A/HRC/57/60 of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues UNPFII), held in New York from 17–28 April 2023. 79. Mr. Rivera publicly announced in late May 2023 that he had returned to the country clandestinely. On 29 September 2023, he was arbitrarily arrested and since that date he has reportedly been held without charges, his relatives have had no contact with him, and the authorities have not officially acknowledged his imprisonment (A/HRC/55/27, para. 61). 80. In December 2023, the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed 25 concern about Mr. Rivera’s physical integrity and the fact that his fate and whereabouts remained unknown since his arrest, in a situation amounting to enforced disappearance. The High Commissioner for Human Rights and OHCHR’s Regional Office for Central America have called for Mr. Rivera’s immediate release. 26,27 In October 2023, the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights issued precautionary measures in favour of Mr. Rivera. 28 The Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued provisional measures regarding the Indigenous leader and his relatives in December 2023 and February 2024. 29 81. On 17 April 2024, Ms. Tininiska Rivera Castellón, daughter of Mr. Brooklyn Rivera and indigenous human rights defender, delivered a statement at the 23rd Session of the UNPFII30 where she demanded proof of life of her father and his release. In her statement, she also noted having received threats at the Forum. According to information received by OHCHR, Ms. Rivera Castellón has been harassed and surveilled by the authorities since May 2023. Ms. Rivera Castellón has reportedly been dismissed from her job, had to interrupt her studies, and her bank accounts have been frozen. 82. During the period, OHCHR continued to receive requests from victims and sources in the country and in exile, that any information published on their cases be anonymized to avoid their potential identification due to fear of reprisals against them and their families. It also documented refusals from individuals, including relatives of victims, defense lawyers and other sources, to engage with the United Nations due to fear of reprisals. Names and details of those concerned are withheld for fear of further retaliation. 83. During the period, the High Commissioner for Human Rights 31 noted severe restrictions by the Government on civic space that, combined with an erosion of the rule of law, allowed for the systematic persecution of any organized civic activism or human rights work. The High Commissioner also noted that the silencing of critical voices persists in a context of widespread fear and harassment by the authorities and reported that the practice of denying entry to Nicaraguan nationals intensified in the first quarter of 2023, affecting several individuals who were conducting international advocacy for human rights in Nicaragua (A/HRC/54/60, paras. 36–37 and 75–76).32 84. The Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua 33 noted that human rights defenders and political opposition are facing severe pressure to leave the country, through constant surveillance, harassment in public and private spaces and the continued use of arbitrary detention (A/HRC/55/CRP.3, paras. 124 and 166, see also annex II). 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 GE.24-14259 https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k10/k10ja0t2v2. https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2024/03/high-commissioner-presents-updateshuman-rights-colombia-guatemala. https://x.com/OACNUDH/status/1751989606881370195. https://www.oas.org/en/iachr/decisions/mc/2023/res_60-23%20_mc_812-23%C2%A0_ni_en.pdf https://www.oas.org/en/iachr/decisions/mc/2023/res_59-23%20_mc_799-23%C2%A0_ni_en.pdf. http://corteidh.or.cr/docs/medidas/yatama_se_01.pdf http://corteidh.or.cr/docs/medidas/yatama_se_02.pdf. https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k13/k13w7qk515 (time stamp 02:37:00). https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements/2023/06/nicaragua-update. https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2023/12/nicaragua-report-points-continuingviolations; https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-briefing-notes/2023/06/nicaragua-silencing-critical-voices. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/grhe-nicaragua/OA-GHREN54HRC-12SSEP23_English.docx. 29