The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced this Monday that it is ending its humanitarian mission in Managua at the direct request of the Nicaraguan government.

Since 2018, the Red Cross has arrived in Nicaragua, where its mission is focused exclusively on humanitarian purposes, the message explains.

By January 2019, the ICRC opened an office in the Nicaraguan capital, Managua, and two months later formalized an agreement with the Nicaraguan government to visit detainees.

The ICRC maintained that its activities in Nicaragua focused on three main areas of work.

These include supporting the Nicaraguan Red Cross to provide services to restore contact between family members and strengthen its humanitarian work on behalf of the most vulnerable people.

As well as preventing and eliminating the humanitarian consequences of deprivation of liberty; and training activities on international humanitarian law, the legal framework applicable to tasks involving military and security forces, and international human rights law.

“As in more than 80 countries, the work carried out by the ICRC has a purely humanitarian purpose and strictly adheres to the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence,” he stressed.

In addition, the Red Cross assured that it will continue its work in favor of respect for the environment, life and human dignity.

He said the way to achieve these goals is through “direct action, as well as bilateral and confidential dialogue with the authorities, people affected by the humanitarian consequences,” among other key interlocutors.

He also insisted that he was ready to resume his humanitarian work in the country.

“The ICRC’s regional delegation to Mexico and Central America reaffirms its readiness to resume dialogue and humanitarian action in Nicaragua,” he concluded. EFE