SW News: The Organization of American States (OAS) approved a resolution on Friday calling on Nicaragua to end all human rights abuses, release political prisoners, preserve religious freedom, support free expression, and respect the rule of law.

This is not the first time the Organization has issued a resolution denouncing President Daniel Ortega's dictatorship; previous resolutions were made in response to charges of religious persecution in Nicaragua.

This resolution is critical since the UN and Western nations continue to accuse President Ortega's regime of significant human rights violations and efforts to quell opposition. Among the resolution's sponsors are the United States, Canada, Chile, and Costa Rica.

Furthermore, the Organization of American States (OAS) Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) demanded preventative measures and safeguards for political prisoners and indigenous peoples, citing a "severe situation" and an "urgent danger of irreversible harm to human rights in the nation."

The IACHR petitioned the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to extend comparable protections to Matagalpa Bishop Rolando Jose Alverez Lagos, who is under detention on trumped-up charges of working to undermine national security.

Nicaragua has chosen to depart from the OAS beginning in November 2023 in protest at the OAS' disapproval of the legality of the 2021 presidential elections that re-elected Ortega. Following November's illegal elections, the bulk of opposition candidates were either imprisoned or exiled, worsening the country's already dire socioeconomic and political tensions.