Why Nicaragua has taken Germany to the ICJ over Gaza genocide

Germany is back before the International Court of Justice in The Hague over its support for Israel, more than two years after Nicaragua accused Berlin of helping facilitate genocide in Gaza.

“

By sending military equipment and now defunding UNRWA … Germany is facilitating the commission of genocide.

Nicaragua filed the case in 2024, alleging that Germany breached the 1948 Genocide Convention and international humanitarian law by providing Israel with military equipment despite the risk of genocide in Gaza. It also cited Germany’s decision to defund UNRWA. “By sending military equipment and now defunding UNRWA … Germany is facilitating the commission of genocide,” Nicaragua said when it brought the case in March 2024.

The Nicaraguan government initially asked the court to order Germany to halt military assistance to Israel and resume funding for UNRWA. The ICJ rejected those emergency measures in April 2024, but declined to dismiss the broader case. In a separate case brought by South Africa, the court had ruled in January 2024 that there was “a real and imminent risk that irreparable prejudice” could be caused to the rights of Palestinians in Gaza under the Genocide Convention.

“

to differentiate between self-defence and genocide

Germany, Israel’s largest arms supplier after the United States, denies Nicaragua’s allegations and is seeking to stop the case. Berlin told the court on Monday that Nicaragua had not followed the required steps before filing its complaint, and that substantial parts of the case lie beyond the ICJ’s jurisdiction. The current hearings will address whether the case can move toward a fuller examination of those allegations.

“

a real and imminent risk that irreparable prejudice