The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is appalled by the death of Nicaraguan parliamentarian and Indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera Bryan while in State custody.
The IPU extends its deepest condolences to his family, the Miskito people and all those who stood with him in the defence of Indigenous rights and democratic values.
The IPU has actively engaged in Mr. Rivera’s case since his enforced disappearance on 29 September 2023. Through its Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, the IPU has repeatedly called on the Nicaraguan authorities to disclose his whereabouts, ensure his safety, investigate his disappearance and cooperate with international efforts to establish the truth.
For more than two and a half years, Mr. Rivera’s family, colleagues and the international community have been denied information about his fate. The IPU deeply regrets that its repeated appeals and efforts to pursue constructive dialogue with the authorities went unanswered.
The circumstances surrounding Mr. Rivera’s death must now be the subject of a prompt, thorough, independent and impartial investigation capable of establishing the full truth, ensuring accountability for all those responsible, and providing justice and reparation to his family.
The death of a parliamentarian in State custody is a matter of the utmost gravity. The IPU reiterates that attacks, reprisals and violations committed against parliamentarians strike at the very foundations of democratic representation and the rule of law. It calls on the Nicaraguan authorities to fully comply with their obligations under international human rights law and to cooperate without delay with all international and regional mechanisms seeking to establish the facts of this case.
