NICARAGUA TAKES GERMANY TO ICJ ON GENOCIDE

On 8 April, Germany began facing Nicaragua’s charge of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Nicaragua alleges Germany is complicit in Israel’s actions against the Gaza Strip and has violated the 1948 UN Genocide Convention by providing Israel with military and financial aid.

The small Central American country has asked the ICJ to issue emergency orders for Germany to immediately suspend military aid to Israel and ensure Israel doesn’t illegally use Germany’s provisions.

Nicaragua’s case builds on South Africa’s, which led to the court stating in its 26 January provisional ruling that genocide is ‘plausible.’ It also ordered Israel to take measures to prevent genocidal acts against Palestinians. However, Israel has not abided by the ruling, going on to kill an additional 7,000 people.

In this clip, Nicaragua’s ambassador to the Netherlands argues Germany’s weapons industry is profiting from the ongoing bombardments of the Gaza Strip, thereby aiding Israel in committing genocide. In 2023, about 30 per cent of Israel’s military hardware came from Germany, totalling $326 million. The deliveries were 10 times more than those in 2022, potentially making Germany complicit.

Israel says it has been trying to eliminate H*m*s militants. However, reports say Israel has injured nearly 76,000 Palestinians and killed more than 33,000, with 25,000 being women and children. The UN said last month that over 1 million Palestinians are on the brink of famine.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently announced that a date had been set to launch a ground offensive against Rafah, but he did not provide details. The city is in the Gaza Strip’s southern end, where about 1.5 million Palestinians have sheltered since leaving their homes in the north.