UNESCO IESALC deplores the recent seizure of the assets of the Universidad Centroamericana in Managua, Nicaragua

The UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC) deplores the recent seizure of assets of the Universidad Centroamericana in Managua, Nicaragua, which infringes the right to higher education of thousands of students and the foundational principle of academic freedom. 

Over more than 60 years the Universidad Centroamericana in Managua has been a pillar of the Nicaraguan society in its quest for social, cultural, and economic development, recognized internationally. 

UNESCO calls on the respect of international treaties, and particularly the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights – ratified by Nicaragua on 12 March 1980 –  whose article 13 recalls that State Parties agree that “education shall enable all persons to participate effectively in a free society, promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations and all racial, ethnic or religious groups, and further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.” The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has emphasized that a State Party which closes a university or other educational institution on grounds such as national security or the preservation of public order has the burden to justify such a serious measure in relation to each of the elements identified in article 13.4 of the Covenant.