IOE, FEDEPRICAP and CEIB condemn the arbitrary and illegal conviction of the former President of COSEP, José Adán Aguerri

The former President of the Nicaraguan employer organisation COSEP has been detained since 8 June 2021.

The International Organisation of Employers (IOE), the Federación de Entidades Privadas de Centroamérica, Panamá y República Dominicana (FEDEPRICAP) and the Consejo de Empresarios Iberoamericanos (CEIB) express their deep concern about the arbitrary and illegal conviction of the former President of the Consejo Superior de la Empresa Privada (COSEP), Mr. José Adán Aguerri.

We repudiate in the strongest terms these arbitrary and illegal actions and demand the immediate release of the former President, as well as the President and Vice President –Michael Healy and Álvaro Vargas– of COSEP, the most representative employers' organisation in Nicaragua.

These actions are contrary, among other international treaties, to the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) fundamental Convention No. 87 on freedom of association, which was voluntarily ratified by Nicaragua in 1967. We will use all the means at our disposal to denounce the actions of the Government of Nicaragua before various United Nations bodies, to preserve the physical integrity of business leaders, and to ensure respect for the autonomy of business organisations. We will also assess the use of measures provided for in the ILO’s Constitution.

IOE, FEDEPRICAP and CEIB also jointly call on the parties to sit down for a dialogue in order to find solutions to this long-standing conflict in the country.

* The International Organisation of Employers (IOE) is the world's largest private-sector network, with more than 150 business organisations members in over 146 countries. IOE represents the voice of business in debates on social and labour policy issues at the International Labour Organization, the United Nations and the multilateral system, G20 forums and other emerging processes.

*The Federación de Entidades Privadas de Centro América, Panamá y República Dominicana (FEDEPRICAP), made up of business leaders, is the regional body that brings together 100,000 formal companies that generate 8 million jobs in the region.

*The Consejo de Empresarios Iberoamericanos (CEIB) brings together the most important business organisations in Ibero-America. It is the only institution responsible for organising the Ibero-American Business Meetings held every two years, prior to the Summits of Ibero-American Heads of State and Government.