Nicaragua has officially requested to join the genocide case that South Africa has brought against Israel, as announced by the International Court of Justice yesterday.
In its plea for intervention, Nicaragua mentioned that it has “legal interests arising from the rights and obligations imposed by the Genocide Convention on all party states.”
The court noted that Nicaragua stated its decision stems from “the universal character of the condemnation of genocide and the required cooperation for humanity to rid itself of such a heinous scourge.”
Last month, the Central American country declared its intention to join Pretoria in the lawsuit accusing Israel of violating the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide due to its war on the Gaza Strip that has been ongoing since October 7, 2023.
Two weeks ago, judges of the court issued a ruling imposing provisional measures on Israel, stating that it must prevent acts of genocide in its war on Gaza, but they did not go as far as calling for an end to the fighting.
In its plea, Nicaragua urged the judges to rule that Israel “has violated and continues to violate its obligations under the Genocide Convention” and to “stop actions or measures that could lead to the killing of Palestinians or the perpetuation of their killing.”
Throughout history, the court has rarely agreed to such intervention requests as made by Nicaragua.
Several other countries have indicated that they may wish to intervene in the genocide case in Gaza, but none have done so officially except Nicaragua.
Israel is conducting a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, resulting in tens of thousands of civilian casualties, mostly children and women, as well as an unprecedented humanitarian crisis and massive infrastructure damage, leading Tel Aviv to face the International Court of Justice for the first time in its history on charges of genocide.
It is likely to take months, if not years, to determine whether Israel is indeed violating the Genocide Convention through its military campaign.
