Source: www.uscirf.gov
Date: November 4, 2022
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Hearing
Crackdown on Religious Freedom in Nicaragua
November 15, 2022
2:00 to 3:30 PM ET
Virtual
Register Here
Please join the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) for a virtual hearing that will examine deteriorating conditions for freedom of religion or belief in Nicaragua. The hearing will also highlight opportunities for U.S. policy to support religious actors and communities who are under siege from the government of President Daniel Ortega.
This year, the Nicaraguan government has deepened its pattern of harassment against the Catholic Church, such as subjecting Catholic clergy to direct detention and imprisonment—with some priests facing multiple years in prison on spurious charges. In March, the government expelled the papal nuncio, the Vatican’s chief diplomat in the country, for unexplained reasons. In August, authorities surrounded the home of Bishop Rolando Alvarez—an outspoken critic of the regime—and arrested him and several of his companions. Additionally, the government has turned its wrath on Catholic-affiliated organizations by arbitrarily shutting down charities and expelling their workers, stripping universities of funding and legal status, shutting down news media, and eliminating non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Witnesses will document religious freedom conditions across Nicaragua under the Ortega regime, discuss current U.S. policy and the enforcement of the RENACER ACT to deter the Ortega regime’s abuses against religious communities, and share recommendations for the U.S. government to support religious freedom in Nicaragua.
Opening Remarks
- Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL)
- Abraham Cooper, Vice Chair, USCIRF
- Frederick A. Davie, Commissioner, USCIRF
Panel
- Manuel Orozco, Director, Migration, Remittances and Development Program, Inter-American Dialogue
- Irela Guevara, Program Director, Outreach Aid to the Americas
- Christopher Ljungquist, Adviser for Latin America, Office of International Justice and Peace, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
- Ryan Berg, Director, Americas Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies