, the ICRC SFD signed a multi-year framework agreement (2015–2019) aiming at strengthening coordination and effectiveness of rehabilitation services provided at the national level. These coordination efforts helped resolve import related issues for rehabilitation materials.[30] Discussions also took place with national authorities in order to strengthen collaboration with the National Disability Council (CONADIS).[31]

During the year, the ICRC SFD generally maintained its coverage and continued to deliver orthosis and prosthesis to persons with disabilities, including victims of mines/ERW, as well as reimburse the cost of treatment for economically vulnerable people.[32] In 2015, the ICRC SFD slightly increased the number of devices delivered. Overall, nearly 5% was delivered to survivors, a figure that is similar to last year’s.[33] In 2016, the organization hopes to increase the quality of services through the provision of new trainings and the realization of a satisfaction survey among the beneficiaries in collaboration with the Nicaraguan Red Cross and the Physiotherapy University in Managua.[34]

Civil society organizations such as the Medical Pedagogical Institute Los Pipitos (Instituto Médico Pedagógico Los Pipitos) and Early Rehabilitation and Stimulation Centers, also provide a variety of services to persons with disabilities.[35] In 2015, the ICRC SFD and Los Pipitos signed an annual framework agreement to identify and follow up with service users and promote a multi-disciplinary approach within rehabilitation centers. The agreement includes special provisions to identify children in need of rehabilitation services.[36] In 2015, the rehabilitation center of La Trinidad restarted its activities, attending amputees, including mine/ERW survivors, from northern Nicaragua, where the majority of survivors reside.[37]

A framework agreement for 2015–2017 providing for specific assistance for economically vulnerable women and children was signed between the ICRC SFD and FURWUS (Fundación para la Rehabilitación Walking Unidos, a rehabilitation foundation that includes Walking Unidos and CAPADIFE Rehabilitation Center), which specializes in traumatology and orthopedics.[38] Mechanisms to improve identification of vulnerable patients were developed and are now used by FURWUS.[39]

In 2015, the ICRC SFD continued to support rehabilitation training at the University Don Bosco (UDB) in El Salvador, to strengthen the management capacity of the national prosthetic-orthotic production center (Centro Nacional de Producción de Ayudas Técnicas y Elementos Ortoprotésicos, CENAPRORTO). The ICRC reported that by early 2015 CENAPROTO had the technical capacity to offer training opportunities for professionals from the region as a substitute for ICRC SFD-supported training.[40] In 2014, CENAPROTO was sufficiently subsidized by the Ministry of Health in order not to depend on SFD financial support in the near future.[41] In total, CENAPRORTO produced 304 devices in 2015, a slight increase compared to 2014 when 294 devices were produced.[42]

Oversight of distribution of wheelchairs, training in wheelchair production, and related services was carried out and project led by World Vision-UCP Wheel for Humanity and Nicaragua’s Future (El Futuro de Nicaragua), in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and “A Voice for All” program.[43]

Social and economic inclusion

FECONORI regularly participated in a working group on inclusive education led by the Ministry of Education, and actively contributed to fostering collaboration between civil society organizations and decision makers.[44] In October 2015, FECONORI, with support from the MyRight project,[45] mapped best practices for the professional inclusion of persons with disabilities, in coordination with public and private sector representatives.[46]

In 2015, the NGO Inclusive Vision (Visión Inclusiva) increased its geographical coverage by implementing an inclusive education project in Masatepe and Masaya municipalities.[47]

The Ministry of Health put in place a social and economic inclusion program “A Voice for All” in 2010. Through this program, persons with disabilities and their families are receiving medical treatment and community-based rehabilitation training. In 2015, the ICRC SFD met regularly with program’s representatives with a view to strengthening cooperation in the implementation of the CRPD.[48]

The ICRC SFD delivered an economic inclusion program for persons with disabilities until 2013. In May 2015, the SFD decided that it should not remain involved in the implementation or the funding of socioeconomic programs due to insufficient financial capacity and lack of expertise.[49]

Laws and policies

In April 2011, Nicaragua approved Law 763 to replace the previous law on disability; Law 763 is aligned to the CRPD.[50] In March 2014, implementing regulations for Law 763 on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities were approved.[51] No major progress was reported in the implementation of the law in 2015.

Despite the existence of legal provisions, discrimination towards persons with disabilities was widespread in 2015, especially in employment, education, access to healthcare, and other state services. Electoral facilities were also reported to be largely inaccessible. The law was not enforced effectively to ensure accessibility to buildings, information, and communications. Generally, public institutions did not sufficiently coordinate with the labor ministry regarding the rights of persons with disabilities. The mayor’s office in Managua sponsored training on accessible transportation for bus drivers, however most transportation remained inaccessible. Despite the existence of technical regulations on accessibility, schools and health centers also were mostly inaccessible for persons with disabilities.[52] In general, accessibility standards are respected in the construction of new buildings, but the majority of older buildings were not adapted to be physically accessible to persons with disabilities.[53]

Special Law 830 on Assistance to Ex-Combatants for Peace, Unity and National Reconciliation, approved in 2013, regulates assistance for basic necessities and socioeconomic reintegration to former combatants, including those with disabilities, and their families.[54]

According to Article 1 of Law 830 its provisions relate to participants in the following groups:

  •  Sandinista combatants and their historical collaborators, heroes and martyrs’ mothers;
  • Sandinista popular army to December 1994;
  • The Ministry of Interior and its bodies and auxiliary bodies to December 1994;
  • Members of the Reserve Units, enrolled to 25 April 1990;
  • Those in military service, enrolled to 25 April 1990;
  • Members of the Nicaraguan Resistance, including the demobilized, from 1988 to 1990 and including those who were captured and were deprived of liberty when the peace agreement was signed; and
  • Indigenous resistance demobilized between 1988 and 1990 As of April 2015.

The regulations regarding economic inclusion quotas were rarely implemented and a high number of ex-combatants were unemployed, with only a pension for war-disabled persons that is not sufficient to cover basic living expenses.[55] As of April 2016, implementing regulations for Law 830 had not been approved and as a result the provisions of the legislation were not being fully applied.[56] Ex-combatants also demanded that the law include a life-long pension equivalent to the amount received by retired people, or financial compensation for the years spent in military service.[57]



[1] Monitor media analysis from January to December 2015; email from Johanna Garcia, Information Manager, Program for Demining Central Amercia (PADCA), Organization of American States (OAS), 18 March 2016.

[2] Email from Johanna Garcia, PADCA, OAS, 3 March 2014.

[3] Emails from Johanna Garcia, PADCA, OAS, 29 August 2013; and from Carlos J. Orozco S., PADCA, OAS, 10 April 2012; and see previous country profiles for Nicaragua on the Monitor website.

[5] The last reported mine/ERW casualty occurred in 2013. Email from Johanna Garcia, PADCA, OAS, 3 March 2014; and see previous country profiles for Nicaragua on the Monitor website.

[6] Email from Johanna Garcia, PADCA, OAS, 11 May 2015; and see previous country profiles for Nicaragua on the Monitor website. Six people who were injured by mines/ERW later died of unrelated causes.

[7] Emails from Johanna Garcia, PADCA, OAS, 11 May 2015; and from Carlos J. Orozco S., PADCA Centroamérica, 17 March 2016.

[8] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Michel Deffontaines, ICRC SFD Regional Manager, Managua-Nicaragua, 10 May 2016.

[9] “Capacidades nacionales y contaminación residual – Nicaragua” (“National capacity and residual contamination – Nicaragua”), Geneva International Center for Humanitatrian Demining (GICHD), Geneva, November 2014, p. 7; and response to Monitor questionnaire by Michel Deffontaines, ICRC SFD, 10 May 2016.

[10] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Brenda Tapia, Executive Director, Visión Inclusiva, 19 April 2016.

[11] My Right website, “Nicaragua,” undated.

[12] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Brenda Tapia, Visión Inclusiva, 19 April 2016. The three federations are FECONORI (Federation of associations of persons with disabilities), FEMUCADI (Federation of women with disabilities), and FENOFADIS (Nicaraguan federation of  disability-related associations).

[13] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Michel Deffontaines, ICRC SFD, 10 May 2016.

[14] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2012), 20 August 2013.

[15] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2015), submitted in February 2016.

[16]Continúa active labor del programa Todos con Voz” (“A Voice for All program actively continues its work”), La Voz del Sandinismo, 31 March 2014; “Brigade of doctors, nurses and auxiliaries mobilize to bring services to remote communities,” Ministry of Health website, 9 March 2016.

[17] Email from Johanna Garcia, PADCA, OAS, 29 August 2013.

[18] Ibid., 11 May 2015; and email from Carlos J. Orozco S., PADCA Centroamérica, 17 March 2016.

[19] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Michel Deffontaines, ICRC SFD, 10 May 2016.

[20]De guerrilleros a cuidadores de carros” (“From combatants to car washers”), El Nuevo Diario, 21 January 2016.

[21]Nicaragua: Víctimas de minas enfrentan apatía y burocracía” (“Nicaragua: Mine victims face apathy and bureaucracy”), Estrategia y Negocio (E&N), 27 August 2015.

[22] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Brenda Tapia, Visión Inclusiva, 19 April 2016.

[23]Personas con discapacidad, incluidas niñas y niños, deben tomarse en cuenta en situaciones de emergencia” (“Persons with disabilities, including children, must be taken into account in situations of emergency”), UNICEF Nicaragua, 4 June 2015.

[24]Nicaragua: Víctimas de minas enfrentan apatía y burocracía” (“Nicaragua: Mine victims face apathy and bureaucracy”), E&N, 27 August 2015.

[25]Estudio diagnóstico del sector de las personas con discapacidad en la República de Nicaragua” (“Study on the situation of persons with disability in the Republic of Nicaragua”), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Managua, 22 January 2014, pp. 17–18.

[26] ICRC SFD Appeal 2016, Geneva, December 2015, p. 26.

[27] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Michel Deffontaines, ICRC SFD, 10 May 2016.

[28]Nicaragua: Víctimas de minas enfrentan apatía y burocracía” (“Nicaragua: Mine victims face apathy and bureaucracy”), E&N, 27 August 2015.

[29] United States Department of State, “2015 Report on Human Rights Practice in Nicaragua,” Washington, DC, July 2015, p. 24.

[30] ICRC SFD, “Annual Report 2015,” The Americas, Geneva, May 2016, p. 31; and response to Monitor questionnaire by Michel Deffontaines, ICRC SFD, 10 May 2016.

[31] ICRC SFD, “Mid-term report 2015,” The Americas, Geneva, October 2015, p. 31.

[32] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Michel Deffontaines, ICRC SFD, 10 May 2016; and ICRC SFD, “Annual Report for 2015,” The Americas, Geneva, May 2016, p. 31.

[33] Email from Michel Deffontaines, ICRC SFD, 23 May 2016.

[34] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Michel Deffontaines, ICRC SFD, 10 May 2016.

[35]Estudio diagnóstico del sector de las personas con discapacidad en la República de Nicaragua” (“Study on the situation of persons with disability in the Republic of Nicaragua”), JICA, Managua, 22 January 2014, pp. 17–18.

[36] ICRC SFD, “Annual Report 2015,” Geneva, May 2015, p. 37.

[37] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Michel Deffontaines, ICRC SFD, 10 May 2016.

[38] ICRC SFD, “Mid-term report 2015,” Geneva, October 2015, p. 28; and response to Monitor questionnaire by Michel Deffontaines, ICRC SFD, 10 May 2016.

[39] ICRC SFD, “Annual Report 2015,” The Americas, Geneva, May 2016, pp. 28 and 33.

[40] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Michel Deffontaines, ICRC SFD, 10 May 2016; and “Appeal 2015,” ICRC SFD, The Americas, 2015, p. 28.

[41]Mid-term report 2014,” ICRC SFD, The Americas, October 2014; and email from Michel Deffontaines, ICRC SFD, 29 May 2015.

[42] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Michel Deffontaines, ICRC SFD, 10 May 2016.

[43] Ibid.

[44] My Right website, “Nicaragua,” undated.

[45] MyRight is the umbrella organization of the Swedish disability rights movement’s international development section.

[46]Systematización de buenas práctias de inserción laboral de personas con discapacidad” (“Systematization of persons with disabilities professional integration best practices”), FECONORI website, 9 October 2015.

[47] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Brenda Tapia, Visión Inclusiva, 19 April 2016.

[48] ICRC SFD “Annual Report 2015,” The Americas, Geneva, May 2016, p. 31.

[49] Email from Michel Deffontaines, ICRC SFD, 23 May 2016.

[50] Ley No. 763 sobre los derechos de las personas con discapacidad (Law 763 on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities).

[51] Federation of Persons with Disabilities, “Publicacion de Reglamento de la Ley 763” (“Publication of the Reglamentation of Law 763”), 4 March 2014.

[52] United States Department of State, “2015 Report on Human Rights Practice in Nicaragua,” Washington, DC, July 2015, p. 24.

[53]Estudio diagnóstico del sector de las personas con discapacidad en la República de Nicaragua” (“Study on the situation of persons with disability in the Republic of Nicaragua”), JICA, Managua, 22 January 2014, p. 36.

[54] Ley No. 830. Ley Especial para Atención a Excombatientes por la Paz, Unidad, y Reconciliación Nacional, La Gaceta - Diario Oficial, Asamblea Nacional (The Gazette Official Diary - National Assembly), 13 February 2013, p. 1,379.

[55]Nicaragua: Víctimas de minas enfrentan apatía y burocracía” (“Nicaragua: Mine victims face apathy and bureaucracy”), E&N, 27 August 2015.

[56]Ex-combatientes exigen reglamentación de la ley 830” (“Ex-combatants demand implementing regulations of law 830”), 100% Noticias Nicaragua, 30 April 2015.

[57]Lucharon por su país y hor pos ser oídos” (“They fought for their country and today they fight to be heard”), Le Prensa Boletín, 1 May 2015.