Nicaragua has told the UN Supreme Court that it is “pathetic” for Germany to provide aid to the Palestinians while providing arms to Israel.
Germany has been indicted by the United Nations Supreme Court on suspicion of “facilitating the commission of genocide” against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in collaboration with its military and political ally Israel.
Nicaragua filed a lawsuit at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday, asking judges to take urgent steps to prevent Berlin from providing arms and other aid to Israel.
Carlos José Francisco Argüero Gómez, Nicaragua’s ambassador to the Netherlands and head of the Nicaraguan delegation, said in his opening statement that “grave violations of international humanitarian law, including genocide, are occurring in Palestine” and that “they are being carried out openly. “
“The events before us involve serious events that will affect the lives and well-being of hundreds of thousands of people, and even cause the ruin of an entire nation.”
In such situations, he said, other states should avoid taking steps that “support the perpetrators.”
“Germany has violated this obligation imposed on all countries,” Gomez said, adding that Germany had failed to “distinguish between self-defense and genocide” in the case of the Gaza Strip.
“If Israel’s actions remain unchecked since its inception as a state and continue to receive indiscriminate support from states like Germany, a new generation of Palestinians will rise again in the future,” he said. he warned.
“This is a pathetic excuse to provide humanitarian aid, including airdrops, and military equipment to Palestinian children, women and men on the one hand, and military equipment on the other,” Nicaraguan lawyer Daniel Moller told the court. Stated. Kill them and annihilate them…on the other hand. ”
Speaking to reporters after the ICJ hearing in Hauge, Germany’s legal representative Tania von Ussler-Gleichen called Nicaragua’s presentation “biased” and said Germany looked forward to rebutting the accusations tomorrow. He said he is doing so.
“Nicaragua’s presentation was severely biased. Tomorrow we will explain how we are fully fulfilling our responsibility,” Usler Gleichen said.
In a 43-page submission to the court, Nicaragua alleges that Germany is violating the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention, established in the wake of the Holocaust.
“We sent military equipment and have now stopped funding UNRWA.” [UN agency for Palestinian refugees] …Germany is facilitating the commission of genocide,” the filing reads.
“It is essential and urgent.”
“Germany’s failure is all the more condemnable given Germany’s self-proclaimed privileged relationship with Israel, which allows it to beneficially influence Israel’s actions,” Nicaragua added.
Nicaragua asked the ICJ to decide on “interim measures,” which are emergency orders imposed while the court considers the broader case.
The person in charge of the Nicaraguan case says it is “obligatory and urgent” for the court to order such measures, given that the lives of “hundreds of thousands of people” are at risk. .
The ICJ was established to adjudicate disputes between states and became a central figure in the war between Israel and Hamas that broke out after the October 7 attacks.
In another incident, South Africa accused Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip, which Israel vehemently denies.
In this case, the court ordered Israel to do everything in its power to prevent acts of genocide, and recently strengthened its position and ordered additional measures requiring Israel to enhance access to humanitarian aid.
Although court decisions are binding, they lack enforcement mechanisms, such as ordering Russia to halt its invasion of Ukraine, to no avail.
Nicaragua demanded five interim measures, including that Germany “immediately suspend aid to Israel, especially military aid, including military equipment.”
It also asks the court to order Germany to “reverse its decision to suspend funding to UNRWA.”
Germany announced in January that it would suspend funding pending an investigation into Israeli accusations that several UNRWA employees took part in the October 7 attack.
Nicaragua said in its submission that it was “understandable” that Germany would support ally Israel’s “appropriate response” to the Hamas attack in October.
The Gaza war, the bloodiest in history, began with an unprecedented attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, resulting in the deaths of 1,139 Israelis and foreigners, most of them civilians.
Israel has since killed at least 33,175 people, including more than 13,800 children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.