Middle East war
Is Germany aiding and abetting genocide? Nicaragua goes to the International Court of Justice
Damaged UNRWA building in Gaza City. Is the end of the funding of the refugee organization already an aid to genocide?
© Omar Ishaq / DPA
Nicaragua is accusing Germany of violating the Genocide Convention before the International Court of Justice. The Berlin government is not doing everything it can to “prevent genocide,” say the Central Americans. Now the hearings begin.
Nicaragua is calling on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to order interim measures pending a decision on the merits. The judges at the ICJ will hear the arguments of both sides on April 8th and 9th.
Germany is not doing everything it can to “prevent genocide”
The Central American country’s foreign ministry said in March that Germany was not fulfilling its obligation to “do everything possible to prevent the commission of genocide” by stopping payments to the United Nations Palestinian Relief Agency (UNRWA), among other things. By cutting UNRWA funds in conjunction with political, financial and military support for Israel, Germany is abetting genocide.
South Africa, like Nicaragua a strong supporter of Palestinian rights, sued Israel at the International Court of Justice at the end of December for alleged violations of the Genocide Convention committed in the Gaza war. The UN court ruled in an interim ruling that Israel must take protective measures to prevent genocide.
Serious allegations against UNRWA employees
According to its statute, the ICJ is supposed to resolve conflicts between states as peacefully as possible. His judgments are usually binding. However, the UN judges have no power to force a state to implement it. But you can call on the UN Security Council to take action on the matter.
Following allegations that UNRWA employees were involved in the unprecedented attack on Israel by the Islamist Hamas movement on October 7, numerous important donor states stopped contributing to the aid agency. In addition to Germany, these include the USA, Great Britain and Sweden. Some countries such as Canada have now resumed their aid payments.
Middle East war since Hamas attack on Israel
Fighters from Hamas and other Islamist organizations committed atrocities primarily against civilians during their attack on Israel on October 7th. According to Israeli information, around 1,160 people were killed and around 250 others were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip.
Since then, Israel has taken massive military action in the Gaza Strip. According to information from the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, which cannot be independently verified, around 33,000 people have been killed so far.