Nicaragua told the International Court of Justice on Tuesday that Germany's arms exports to Israel violates the 1948 Genocide Convention and humanitarian law and urged the court to allow its case against Berlin to continue.
Germany suspended weapons exports to Israel for a few months in 2025, but they have since resumed. It is Israel's second biggest weapons supplier after the US and has long been one of its staunchest supporters, principally because of historical guilt for the Nazi Holocaust.
A US-backed ceasefire since October 2025 halted large-scale fighting that had devastated Gaza but has not ended Israeli strikes.
Speaking on behalf of Nicaragua, Ambassador Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez said Berlin should have been aware there was a "serious risk that acts that could amount to genocide were being committed by Israel" and should have used all reasonable measures to prevent genocide according to the Genocide Convention.
Nicaragua and Germany are both signatories of the Genocide Convention which includes an obligation on states to act to prevent possible genocide - but it is unusual for the court to hear cases where neither party is directly involved in the conflict at the heart of it.
Israel rejects genocide allegations as politically motivated and says its military campaign has targeted the Hamas group, whose attack on Israel triggered the war in October 2023.
On Monday, Germany asked the ICJ, also known as the World Court, to throw out the case because they argued the court lacked jurisdiction on various procedural grounds.
Nicaragua on Tuesday dismissed Berlin's arguments that it was unclear that a dispute existed when the case was filed, pointing to communication with the foreign ministry and press statements.
Nicaragua's case builds on the one South Africa brought against Israel for alleged genocide. In an interim ruling in 2024, the ICJ said it was plausible Israel violated some rights guaranteed under the Genocide Convention during its assault on Gaza. However, that case is not expected to be heard in full until late 2029.
A ruling on Germany's objection to jurisdiction is expected later this year. Even if the case can continue, it is expected to take years before a final ruling on the merits.
