The President of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega on Friday said that the country has instituted proceedings against Germany at the International Court of Justice for its complicity with the state of Israel in the ongoing genocidal war on Palestinians in Gaza.
In the application, Nicaragua requested the Court to adjudge and declare that Germany by violating international law has failed to fulfil its obligation to prevent the genocide being committed against the Palestinian people.
On the contrary, it has contributed to the commission of genocide in violation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention 1948), the petition added.
Nicaragua claimed that by providing political, financial and military support to Israel and by defunding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), “Germany is facilitating the commission of genocide and, in any case has failed in its obligation to do everything possible toprevent the commission of genocide.”
The petition was filed In accordance with Articles 36 and 40 of the Statute of the Court and Article 38 of the Rules of Court.
Nicaragua argued that Germany has provided support to Israel fully aware that the aid would be used in the commission of great breaches of international law by this State and in disregard of its own obligations.
Moreover, the military equipment provided by Germany enabled Israel “to perpetrate genocidal acts and other atrocities,” it further stated.
The German Government has also cut off assistance to UNRWA, the most important relief bringer to the millions of Palestinian refugees.
By cutting off the funds to UNRWA, Germany’s decision jeopardised any effective assistance being given to the victims of those very atrocities that Israel is committing.
As the application states, each and every Contracting Party to the Genocide Convention has a duty under the Convention to do everything possible to prevent the commission of genocide.
Since October 2023, Israel has been carrying out the largest scale military assault in Gaza, which was described as among the “most destructive in recent history”.
To date, at least 30,035 Palestinians have been killed, and 70,457 injured in the ongoing genocide in Gaza.Furthermore, there are no fully functional hospitals in Gaza.
Around 1.7 million people have been forcibly displaced, the majority – 1.4 million – are currently situated in Rafah governorate, which has now become the largest refugee camp in the world.
“Yet by sending military equipment and now defunding UNRWA which provides essential support to the civilian population, Germany is facilitating the commission of genocide and, in any case has failed in its obligation to do everything possible to prevent the commission of genocide, being both distinct bases for Germany’s reponsibility,” the petition highlighted.
However, Germany has failed to fulfil its obligations, mandated in the four Geneva Conventions of 1949, and customary rules, including the obligation not to encourage violations of international humanitarian law by parties to an armed conflict, and to exert its influence to the extent possible to stop such violations.
Notably, Germany has a self-proclaimed privileged relationship with Israel, which would enable it to usefully influence the latter’s conduct.
Pursuant to Article 41 of the Statute and the Article 73 of the Rules of the Court, the application includes a request that the Court indicate provisional measures to preserve the rights invoked from imminent and irreparable loss.
The measures suggested by Nicaragua include:
(1) Germany shall immediately suspend its aid to Israel, in particular its military assistance including military equipment, in sor far as this aid may be used in the violation of the Genocide Convention, international humanitarian law or other peremptory norms of general international law such as the Palestinian People’s right to self-determination and to not be subject to a regime of apartheid;
(2) Germany must immediately make every effort to ensure that weapons already delivered to Israel are not used to commit genocide, contribute to acts of genocide or are used in such a way as to violate international humanitarian law;
(3) Germany must immediately do everything possible to comply with its obligations under humanitarian law;
(4) Germany must reverse its decision to suspend the funding of UNRWA as part of the compliance of its obligations to prevent genocide and acts of genocide and the violation of the humanitarian rights of the Palestinian People which also includes the obligation to do everything possible to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches the Palestinian people, more particularly in Gaza;
(5) Germany must cooperate to bring to an end the serious breaches of peremptory norms of international law by ceasing its support, including its supply of military equipment to Israel that may be used to commit serious crimes of international law and that it continue the support of the UNRWA on which this Organizations has counted and based its activities.
