US SANCTIONS ON NICARAGUA

That this House is extremely concerned by US proposals to implement sanctions against Nicaragua through the so­-called NICA Act; notes that if passed, the Act will serve only to destabilise Nicaragua and further impoverish what is already the second poorest country in the Western hemisphere; further notes that the proposed Act will put at risk a whole raft of social programmes put in place since 2007; recognises that these programmes, directed at the poorest and most vulnerable, have already led to a 50 per cent reduction in levels of poverty and maternal mortality; and calls on the Government to express its condemnation of these US proposals and represent its opposition to all steps taken by the US Administration to pass and implement the Act.