by Stephanie van den Berg
THE HAGUE, April 8 (Reuters) – Nicaragua asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday to order an embargo on German arms sales to Israel, saying Berlin was exposing itself to accusations of complicity in genocide in the Gaza Strip.
Managua’s “agent”, Nicaraguan Ambassador to the Netherlands Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez, told the court that Germany had violated the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide by continuing its arms sales to the Jewish state while the ICJ noted in two orders the existence of a “plausible risk” of genocide in connection with the military offensive against Hamas, which left more than 33,200 dead.
States do not have a permanent representative to the ICJ. When a file concerns a State, it is represented by an “agent”.
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“There is no doubt that Germany (…) was well aware, and still is well aware, of the serious risks that a genocide would be committed” in the Gaza Strip, argued Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez.
“This has to stop,” he said.
Nicaragua also asks Berlin to resume funding for UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees.
Germany is the second largest arms supplier to Israel, behind the United States, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
According to a press release from the Institute published on March 11, the United States represents 69% of Israel’s arms imports and Germany 30%.
Military exports of around 326.5 million euros in 2023, according to the German Ministry of the Economy.
Israel rejects accusations of “genocide” against it, asserting its legitimate right to defend itself.
Tania von Uslar-Gleichen, legal adviser to the German Foreign Ministry, told reporters on the sidelines of the hearing that Germany had not committed any breach of the 1948 Convention or the law. humanitarian, “directly, or indirectly”.
Germany is due to formally testify before the ICJ on Tuesday.
Nicaragua’s initiative, fraught with historical resonance for Berlin, follows the accusation of “genocide” made in January by South Africa against Israel. (Report by Stephanie van den Berg, with the contribution of Riham Alkousaa in Berlin, French version Sophie Louet)
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