United Nations CRPD/C/NIC/1 Convention on the Rights Distr.: General 20 July 2020 of Persons with Disabilities English Original: Spanish English, Russian and Spanish only Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Initial report submitted by Nicaragua under article 35 of the Convention, due in 2009*, ** [Date received: 8 May 2019] * The present document is being issued without formal editing. ** The annexes may be consulted in the files of the Committee secretariat. GE.20-09725 (E) 231020 261020 CRPD/C/NIC/1 I. Introduction 1. Nicaragua has a land area of 130,373.5 square kilometres (km2),1 which has now been extended by 90,000 km2 of the Caribbean Sea, an area it obtained the rights to through the International Court of Justice. Serving a population of 5,954,900 inhabitants, 2 the Government of Reconciliation and National Unity takes seriously its commitment to provide comprehensive support to persons with disabilities through social, economic and political programmes. Persons with disabilities themselves drive progress in the attainment of their rights through the direct participation of their representatives in federations and associations. 2. The State and Government have led a determined fight to restore the rights of the Nicaraguan population through State institutions, trade organizations and social movements, thus fully re-establishing lost rights that were denied for 16 years by the neoliberal leaders who reversed the progress that had been achieved during the first phase of the Sandinista Popular Revolution in the 1980s. 3. The 2012–2016 National Human Development Plan sets out lines of action for building an egalitarian, fair and compassionate society that is committed to the fundamental values of Nicaraguans from all of the country’s communities, and especially from historically excluded groups, such as persons with disabilities, that are now being prioritized and actively integrated. 4. The return to power of President Daniel Ortega in January 2007 has helped to secure absolute stability and the recognition of the rights of persons with disabilities, thereby improving the standard of living of a segment of the population who have seen their rights restored in the areas of equality, fairness, respect for their ideas, health, rehabilitation, education, employment and self-employment. In addition, there is now greater awareness; infrastructural work has been carried out to ensure the accessibility of public, private and community spaces; laws have been adopted; and international treaties and protocols have been recognized. 5. By ratifying the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Nicaragua acknowledged on the world stage that it must work to secure rights, with all public servants sharing a duty to implement the law. Nicaragua has also now recognized the Optional Protocol before the United Nations, and this has allowed for significant progress to be made on the basis of social justice, Christianity, socialism and solidarity. 6. As a State, Nicaragua sees as a benefit and an opportunity its duty to submit this report, which reflects the progress achieved since it ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This instrument is leading the country to achieve extraordinary goals in terms of the enjoyment of rights, driven mainly by the social and economic policy adopted by the Government of Reconciliation and National Unity. II. Background 7. The executive branch of the State of Nicaragua has been the main promoter of rights restitution, especially for persons who are vulnerable to danger, natural disasters, poverty, social exclusion and discrimination on account of politics, religion or sexual orientation. 8. The rights of campesinos and workers were realized during the government of the Sandinista Popular Revolution, paving the way for agricultural reform with a leading role for young people. Through social security, the reform benefited thousands of Nicaraguans who had suffered the adverse effects of the violent assault of the 1980s and had been left with a disability, irrespective of their allegiance. In addressing this situation, the Government paid particular attention to the health and rehabilitation, both in Nicaragua and abroad, of those persons who had acquired a disability, thus recognizing their rights. 9. All the rights realized during the revolution in the 1990s and the early 2000s were revoked by the successive neoliberal Governments that claimed the executive and legislative 1 Based on data provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nicaragua on its web page. 2 Data from the 2013 Human Development Report published by the United Nations Development Programme. 2 GE.20-09725 CRPD/C/NIC/1 power to reform laws, decrees and protocols, thereby condemning persons with disabilities to social, economic, political and cultural exclusion. 10. On 19 September 2006, during his election campaign, presidential candidate Daniel Ortega signed a memorandum with the Nicaraguan Federation of Associations of Persons with Disabilities that clearly set out the steps he would take to recognize and realize the rights of this segment of the population during his term of office. 11. As a result of this memorandum, Nicaragua signed and ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol. Demonstrating its commitment to the Convention, it then embarked on a process of discussion and analysis of in-force disability laws that led to the adoption of the new Persons with Disabilities Act, which is in line with the Convention and supports the comprehensive enjoyment of the rights of persons with disabilities through the efforts of public and private institutions and society as a whole. 12. Efforts are under way to recognize and restore the rights of persons with disabilities by coordinating the work of Government institutions, the private sector, the National Council for the Promotion and Application of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the parliamentary committees on accessibility, inclusive education, sports and legal affairs. 13. Furthermore, since persons with disabilities are represented in the Office of the Civil Branch of Government for Organizations of Persons with Disabilities, they are able to engage in horizontal communication with the executive branch and government institutions. 14. Work has also been done in the legal sphere to recognize the rights of persons with disabilities. 15. Below is a list of the treaties, laws and protocols that Nicaragua has revised, established, recognized and implemented. National level 1 Constitution and reforms thereof 2 Act No. 94 on benefits for Nicaraguan combatants and civilians injured in war 3 Act No. 98 establishing safeguards for the rights and benefits of persons with war disabilities who are veterans of the People’s Sandinista Army and the forces of security and order of the State 4 Act No. 119 on benefits for war victims 5 Act No. 160 on additional benefits for retirees 6 Act No. 175 establishing a reserve fund for the payment of ex gratia pensions 7 Act No. 185 on the Labour Code 8 Act No. 238 on the promotion, protection and defence of human rights in the context of AIDS 9 Act No. 545 on debt forgiveness for persons with war disabilities who are veterans of the Nicaraguan army, officials of the Ministry of the Interior or former Nicaraguan resistance fighters, and who bank with the Housing Bank of Nicaragua under liquidation 10 Act No. 613 on the protection and safety of persons engaged in diving activities 11 Act No. 650 on the protection of the human rights of persons with mental illnesses 12 Nicaraguan Mandatory Technical Regulation No. 12006-04 on accessibility 13 Act No. 582 on education 15 Act No. 675 on Nicaraguan Sign Language 14 Act No. 763 on the rights of persons with disabilities, adopted on 13 April 2011; repeal of Act No. 202 on prevention, rehabilitation and equal opportunities for persons with disabilities 15 Act No. 779 on violence against women GE.20-09725 3 CRPD/C/NIC/1 National level International level United Nations 1 Universal Declaration of Human Rights 2 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 3 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 4 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination 5 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women 6 Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 7 Convention on the Rights of the Child 8 International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families 9 Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities 10 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol 11 Geneva Conventions relating to the protection of victims of international armed conflicts 12 Declaration on the Rights of Deaf-Blind Persons 13 Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons 14 Declaration on the Rights of Mentally Retarded Persons 15 Resolution of the Permanent Council on persons with disabilities in the American Hemisphere of 3 June 1996 16 International policies on the health of persons with disabilities 17 World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons Organization of American States 1 American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man 2 American Convention on Human Rights 3 Inter-American Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities International Labour Organization 1 Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983 (No. 159) Other 1 Managua Declaration on children and young persons with disabilities and their families, 3 December 1993 2 Beijing Declaration on the Rights of People with Disabilities in the New Century, adopted on 12 March 2000 at the Global Disability Summit III. National context 16. Disability in Nicaragua has multiple causes. Important factors in the increase in the number of persons with disabilities are old age, chronic degenerative diseases, communicable diseases, congenital defects, accidents, medical negligence, malnutrition, public disorder, anti-personnel mines, war and natural disasters.