Nicaragua Periodic Report 2020

The Political Constitution of Nicaragua is the legal instrument from which all national policies are derived, be they social, economic, political or cultural. The reforms carried out in 2014 reaffirm and strengthen the system for the protection of Human Rights of Nicaraguans, among many, that of enjoying and having access to Culture (Article 58), a right that includes, as part of the nature country (Article 8), the recognition of indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants to maintain and develop their own cultural traditions (Articles 5, paragraph 6, 11, and 89) as well as the free expression and preservation of their languages, art and culture (Article 90).

The active and creative participation of the Nicaraguan people in the development and strengthening of the national culture is guaranteed (Article 126). For this, the State:

1. Supports national culture in all its manifestations, whether collective or individual (Article 126, 2nd paragraph).
2. Promotes and protects the free creation and dissemination of the arts and letters, protecting copyright and industrial property (Articles 125, paragraphs 5 and 127).

The Political Constitution also establishes that cultural creation is free and unrestricted. Workers and creators have full freedom to choose the forms and modes of cultural expression (Article 127).

Consequently, the development model of Nicaragua is expressed in the National Human Development Plan - PNDH, where the beginning and end of public policies are people, prepared by the Government of Reconciliation and National Unity - GRUN in 2007, stipulates 19 Axes that facilitate the development of Nicaraguans, through the approach of economic growth with increased work, reduction of poverty and inequalities.

The Plan recognizes and promotes the diversity of cultural expressions by creating the means and conditions for their promotion, dialogue, respect, exchange, importance, identity, sovereignty, values and meaning. Among its 19 Axes, the following stand out:

1. Gender equity.
2. Youth and adolescence.
3. Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities.
4. Environmental policies and protection of natural resources.
5. Infrastructure.

Thus, through the Political Constitution, the National Human Development Plan, and the Cultural Policy of Nicaragua, the “right of the people to create and enjoy art and national culture” is recognized, establishing guidelines such as:

• Rescue, validate, defend and promote:
• National identity, the evolutionary history of our culture, and our diverse and multiple cultural experience.
• All the features of the national identity and culture, in their multiple expressions of ethnic groups, languages and signs of the different peoples and races that comprise it.
• The traditions, languages, customs, rites, beliefs and manifestations that are still visible and alive, as well as those relevant to national and local identity.
• Recognize the right of the population to create and enjoy art and culture, through the opening of spaces, instruments, exchanges and possibilities from the local level, for: knowledge and appreciation, education and specialized training, recognition, appropriation, valuation and defense of all forms of art and culture.
• Recognize and value all the manifestations of thought, ingenuity, creativity and talent of Nicaraguans.
• Promote the interrelation between Tourism and National Culture, to further affirm our identity, and value our resources and patrimonial treasures.