Interim Report - Report No 160, March 1977

Case No 849 (Nicaragua) - Complaint date: 24-MAY-76 - Closed

1. 467. In a joint communication of 24 May 1976, the world Confederation of Labour and the Latin American Central of Workers presented a complaint concerning the violation of trade union rights in Nicaragua.
2. 468. The text of the above communication was transmitted to the Government, which sent its observations in a letter of 20 July 1976.
3. 469. Nicaragua has ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. A. The complainants' allegations

1. 470. The complaint relates to the Union of Agricultural Workers of Nueva Segovia (UTC) which, according to the complainant organisations, is affiliated to the Central of Workers of Nicaragua (CTN) and comprises over 40 communities and organisations of rural workers in the region.
2. 471. In their communication, the complainants alleged that members of the national army had prevented the holding of a meeting of the Council of first-degree organisations of the UTC which had been convened for 13 and 14 December 1975 near Jalapa, in the department of Nueva Segovia.
3. 472. The complainants stated that, in the early hours of 13 December 1975, the home of a member of the UTC, where Adolfo Bonilla, General Secretary of the Central of Workers of Nicaragua, was staying, was broken into and that Bonilla, who was due to take part in the meeting scheduled for the same day, was arbitrarily and illegally arrested along with two other persons.
4. 473. The complainants added that, while the General Secretary of the CTN was being taken to a place of detention in the locality, other members of the armed forces arrested UTC leaders, among whom were Cástulo López, chairman; Venancio Blandón, comptroller; Francisco Cáceres, secretary for training; Máximo Zeledón, secretary for co-operatives; Vicente Garcia, member; and two members of the CTN Executive, Carlos Huembes and Ofilio Garcia. All of them were locked up in two detention centres (Jalapa and Ocotal) and subjected to physical and psychological torture for two days, during which the leaders of the UTC and CTN were ordered to cease their trade union activities in the region on pain of death.
5. 474. Following action taken by the Legal Department of the CTN, the detained leaders were released on 15 December, after their heads had been shaved and the national leaders had been threatened with the consequences if they ever returned to the region. Despite their rapid release, Máximo Zeledón, Vicente Garcia and Matías Talavera had to undergo medical and hospital treatment as a result of their maltreatment by the police. Consequently, the meeting of the Council of the UTC could not be held, which, stated the complainants, was in line with the Government's objectives.
6. 475. In conclusion, the CLAT and the WCL requested that a number of measures should be taken, including the sending of a fact-finding Committee, and that the right of workers to organise freely should be respected.
7. 476. In its reply, the Government stated that the allegations submitted by the complainant organisation were false, premeditated and more of a political than a trade union nature. The Government added that no organisation by the name of Central of Workers of Nicaragua or Union of Agricultural Workers of Nueva Segovia was registered either at the Department of Trade Union Organisations or at the Department of Co-operatives of the Ministry of Labour. The situation was the same as regards the communities and organisations of rural workers said to be affiliated to the UTC.
8. 477. By way of evidence, the Government attached to its communication various documents, including the list of federations and Confederations registered with the Department of Trade Union Organisations of the Ministry of Labour, and the list of organisations and associations of the Department of Nueva Segovia. With reference to the allegations concerning the Secretary for Cooperatives of the UTC, the Government stated that no co-operative or any other grouping of this name or of that of the CTN was listed on the Ministry's files.
9. 478. The Government also attached a cutting from the newspaper La Prensa, of 14 December 1974, containing the minimum programme of the Democratic Union for Liberation (UDEL), a political opposition movement in which the Central of Workers of Nicaragua participates. Among the signatories of this programme, in their capacity as representatives of the CTN, are Adolfo Bonilla and Carlos Huembes, both of whom are mentioned in the complaint.
10. 479. In conclusion, the Government stated that it had never ceased to apply the ILO Conventions which it has ratified, in particular Convention No. 87.

B. B. The Committee's conclusions

1. 480. Generally speaking, the Committee has always considered that freedom of assembly for trade union purposes constitutes one of the fundamental elements of trade union rights' and that the public authorities should refrain from any interference which would restrict this right or impede the lawful exercise thereof. The Committee considers that the detention of trade union leaders with the aim of preventing the holding of a union meeting constitutes a serious violation of the exercise of trade union rights. The Committee likewise considers that, during their detention, trade unionists, like anyone else, should benefit from the guarantees provided for under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Committee has also expressed the view that the detention by authorities of trade unionists concerning whom no grounds for conviction are subsequently found is liable to involve restrictions of trade union rights.
2. 481. In the present case, the Committee notes that the Government merely indicates that the two organisations to which the arrested leaders belonged are not registered with the Ministry of Labour and that the Central of Workers of Nicaragua participates in a political opposition movement. The Government adds, however, that two of the leaders concerned have signed the programme of this political movement in the name of the CTN. The Committee considers it relevant to recall that if, in certain instances, it has concluded that a complaint does not call for further examination, this was only after it had received information from the Government showing sufficiently precisely and with sufficient detail that the measure of detention was in no way occasioned by trade union activities, but solely by activities outside the trade union sphere which were either prejudicial to public order or of a political nature. In the present case, the Government gives no details of the reasons justifying the arrest of the trade unionists or of the allegations of maltreatment inflicted on the detainees.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 482. In these circumstances, the Committee recommends the Governing Body:
   • (a) to draw the attention of the Government to the principles and considerations set forth in paragraphs 480 and 481 above;
   • (b) to request the Government to supply information on the reasons justifying the arrest of the persons concerned;
   • (c) to request the Government to forward its observations on the allegations concerning the maltreatment alleged to have been inflicted on the detainees;
   • (d) to transmit the substance of the Government's reply to the complainant organisations to enable them to forward their observations and, in particular, to furnish details regarding the situation of the Central of Workers of Nicaragua and the Union of Agricultural Workers which, according to the Government, are not registered at the Ministry of Labour;
   • (e) to take note of the present interim report, it being understood that the Committee will submit a further report once the information requested from the Government has been received.
     • Geneva, 12 November 1976. Roberto AGO, Chairman.