Organization of American States approves meeting of foreign ministers on Nicaragua crisis

The Organization of American States (OAS) Permanent Council approved a resolution Wednesday for an urgent meeting of foreign ministers to consider the situation in Nicaragua and appropriate actions.

The resolution was approved by a 29 - 1 vote, with one abstention and two absences, the OAS wrote on US social media platform X.

The resolution said developments in Nicaragua constitute “a problem of an urgent nature and of common interest to the American States,” and that representative democracy, which it describes as essential for the region’s stability, peace and development, “no longer exists in Nicaragua.”

It demands an urgent meeting of consultation of ministers of foreign affairs at OAS headquarters “as soon as possible” to consider the situation in Nicaragua and appropriate actions in accordance with the OAS Charter, the Inter-American Democratic Charter and international law.

The move invokes Articles 61, 62 and 63 of the OAS Charter, which provide for the convening of a meeting of foreign ministers to address urgent issues of common interest to member states, according to the resolution.

It also instructs the president of the Permanent Council, with support from the OAS General Secretariat, to prepare and present to member states a draft agenda and rules of procedure for the meeting.

The OAS said the decision follows its consideration of the situation in Nicaragua at an extraordinary Permanent Council session on Aug. 5, as well as a declaration on Nicaragua adopted by the OAS General Assembly.

The Alianza Universitaria Nicaragüense (AUN), a Nicaraguan political movement, reported the approval on X, while Nicaraguan news outlet Nicaragua Investiga also reported that the OAS had approved the extraordinary meeting of foreign ministers.

The move comes amid continued international concern about Nicaragua’s political and democratic situation under President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo.

Nicaragua completed its withdrawal from the OAS in November 2023 after formally denouncing the organization’s charter in 2021.