Hague. Nicaragua demanded this Monday before the International Court of Justice that Germany stop delivering weapons to Israel, and blamed the European country for complicity in what it called the “genocide” of Palestinians in Gaza, accusations that Berlin categorically rejected.
“Germany was and is fully aware of the risk that the weapons it delivered and continues to deliver to Israel” could be used to commit genocide, said Alain Pellet, Nicaragua’s lawyer, before the highest judicial instance of the UN. “It is extremely urgent that Germany finally suspends” that supply, he stressed.
Nicaragua took Germany to the ICJ to demand that the court impose emergency measures to prevent Berlin from supplying arms and other assistance to Israel.
In a 43-page document, Managua claimed that Germany violated the 1948 UN Genocide Convention, created after the Holocaust.
“By sending military equipment and stopping funding UNRWA (the UN agency for Palestinian refugees), Germany facilitates the commission of genocide,” according to the document.
Berlin will respond in court on Tuesday but has already stressed that it rejects the accusations.
Her lead lawyer, Tania von Uslar-Gleichen, said Managua’s submission to the court was “extremely biased.”
“Germany completely rejects the accusations. We never violated the Genocide Convention or international humanitarian law, neither directly nor indirectly,” the lawyer told the press.
“On the contrary, Germany is committed to respecting international law and we work for that internationally,” he added.
“Pathetic”
In this Monday’s session, Daniel Mueller, another lawyer from Managua, called it “pathetic” that Germany delivers weapons to the Israeli government while providing humanitarian aid to Gaza.
“It is, in fact, a pathetic excuse for Palestinian children, women and men to provide humanitarian aid, including with airdrops, on the one hand, and to supply the military equipment used to kill and annihilate them on the other,” Mueller said. .
The Nicaraguan ambassador to the Netherlands, Carlos José Argüello Gómez, stated before the Court that “Germany seems incapable of differentiating between self-defense and genocide.
In its document, Managua emphasizes that “German non-compliance is even more reprehensible with respect to Israel, given that Germany has a self-proclaimed privileged relationship with that country, which would allow it to influence its behavior.”
Nicaragua asked the ICJ to impose emergency “provisional measures” while it assesses the case.
“Appropriate reaction”
The ICJ was created to resolve disputes between countries and has become a key player in the war between Israel and Hamas, which began with the October 7 attacks.
In a separate case, South Africa accused Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip, something Israel firmly rejects.
In that case, the court urged Israel to do everything possible to avoid genocidal actions and recently hardened its stance, ordering additional measures compelling Israel to increase access to humanitarian aid.
The court’s decisions are binding but it lacks enforcement mechanisms. For example, the same court ordered Russia to stop its invasion of Ukraine, something that Moscow has not complied with.
Nicaragua requested five provisional measures, such as that Germany “immediately suspend its aid to Israel, especially military assistance.”
It also asked the court to order Germany to “reverse its decision to suspend funding to UNRWA.”
In January, Germany suspended funding to the UN agency after Israel alleged that UNRWA officials participated in attacks by Hamas in southern Israel on October 7. Berlin said it was suspending funding for the duration of the investigation into that matter.
In its document, Nicaragua noted that “it would be understandable” for Germany to support an “appropriate reaction” by Israel, its ally, to the Hamas attacks in October.
“But that cannot be an excuse to violate international law,” Managua said.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Friday that Israel “has no more excuses” to delay the entry of aid to Gaza.
The war in the Gaza Strip began with the Hamas attacks on October 7, which left more than 1,170 dead, mostly civilians, according to an AFP report based on Israeli figures.
Palestinian fighters also took 250 hostages, about 130 of whom remain in Gaza, including 34 who were reported to have died.
The air and ground offensive launched by Israel in response left more than 33,200 dead in Gaza, according to the Ministry of Health of the territory, governed by Hamas since 2007.
According to the UN, most of Gaza’s 2.4 million people are on the brink of famine.
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– 2024-04-13 06:10:54
