On Monday, April 8, the International Court of Justice, also called the World Court, will begin two days of hearings on Nicaragua’s lawsuit against Germany under the Genocide Convention for “enabling Israel to perpetrate genocidal acts.”
The hearings will be viewable here beginning 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET). In January, in a similar suit brought by South Africa against Israel, the ICJ declared that Israel must stop all genocidal acts against the Palestinians in Gaza and in March, it gave additional orders.
The Nicaraguan application states: “In 2004, well before the most recent assault of Israel against the Gaza Strip, the Court had reaffirmed that Palestine was an occupied territory and that the Palestinian people had a right to self determination. The Court also recalled that all States had the obligation not to render aid or assistance in maintaining that situation. [PDF of 2004 ICJ ruling] Germany ignored this obligation then and has compounded this breach by continuing to aid and assist Israel after the most recent and even grosser violations of peremptory norms of general international law and conventional obligations. …
“Germany has provided political, financial and military support to Israel fully aware at the time of authorization that the military equipments would be used in the commission of great breaches of international law by this State and in disregard of its own obligations. In particular, the military equipment provided by Germany enabling Israel to perpetrate genocidal acts and other atrocities, included supplies to the front line and warehouses, and assurances of future supplies such as ammunition, technology and diverse components necessary for the Israeli military.” [See PDF of Nicaraguan application.]
The following analysts and activists are available for interviews:
JOHN QUIGLEY, quigley.2@osu.edu
Professor emeritus of international law at Ohio State University, Quigley’s books include The Statehood of Palestine: International Law in the Middle East Conflict (Cambridge University Press). Currently (Friday), the UN Security Council is discussing the Israeli attack on Gaza. Quigley was featured on the IPA news release “Beyond U.S. Isolation at UN, What’s Not Being Done” about the Uniting for Peace process which allows the General Assembly to assert itself when the Security Council fails in its responsibility to maintain peace and security.
FRANCIS BOYLE, fboyle@illinois.edu
Boyle is professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law. He represented Bosnia at the ICJ in its Genocide Case against Yugoslavia. He was recently on the IPA news release dealing with the Nicaragua case. Boyle has been in contact with the Nicaraguan legal team and shared material with them. See his recent appearances on “Flashpoints,” “Democracy Now” and MSNBC.
DIETER KATTERMANN, Dieter.Kattermann@gmx.de
Kattermann works with a coalition of German peace groups which just released a statement: “No More German Contribution to the Genocide In Gaza!” which states: “A long trail of genocide runs through [German] history in the 20th century, beginning with the Nama and Herero in its former colony in what is now Namibia and continuing with the Holocaust of Jews, Sinti and Roma, as well as many other population groups, especially in Eastern Europe, in the course of the Second World War. Has it really operated a turnaround? Today, it denies the colonialist character of Zionism and supports Israel’s current genocidal policy, politically, ideologically and above all militarily, through a misconceived solidarity with the Jewish victims of that time. In 2023, it even increased its arms export licenses for Israel tenfold, most of them after 7 October. Germany is Israel’s second most important arms supplier after the USA, but the USA has legally ruled out charges of genocide at the ICJ. Germany was also one of the first to end vital support to, and through, UNRWA. … On these two days [April 8 and 9], rallies and vigils will be organized in front of the International Court of Justice in The Hague and in front of many embassies and consulates of the Federal Republic of Germany abroad.”
HEINRICH BUECKER, email@hbuecker.net, @berlinSTOPwar
Buecker is with Coop Anti-War Café in Berlin and will be holding protests on Saturday there.
CodePink is organizing rallies outside the German mission to the UN and at the consulates Los Angeles and San Francisco on Monday, April 8. The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom is holding a rally at the German embassy in Washington, D.C. on Monday at 2 p.m.
[Meanwhile, on Friday, the group Law for Palestine put out a statement on “Urgent Legal Action Against German Arms Exports to Israel,” attempting to stop delivery of weapons including “500,000 rounds of ammunition for machine guns.” See link for report and livestream.]