New briefing: No to sanctions, yes to social progress

Independence, sovereignty and national self-determination are inalienable rights of the people and fundamental rights of the Nicaraguan nation – Article 1, Nicaraguan constitution

Since 1979 the US has used military, economic and political warfare to attempt to destroy the Sandinistas whose main priority has been the fight against poverty.

As of June 2024, yet another attempt to force regime change is a bill  before the US Senate that would further tighten sanctions, more accurately called Ilegal coercive measures as they violate the UN charter, international law and Nicaragua’s own constitution. 

This deceptively named legislation, the Restoring Sovereignty and Human Rights Act is yet another US attempt to strangle the Nicaraguan economy, destabilise the country and replace the Sandinista government with one more to the liking of the US.

It was approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee  just one week after Nicaragua presented a case in the International Court of Justice to defend the Palestinian people from the genocide in Gaza.

This briefing examines Nicaragua’s commitment to a well-integrated approach to poverty reduction and the impact existing US sanctions have had on access to resources that the country could have used to expand social programmes to benefit those who are most impoverished.