A/HRC/42/2 933. The International Humanist and Ethical Union took note of the delegation’s statement that women’s rights and the fight against gender violence were government priorities. However, it highlighted that Nicaragua had rejected recommendations to address femicide and sexual and domestic violence against women and children, including repealing the 2017 legislative amendment to the Comprehensive Law on Violence against Women, which reduced the scope of femicide to the private sphere. Despite the high rate of teenage pregnancy and maternal mortality in Nicaragua, abortion remained banned in all circumstances, and many of those in need of an abortion are young girls, who suffered sexual violence and rape. It considered the absolute ban on abortion as an institutionalized violence against women and girls and a form of inhuman treatment and torture. It called on Nicaragua to decriminalise abortion and back up its commitment to reduce violence against women. 934. The International Federation for Human Rights Leagues regretted that Nicaragua had rejected 124 recommendations, some of them about the 2018 crisis. It was concerned about the denial of the lethal violence occurred and of the serious human rights crisis faced by the country. It stated that impunity for serious crimes continued, that public peaceful assembles were repressed, and that para-police forces harassed, threatened and attacked the opposition. It was concerned that Nicaragua rejected recommendations to allow access of international human rights bodies into the country and to respect freedom of association. It referred to unfounded criminal charges against civil society organizations and urged Nicaragua to guarantee a safe environment for them. It called on the Human Rights Council and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to contribute to resolving the crisis and strengthening the efforts of human rights defenders. 935. CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation stressed that Nicaragua had not implemented any of the 26 recommendations received in previous review relating to civic space, freedom of expression and access to information. It regretted that Nicaragua did not accept recommendations related to access to human rights mechanisms, investigation of human rights abuses against demonstrators, and safety and freedom of human rights defenders and journalists. It mentioned that legislation still treated slander and insult as criminal offences, that freedom of the press was limited, and that censorship was recorded. It stated that legislation regulating civil society organizations was applied arbitrarily and that human rights defenders, journalists and bloggers were stigmatised, harassed, criminalised and attacked. It also noted that freedom of peaceful assembly was subject to legal barriers and that excessive and deadly force had been used against demonstrators, resulting in 300 people killed in 2018. 936. Réseau international des droits humains stated that all recommendations issued denied the reality of Nicaragua, particularly since April 2018. It stressed that Nicaragua did not guarantee fundamental human rights, mainly the right to peaceful assembly, which had not been authorized by the authorities and severely repressed by the police, and the right to freedom of association and freedom of expression. It stressed that there was no institutional independence from one political party and that the Office of the Human Rights Advocate was not independent. It referred to: repression, intimidations, arbitrary detentions and illtreatments against the opposition and human rights defenders; to impunity of criminal gangs; tolerance towards violence against women; existence of political prisoners; and the situation of non-governmental organizations. It stated that the amnesty law represented impunity for serious human rights violations. 937. Action Canada for Population and Development appreciated the acceptance of various recommendations aimed at guaranteeing sexual health and non-discriminatory access to health, and at reducing teenage pregnancy. Nevertheless, it was concerned that many other recommendations were not accepted, mostly those asking the country to eradicate gender violence, particularly sexual violence against girls, as well as discrimination and violence against indigenous peoples and LGBTI persons. They regretted the rejection of 135