Covenant House Newsroom

Statement by Covenant House International on the violence in Nicaragua (June 6, 2018)

Covenant House International, a non-governmental organization protecting children and youth who face homelessness, exploitation, abuse, and abandonment in 31 cities in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, condemns in the strongest terms the violation of basic human rights by the Nicaraguan government, including the freedom of expression and peaceful protest.  

We join with our affiliate, Casa Alianza Nicaragua, a non-governmental agency protecting children and youth in Nicaragua, and multiple other human rights voices, including Pope Francis, the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights (IACHR), Amnesty International, the Nicaraguan Roman Catholic Bishops, Fordham University, the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), and the Organization of American States (OAS) who have denounced the arbitrary arrest, detention, and killing of students, demonstrators, journalists, human rights defenders, religious actors, and other citizens since April 18, 2018. As of this date, at least 100 people, including many children and youth, have been killed and more than 1,000 have been injured according to the Office of the United Nation High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). In particular, we are extremely concerned about the many acts of violence unfolding against children and adolescents in Nicaragua.

We unite with the international community to call for the immediate end of violence and the safeguarding of human and constitutional rights for all citizens, including special attention to the protection of children and adolescents.  We also express our support for a peaceful, national dialogue to achieve a just and equitable resolution of the conflict and urge the government of Nicaragua to fully implement the recommendations of the independent Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and act upon its findings to ensure accountability and justice for human rights abuses and violations.