Nicaragua strips legal status from another 100 NGOs

The Nicaraguan congress has cancelled the registration of another 100 NGOs operating in the country, some of which were dedicated to urban and municipal development. 

The news of the cancellations was published in decree 8812 in the official gazette and comes in the wake of a raft of other NGO closures. The congress has now shut down nearly 700 NGOs since 2018 in what critics claim is an authoritarian attempt to eradicate civil society and silence critics of the government.

"My Office continues to report ... hundreds of civil society organisations being stripped of their legal status," the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet, said in a statement last month after previous NGO cancellations. 

"This has not only affected human rights organizations, but also other national and international organizations working on education and development, as well as medical and professional associations," she added. 

The latest cancellations include the association for promotion and development of small, medium and large businesses (Aprodem), the San Juan sustainable development foundation, the foundation for urban and rural development of Nicaragua (Fudesurnic), and the institute for promotion and sustainable development (Ipodes). 

The decree states that the general direction of registration and control of nonprofit organizations, which is part of the ministry of the interior, should process the cancellations within a maximum of 72 hours. 

Local media reported that the decree was approved on June 30, with 75 votes in favor, none against and 16 abstentions. The ministry of the interior stated that the organizations closed down have broken laws by not providing financial reports in the required manner, not updating information about their boards and not filing information about international financial support.