Nicaragua has accused Germany of aiding and abetting genocide in the Gaza Strip before the UN's highest court.
By supplying arms to Israel, Germany is facilitating genocide and violating international law, Nicaragua's legal representatives told the International Court of Justice in The Hague on Monday.
Germany denies the accusations. Israel also firmly rejects any violation of the Genocide Convention and invokes its right to self-defence following the massacres by the Islamist Hamas and other extremist Palestinian organizations on October 7, 2023.
Nicaragua initially wants to use summary proceedings to ensure that Germany stops supplying arms to Israel. In addition, it wants the judges to order Germany to resume support for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip.
Nicaragua argues that by providing "political, financial and military support" to Israel and suspending funding for UNRWA, Germany is enabling genocide and not fulfilling its duty to prevent it.
German representatives will not officially address the court until Tuesday. The hearings are scheduled to last two days. A decision is expected in about two weeks. The court's decisions are binding.
Although neither Germany nor Nicaragua are directly involved in the war, both states have signed the UN Genocide Convention, which includes an undertaking to prevent acts of genocide.
This is the second genocide complaint before the UN court in connection with the war in the Gaza Strip. South Africa accused Israel of genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip at the end of last year and called for a ceasefire in summary proceedings. The court has not yet done so. However, it has ordered Israel to allow significantly more humanitarian aid into the territory and to do everything possible to prevent genocide.