Nicaragua on Monday appealed to the International Court of Justice, urging the court to mandate Berlin to cease its military arms exports to Israel and to revoke its decision to discontinue funding the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA. Nicaragua expressed concerns over the serious risk of genocide in Gaza.
Nicaragua’s representative, Ambassador Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez, stated to the court that Germany has breached the 1948 Genocide Convention by persisting in its arms supplies to Israel. This follows the court’s judges indicating that it was plausible Israel had violated rights protected under the genocide convention during its operations in Gaza.
Israel has refuted the genocide allegations, maintaining its right to self-defense. German officials have dismissed the validity of the ICJ case.
Arguello Gomez emphasized the obligations under the genocide treaty, which require signatory states like Germany to prevent acts of genocide.
Germany is expected to present its defense on Tuesday, April 9.
Since the attacks by Hamas militants on October 7, which resulted in 1,200 casualties as per Israeli reports, Germany has remained one of Israel’s most reliable supporters. Additionally, Germany ranks as a significant arms supplier to Israel, with the Economy Ministry reporting military equipment and weapons sales amounting to 326.5 million euros ($353.70 million) in 2023.
