UPR Sexual Rights Database

National Report
Para 63) ... A Special Procurator for Women and a Special Procurator for Sexual Diversity (Office of the Human Rights Procurator) are also in operation and play an important role regarding promotion and monitoring.

UN Compilation:
Para 3) ... The national legal framework needed further strengthening, however, to provide greater guarantees for the exercise of certain fundamental rights, such as those relating, inter alia, to ... the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons. Similarly, efforts should continue to bring legislation up-to-date by incorporating the obligations under the CEDAW ...

Para 16) The United Nations in Nicaragua noted that some progress had been made regarding the rights of the LGBTI community. For example, the Criminal Code laid down penalties for acts of discrimination based on sexual orientation. However, in the absence of specific protection laws and policies, LGBTI persons could not effectively access their rights.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 18) JS6 noted that in 2009 the Government had appointed a Special Human Rights Advocate for Sexual Diversity. However, there is no legal framework supporting the decision. The validity of the Special Advocate's appointment has been questioned and the LGBTIQ community does not identify with her as her administration has been ineffectual ...

Para 21) JS5 expressed the view that the Government had not complied with the seventh recommendation made in the first universal periodic review, which called for national legislation to be harmonized with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

Para 24) JS6 reported that the incidence of hate crime against the LGBTIQ community increased in 2012 and 2013.44 More than 25 offences classified as crimes against LGBTIQ persons were recorded in 2012. To date in 2013, 15 similar offences have already been reported.

Para 25) JS5 acknowledged advances in the recognition of certain rights to the LGBTI community, but stated that the rights recognized are not respected ...

National Report:
Para 67) Combating violence against women constitutes a State policy, which includes an action plan with three objectives: prevention, protection and care for victims. Within this framework, the Comprehensive Act against Violence towards Women (Act No. 779) and the reform of the Criminal Code (Act No. 641) were adopted and entered into force in 2012, classifying for the first time femicide and other forms of violence against women as an offence. This same Act created the national inter-institutional commission to combat violence against women, children and adolescents, composed of 17 state institutions, with departmental and municipal branches. At executive level, the Inter-institutional Commission on Gender was established and the planning system for the national general budget was put into operation with a gender perspective.

Para 68) As part of access to justice and legal protection, the comprehensive care model has been established and 61 police units for women and children are in operation. In 2013, 99 further units were built to achieve 100 per cent coverage of the country's police network. The special criminal division in the Managua court of appeal was established, setting up specialized courts for which the appropriate judges and magistrates were appointed.

UN Compilation:
Para 4) The United Nations in Nicaragua added that efforts had been made to improve the national legal framework, particularly with regard to women ... A whole series of laws had been adopted or had begun to be implemented, including laws on: violence against women ...

Para 21) The United Nations in Nicaragua noted that femicide had been classified as an offence. In addition, the Comprehensive Act against Violence towards Women (Act No. 779) constituted a step forward in terms of the protection of women. However, the reform adopted by the National Assembly in September 2013 introduced measures such as mediation ...

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 30) AI noted that a Comprehensive Law against Violence against Women (Act No. 779) was passed in 2012. Act No. 779 has been attacked by those who argue that the law breaks up the family, since it provides a route for women to leave violent partners. In September 2013, the National Assembly approved amendments to Act No. 779 which weaken the protections for victims, facilitates impunity for abusers and are contrary to international and national obligations to protect women's rights.

National Report:
Para 43) The Family Code and Act No. 908 on the Late Issuance and Correction of Civil Registry Acts guarantee children’s right to a name, an identity and a nationality, since these data are registered immediately upon birth free of charge, which has benefited 20,782 children under the age of 12.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 64) IPAS stated that Nicaragua had become one of six countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to fully criminalize abortion, and that it had upheld the complete criminalization of abortion for more than eleven years, ignoring the recommendations of various treaty bodies and the universal periodic review. The Centro de Información y Servicios de Asesoría en Salud (Health Information and Advisory Services Centre) (CISAS) reported that under the Criminal Code women, adolescents and girls who obtained abortions were liable to one to four years’ imprisonment. CISAS added that because of the ban on abortion, such procedures were carried out in secret.