Before the International Court of Justice, Nicaragua accuses Germany of encouraging “genocide” in Gaza
Nicaragua sues Germany before the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
In a request filed on Friday March 1, Managua accuses Berlin of complicity in genocide in particular for having suspended funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and for the delivery of weapons to Israel.
Nicaragua asks judges to order emergency measures.
Judges enter the United Nations' highest court during historic hearings in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024, on the legality of Israel's 57-year occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, plunging the 15 international judges into the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which has lasted for decades.
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Nicaragua
asks judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to order Germany to suspend military aid
to
Israel
.
Because this aid could be used to violate the Geneva conventions and that on genocide, reports our correspondent in The Hague,
Stéphanie Maupas
.
Managua relies in particular on UN reports, according to which Germany is, along with the
United States
, one of the largest exporters of arms to Israel.
Nicaragua argues, according to the ICJ, that there is "
a recognized risk of genocide of the Palestinian people and, above all,
of the population of the Gaza Strip
", announced the ICJ in a press release.
Germany, by providing political, financial and military support to Israel and by ceasing to finance UNRWA, “
facilitates this genocide and, in any event, has failed in its obligation to do everything possible to prevent it
".
South Africa had already seized the ICJ in December
,
arguing that Israel's operations in Gaza amounted to a violation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The Court, based in The Hague,
has yet to rule on this point
, but on January 26 it ordered Israel to prevent any possible act of genocide and to allow access for humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
Suspension of UNRWA funding
Managua also demands that Germany reverse its decision to suspend
its funding of UNRWA
.
What Berlin did at the end of January, after the suspension of 12 employees accused by Israel of having participated in the October 7 attack.
Unrelated to Nicaragua's request, the European Union announced on Friday the release of 50 million euros for the UN agency.
Managua's request could quickly become irrelevant on this point if Berlin resumes its bilateral financing.
If the Court accepts Nicaragua's request, it could quickly organize hearings or issue a warning to Germany.
Read alsoGaza: calls for an investigation after a deadly humanitarian distribution, Biden resolves to airdrops of aid
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