PBI Nicaragua

After receiving requests from civil society organizations following the political crisis which began in Nicaragua in April 2018, PBI began an exploratory process in the region. During this process, we observed that, due to the political repression they faced, a large number of Nicaraguans had fled the country, many of them – around 87,000 to date (October 2021) - requesting refugee status in neighboring Costa Rica.

In order to respond to this context and the needs expressed by local organizations, in 2020 PBI launched a new accompaniment project in Costa Rica focused on providing support to exiled Nicaraguan human rights defenders and social movements. The project currently provides organizational strengthening support to groups representing the student movement, the LGBTIQ+ community, feminist women, women from the afro-Caribbean region of southern Nicaragua, and the peasant movement. Support includes psychosocial accompaniment and capacity development on protection strategies to prepare for an eventual return to their home country while fully exercising their rights. Workshop content and methodology is adapted to the specific needs of each group according to their own organizational processes, and is underpinned by the incorporation of a gender perspective and culture of peace as common threads.

In addition, the Nicaragua in Costa Rica Project supports the reconstruction of social fabric of those in exile through the organization of exchange spaces focused on sharing knowledge and strategies for the defense of human rights with other HRDs from the region who are also accompanied by PBI. 

Find out more information about our work:

• PBI COP26 webinar with the participation of Nicaraguan environmentalist Amaru Ruiz, November 6 (03/11/2021)
• Joint statement to the UN Human Rights Council on Nicaragua (15/09/2021) - On 15 September, a statement supported by Peace Brigades International and 15 other organisations was presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council. The statement, which calls for the guarantee and protection of the right to life for Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities in Nicaragua, was read by defender Amaru Ruiz of the Fundación del Río (River Foundation).
• Nicaragua: Repression intensifies and civil society organisations close further (31/08/2021)
• World Refugee Awareness Month: “Defending human rights has no borders” Campaign (June 2021)