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Nicaraguan Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America after Guatemala and ...

, other_names = , siglum = , citizenship = , education = , alma_mater =

National Autonomous University of Nicaragua The National Autonomous University of Nicaragua (, UNAN) is a public university in Nicaragua. Its main campus is located in Managua. The original campus, National Autonomous University of Nicaragua-León, UNAN-Leon, is located in León, Nicaragua ...

, occupation = Lawyer, human rights activist , years_active = , era = , employer = , organization =

Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights The Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (Centro Nicaragüense de Derechos Humanos or CENIDH) is a non-governmental organization based in Managua. Vilma Núñez, a former Sandinista, founded the organization on May 16, 1990, shortly after the electi ...

(CENIDH) , known_for = , notable_works = , style = , title = , term = , predecessor = , successor = , party = , movement = , opponents = , boards = , criminal_charges = , criminal_penalty = , criminal_status = , spouse = , partner = , children = , parents = , mother = , father = , relatives = , family = , callsign = , awards = , website = , module = , module2 = , module3 = , module4 = , module5 = , module6 = , signature = , signature_size = , signature_alt = , footnotes = Vilma Núñez de Escorcia (née Vilma Núñez Ruiz, 25 November 1938) is a

lawyer and human-rights activist. Born to a single mother, she developed an early concern for social justice. As an undergraduate studying law at

in León, she met future senior government officials

Carlos Tünnerman Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewhere ...

and

Sergio Ramírez Sergio Ramírez Mercado (; born 5 August 1942 in Masatepe, Nicaragua) is a Nicaraguan writer and intellectual who was a key figure in 1979 revolution, served in the leftist Government Junta of National Reconstruction and as vice president of ...

, and became one of the survivors of the 23 July 1959 student massacre by the

Somoza The Somoza family () is a political family which ruled Nicaragua under a dictatorship over a period of forty-three years, from 1936 to 1979. Founder, Anastasio Somoza García – who served as the President of Nicaragua from 1937 until 1956 – ...

National Guard. She joined the

Sandinista National Liberation Front The Sandinista National Liberation Front (, FSLN) is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augusto César Sandino, who led the Nicaraguan resistan ...

around 1975 and in 1979 was imprisoned and tortured by the Somoza regime. She was freed days before the FSLN insurrection succeeded on 19 July 1979. When they took power, she served as vice-president of the Supreme Court of Justice, then as director of the National Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. Núñez went on to found the non-governmental organization

(CENIDH) in 1990 when the FSLN lost power. In 1996, she unsuccessfully challenged

Daniel Ortega José Daniel Ortega Saavedra (; ; born 11 November 1945) is a Nicaraguan politician and dictator who has been the president of Nicaragua, co-president of Nicaragua since 18 February 2025, alongside his wife Rosario Murillo. He was the 54th an ...

to be the party's candidate for President; but in 1998 she broke with the party to represent

Zoilamérica Ortega Murillo Zoilamérica Ortega Murillo (née Narváez Murillo) (born November 13, 1967, in Managua) is a consultant for Comunidad Casabierta, an LGBTI rights organisation in Costa Rica. She is also a former member of the National Assembly of Nicaragua. In ...

, Ortega's stepdaughter who accused him of sexually abusing her as a child. Núñez has since faced harassment and in 2008, the

Inter-American Court of Human Rights The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (I/A Court H.R.) is an international court based in San José, Costa Rica. Together with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, it was formed by the American Convention on Human Rights, a human r ...

issued precautionary measures to protect her. Following the April 2018 anti-government protests, CENIDH was one of a number of non-profits that had their legal status revoked and its office was raided by police, but Núñez insisted on continuing her human rights work. A new challenge came with the 2020 Law for the Regulation of Foreign Agents, which ordered all groups that receive funding from abroad to register as foreign agents; Núñez is challenging its constitutionality in court.

Early life

Vilma Núñez was born on 25 November 1938 to unmarried parents, causing a series of exclusions in her young life in conservative Nicaragua: she and her mother Tomasa Núñez Ruiz were unwelcome at school, church and social clubs in Acoyapa, Chontales, perhaps also because of the local influence of her father's wife. Her father, Humberto Núñez Sevilla (no blood relation to her mother), was a Conservative Party leader and

critic who was often imprisoned during Núñez's childhood, though he also served as a deputy in parliament during Anastasio Somoza Garcia's rule. His example of political engagement was influential for Vilma, whose first acts of resistance against the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

Somoza dictatorship came in the form of support for Conservatives, though she ultimately concluded there was little difference between their ideologies and neither sufficiently addressed social injustice. Núñez Sevilla died in 1947, leaving an inheritance to Vilma Núñez and two of her siblings, Léon and Indiana, but this again left their mother subordinate, as funds were not bequeathed directly but instead disbursed at a trustee's discretion. These early experiences motivated Núñez's later human rights activism as well as her desire to go to law school, though her mother wanted her to study architecture. She did not begin school until age eight, and eventually moved to

Managua Managua () is the capital city, capital and largest city of Nicaragua, and one of the List of largest cities in Central America, largest cities in Central America. Located on the shores of Lake Managua, the city had an estimated population of 1, ...

in search of a good secondary school that would accept her, ultimately enrolling at Colegio Madre del Divino Pastor. At 19 she enrolled at the

(UNAN) in Léon, studying law. There she studied with

, then a young professor, who later became a member of the

Group of Twelve The Group of Twelve or G12 is a group of industrially advanced countries whose central banks co-operate to regulate international finance. Note that the G-12 consists of thirteen countries. It encompasses the initial ten members of the Internat ...

leading supporters of the

Sandinista The Sandinista National Liberation Front (, FSLN) is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augusto César Sandino, who led the Nicaraguan resistan ...

(FSLN) rebels and eventually the Minister of Education for the FSLN government. Whilst at UNAN, Núñez survived the , when the Somocista National Guard fired on a student demonstration, killing four students and two onlookers and injuring almost 100 more people.Zimmermann, Matilde. ''Sandinista: Carlos Fonseca and the Nicaraguan Revolution.'' Duke University Press, 2001. Pp. 57. Via Project MUSE.

, later vice-president of Nicaragua, was also a student survivor of the day. It was considered a turning point in the political consciousness of the "Generation of 1959" or the "Generation of July 23" and later commemorated as the national Day of the Nicaraguan Student.

Career

Early career and FSLN

After graduating, Núñez began working as a litigator, primarily a criminal defense lawyer, and took pro bono cases defending political prisoners held by the

government. Among her clients were campesinos (peasants) fighting to have confiscated land restored to them; only later did they learn it was in fact Sandinistas who had taken the land. Around 1975 Núñez became involved with the FSLN and on 30 April 1979, she was taken prisoner by the Somoza government; she was freed 11 July, just days before the fall of the regime (19 July). During her five months in prison, Núñez was tortured, including with electric shocks, but did not give up any of what was by that point extensive knowledge of the FSLN networks, for example, Commander

Dora María Téllez Dora María Téllez Argüello (born 1955) is a Nicaraguan historian known for her involvement in the Nicaraguan Revolution. As a young university medical student in León in the 1970s, Téllez was recruited by the Sandinista National Liberatio ...

's operation that successfully captured the city of Léon. On 20 July, the day after the FSLN prevailed, Núñez was asked to join the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, and became a vice-president. In the same period, Núñez also served as vice president of the Nicaraguan Commission for Peace, building international solidarity against the United States embargo then in place; she worked with groups that sent supplies and made work trips to aid Nicaragua. She toured broadly in the US in this role, especially speaking on the Nicaraguan legal system, and also worked with former New York district attorney

Reed Brody Reed Brody (born July 20, 1953, Budapest, Hungary) is a Hungarian-American human rights lawyer and prosecutor. He specializes in helping victims seek justice against abusive leaders for atrocities and has gained fame as the "Dictator Hunter." He ...

in gathering information on attacks by the

Contras In the history of Nicaragua, the Contras (Spanish: ''La contrarrevolución'', the counter-revolution) were the right-wing militias who waged anti-communist guerilla warfare (1979–1990) against the Marxist governments of the Sandinista Na ...

on civilians, published in 1985 as ''Contra Terror in Nicaragua: Report of a Fact-Finding Mission, September 1984–January 1985.''Peace, Roger. ''A Call to Conscience: The Anti-Contra War Campaign''. University of Massachusetts Press, 2012. Via Project MUSE. In 1988, the FSLN appointed Núñez director of the newly formed National Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, where she served until 1990. She regarded the transfer as a punishment, since she was the Court's senior vice-president and the presidency was about to become open; being moved to the Human Rights Commission prevented her from assuming the role. As a member of the FSLN, she found a commitment to gender equality that was more theoretical than lived. Official documents set out formal obligations to equal political participation; "however," she said, "the practice was different."Disney, Jennifer Leigh. ''Women's Activism and Feminist Agency in Mozambique and Nicaragua.'' Temple University Press, 2008. Via Project MUSE. She attributed what limited gender advances were accomplished to the efforts of individual female militants and the

Luisa Amanda Espinoza Association of Nicaraguan Women The Luisa Amanda Espinoza Association of Nicaraguan Women (, AMNLAE) was initially established in 1977 under the name Association of Women Concerned about National Crisis (, AMPRONAC). AMPRONAC was part of the Sandinista (FSLN) network which was s ...

(AMNLAE).

Founding CENIDH

In 1990, when

Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Violeta Barrios Torres de Chamorro (; 18 October 1929 – 14 June 2025) was a Nicaraguan politician who served as the 55th president of Nicaragua from 1990 to 1997. She was the country's first female president. Previously, she was a member of ...

defeated FSLN incumbent

and assumed the Nicaraguan presidency, Núñez was in Geneva, Switzerland to give a speech. With an assistant, Núñez began discussing the possible creation of a body to monitor the new government, and another activist at the conference encouraged her to start a human rights foundation, donating $2500 to seed the project. This began the

(Centro Nicaragüense de Derechos Humanos, or CENIDH), founded on 16 May 1990. This project built upon work and credibility she had developed while working for the FSLN's Commission on Human Rights, where she defended cases that included one of her own former torturers. CENIDH was granted legal status in September of that year and began its work by focusing on capacity-building with training programs teaching Nicaraguans that access to education and health care were human rights. Later it also started investigating allegations of human rights violations, problems Núñez recalled as developing after conservative

Constitutionalist Liberal Party The Constitutionalist Liberal Party () is a political party in Nicaragua. History The Constitutionalist Liberal Party is the political successor of the Democratic Party, a faction which has existed since Nicaragua became independent during the ...

(PLC) President

Arnoldo Alemán José Arnoldo Alemán Lacayo (born 23 January 1946) is a Nicaraguan politician who served as the 56th president of Nicaragua from 10 January 1997 to 10 January 2002. In 2003, he was convicted of corruption and sentenced to a 20-year prison term; ...

took office in 1997 (Nicaragua's constitution prevented Chamorro from seeking a second term). Alemán responded by accusing Núñez of being a member of the Andrés Castro United Front (FUAC), a group of demobilized former Sandinista military members who had re-armed despite the peace accords. In fact CENIDH had been sought out to mediate disarmament negotiations and the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

dismissed the allegations against Núñez.

Break with the FSLN

Until this point Núñez was still a strong supporter of the FSLN, although the party did not contribute to CENIDH (instead it was largely funded by foreign donations). Nevertheless CENIDH supported dissidents protesting the conservative Chamorro and then Alemán governments. When the

Sandinista Renovation Movement UNAMOS, the Democratic Renewal Union (), formerly the Sandinista Renovation Movement (), is a Nicaraguan political party founded in 1995. It defines itself as a democratic and progressive party, made of people of all genders, that promotes the con ...

(MRS) broke away from the FSLN in 1995, Núñez remained loyal. Her relationship became strained when she ran against party leader and former Nicaraguan president

in 1996 to be the FSLN’s candidate for president, seeking to foster democratic culture within the party. Former comrades began to attack her. The conflict came to a head in 1998 when

came forward with allegations that her stepfather Daniel Ortega had raped her as a child. Zoilamérica reported the allegations to CENIDH and the case became a crossroads for Núñez, bringing into direct conflict her political role with the FSLN and her commitment to advocacy for women and human rights. Despite

Rosario Murillo Rosario María Murillo Zambrana (; born 22 June 1951) is a Nicaraguan politician and poet, who is serving as co-president of Nicaragua along with her husband, President Daniel Ortega, since February 2025. Before this, she served as the vice ...

's insistence Núñez decline the case (Murillo sided with her husband against her daughter's allegations), Núñez agreed to represent Zoilamérica, sealing Núñez's fate as an enemy of the presidential couple and their supporters. Her house was vandalized and she became subject to death threats. Núñez continued her work undeterred, bringing and winning major cases before the

. In 2001, she brought a petition for the Yapti Tasba Masraka Nanih Asla Takanka (YATAMA) party representing indigenous people, primarily the

Miskito Miskito may refer to: * Miskito people, ethnic group in Honduras and Nicaragua ** Miskito Sambu, branch of Miskito people with African admixture ** Tawira Miskito, branch of Miskito people of largely Indigenous origin * Miskito language, original la ...

people of the Caribbean Coast, against the Nicaraguan government for excluding them from elections. In 2005 the Court decided in favor of the YATAMA and ordered remedial measures, but as of 2018 the government still had not fully complied. Núñez and CENIDH also joined María Luisa Acosta, a human rights and indigenous and Afro-Caribbean activist, in her case before the Court surrounding the slaying of her husband Francisco García Valle on 8 April 2002, allegedly in retaliation for Acosta's human rights activism and legal representation of communities in the Caribbean coast. The suit against the Nicaraguan government alleged failure to bring justice and to adequately protect Acosta. The Court decided in her favor in 2017, although in this case too the Nicaraguan government has failed to follow through on all the ordered remedies. In all, Núñez has filed more than 20 cases with the IACHR and documented thousands of allegations of human rights violations; she reports that between 2007 and 2016 (under Daniel Ortega's second presidency), 35% of the allegations (5,584 cases) were against the National Police. Threats against Núñez mounted and in 2008 her home was attacked. That year and renewed annually since, the

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (the IACHR or, in the three other official languages Spanish, French, and Portuguese language, Portuguese CIDH, ''Comisión Interamericana de los Derechos Humanos'', ''Commission Interaméricaine des ...

(IACHR) has issued precautionary measures to protect Núñez and her family, although the FSLN government has not complied with these. In 2017, Murillo (by then Nicaragua's Vice-President as well as First Lady) wrote a letter, signed by nine FSLN officials, to the US embassy in protest after Ambassador Lauren Dogu presented Núñez with an award on

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March, commemorating women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights movement. International Women's Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive righ ...

Suspension of CENIDH's legal status

On 12 December 2018, at the request of the FSLN

Interior Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...

, the FSLN-controlled

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

voted to revoke the legal status of CENIDH, accusing the group of using funds to "destabilize the country". Their offices were raided by some 60 police officers and some of their members were forced to go into exile in Costa Rica. Other NGOs and press outlets faced similar repression. This followed on months of anti-government protests, initially begun in April 2018 in opposition to cuts to social security, then massively expanded following a bloody crackdown by the FSLN government. Diverse sectors of Nicaraguan society joined pjotests against the repression, including Núñez who called for President Ortega to step down, while the FSLN government insisted the mass resistance was a foreign-orchestrated coup attempt. Núñez rejected the accusation against CENIDH specifically as well as the protestors in general, and vowed to keep fighting for the rights of Nicaraguans. The IACHR,

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

and the World Center against Torture issued statements of support for CENIDH and concern about repression of human rights by the Nicaraguan government. While it was now more difficult, Núñez persisted in her human rights advocacy with CENIDH for the next two years until she and other organizations encountered a new hurdle in the form of the Law for the Regulation of Foreign Agents, passed by the

on 15 October 2020. This required any organization receiving foreign funding to register as a foreign agent. Núñez is contesting the constitutionality of this new requirement, which would subject implicated organizations to possible intervention in their property and assets, as well as threaten their legal status if the government judges that they are intervening in internal politics. More than 60 organizations have filed appeals to the Supreme Court asking that the law be partially repealed. Núñez critiques both the assertion that foreign funding implies representing external interests, as well as the implication of criminality it carries. She said in a 2020 interview: "I'm a Nicaraguan. I was born in Nicaragua, I live in Nicaragua, and I'm going to die in Nicaragua. So, I can't in any way refrain from appealing this law, and I'm not going to register".

Honors

In 2011, Núñez was awarded the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

by the French embassy for her human rights work. The same year, Núñez won the

Stieg Larsson Karl Stig-Erland "Stieg" Larsson (, ; 15 August 1954 – 9 November 2004) was a Swedish writer, journalist, and far-left activist. He is best known for writing the ''Millennium'' trilogy of crime novels, which were published posthumously, sta ...

prize for "her long struggle for women's rights and against the unjust anti-abortion laws of Nicaragua," an honor accompanied by a 200,000 Swedish crowns (about 30,000 USD). In 2019 she won the Bremen International Peace Prize, in the category "Ambassador for peace in public life".

Personal life

On 25 December 1963, Núñez married Otto Escorcia Pastrán, a dentist she had met at UNAN. Both of them had won awards for best student. Thereafter she went by the name "Vilma Núñez de Escorcia". They have two children (Otto and Eugenia), four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Works

*1990, ed., ''Independencia del poder justicial: Construimos la democracia fortaleciendo el poder judicial''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nunez, Vilma 20th-century Nicaraguan lawyers Nicaraguan activists Nicaraguan women activists Nicaraguan human rights activists Living people 1938 births Recipients of the Legion of Honour 21st-century Nicaraguan lawyers Nicaraguan women lawyers Opposition to Daniel Ortega 20th-century women lawyers 21st-century women lawyers