Nicaragua
Diakonia’s country office in Nicaragua was forced to close in 2021, due to a decision by the Nicaraguan government. The closure of our operations will hit hard against the most vulnerable people in Nicaragua, such as women and youth from indigenous and afro-descendant peoples of the Caribbean Coast, as well as rural communities who now lose the support of Diakonia.
Forced closure of Diakonia's operations in Nicaragua
On August 16, 2021, the Nicaraguan government ordered the definitive cancellation of the registration and permanent number of Diakonia in the country. This despite that we have rigorously complied, in a timely manner, with all the requirements of the Ministry of the Interior, systematically attending to its requests, recommendations, and facilitating the work of the authorities, as established in the framework that regulates the activities of NGOs in the country. The order of our closure is just one of many forced closures of international and national organizations during the last years.
Diakonia has worked in Nicaragua for more than 40 years providing support to national organizations. During this time, we created a close relationship with civil society in the country and with local government authorities. Together we worked for fair development for people living in poverty, vulnerability, and injustice, from a human rights, gender justice, and democracy approach.
In the last five years, we supported 28,000 people directly through projects on agriculture, sovereignty, food security and resilience, achieving a significant improvement in the economic and security situation of their families.
During our years in Nicaragua, we have always worked based on our values: solidarity, courage, commitment, justice, and accountability as the foundations of our actions; complying with and making known the laws that regulate the exercise of the NGO sector. Applying and sharing processes of transparency and accountability both towards the donors and towards the right-holders, and when possible, we have developed coordinated actions with local authorities, supported by projects on the Caribbean Coast and in the north of the country.
The humanitarian situation in Nicaragua today is extremely serious due to the coronavirus pandemic and the destruction caused by the hurricanes ETA and IOTA that impacted the country at the end of 2020. Poverty have increased and many Nicaraguan families still lack access to necessities.
The government's decision to stop our work is a strong blow against the most vulnerable people in Nicaragua, such as women and youth from indigenous and afro-descendant peoples of the Caribbean Coast, as well as rural communities who now lose the support of Diakonia. We reiterate our hope of being able to resume, soon, the fulfilment of our commitment to the populations and communities with whom we have worked for so long, and which we carry in our hearts.
