Germany was accused by Nicaragua on the highest UN court docket on Monday of facilitating “the fee of genocide” in opposition to the Palestinians with its navy and political assist for Israel.
Nicaragua has taken Germany to the Worldwide Courtroom of Justice (ICJ), demanding that judges impose emergency measures to forestall Berlin from offering Israel with weapons and different support.
Germany has hit again on the accusations, with German International Ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer telling reporters forward of the hearings: “We reject the accusations from Nicaragua.”
“Germany has violated neither the Genocide Conference nor worldwide humanitarian regulation and we are going to absolutely display this earlier than the Worldwide Courtroom of Justice,” Fischer added.
Nicaragua will current its case on Monday, whereas Germany will reply the subsequent day.
In a 43-page submission to the court docket, Nicaragua argues that Germany is violating the 1948 United Nations Genocide Conference, drawn up within the aftermath of the Holocaust.
“By sending navy gear and now chopping off funding to UNRWA (UN Company for Palestinian Refugees)…Germany is facilitating the fee of genocide,” the submission says.
“Germany’s failure is all of the extra reprehensible with regard to Israel provided that Germany has a self-proclaimed privileged relationship with Israel, which might enable it to usefully affect its conduct,” Nicaragua added.
Nicaragua requested the Worldwide Courtroom of Justice to rule on “interim measures” – emergency orders imposed whereas the court docket thought of the broader case.
It’s “pressing and pressing” that the court docket order such measures because the lives of “a whole lot of hundreds of individuals” are at stake, the Nicaraguan case reads.
– ‘Acceptable response’ –
The ICJ was created to adjudicate disputes between nations and has turn out to be a key participant within the conflict between Israel and Hamas militants that broke out after the October 7 assaults.
In a separate case, South Africa has accused Israel of committing genocide within the Gaza Strip, an accusation Israel strongly denies.
In that case, the court docket ordered Israel to do all the things in its energy to forestall genocidal acts and lately strengthened its place by imposing further measures requiring Israel to extend entry to humanitarian support.
The court docket’s rulings are binding, however there isn’t any enforcement mechanism; for instance, it has ordered Russia to halt its invasion of Ukraine, to no avail.
Nicaragua has requested 5 interim measures, together with that Germany “instantly droop its help to Israel, particularly its navy help, together with navy gear.”
It additionally calls on the court docket to order Germany to “reverse its determination to droop funding for UNRWA.”
Germany stated in January it was suspending funding pending an investigation into Israeli allegations that a number of UNRWA staffers took half within the October 7 assault.
Nicaragua stated in its contribution that “it might be comprehensible” that Germany would assist an “acceptable response” by ally Israel to October’s Hamas assaults.
“However this shouldn’t be an excuse for appearing in violation of worldwide regulation,” Nicaragua stated.
On Friday, German International Minister Annalena Baerbock stated Israel had “no extra excuses” to delay support to Gaza.
The bloodiest Gaza conflict ever started with Hamas’ unprecedented assault on Israel on October 7, which resulted within the deaths of 1,170 Israelis and foreigners, most of them civilians, in keeping with an AFP depend based mostly on official Israeli figures.
Palestinian militants additionally took about 250 hostages, of whom about 130 stay in Gaza, together with 34 who the military says are lifeless.
Israel’s retaliatory marketing campaign has killed not less than 33,175 folks in Hamas-run Gaza, in keeping with the Well being Ministry, whereas the United Nations has warned of “catastrophic” starvation.
