The Kremlin may have been trying to undermine the ICJ’s authority by making it a venue for specious legal arguments, say authorities.
Nicaragua’s case against Germany at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in which the Central American country accuses Berlin of facilitating a “genocide” in Gaza, likely came at the behest of Russia, Western intelligence officials and diplomats told POLITICO.
A detailed western intelligence assessment presented to POLITICO determined that Russia, which has close relations with Nicaragua’s authoritarian leaders, likely pushed their allies in Managua to use the so-called Genocide Convention of 1948 to pursue Germany at the ICJ.
The Nicaraguans “have no reason to inject themselves into a conflict over the Middle East,” one of the western intelligence officers said.
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For Putin, who seems to take a particular delight in trolling the Germans, humiliation may well have been part of the calculus.
Nicaragua shuttered its embassy in Berlin earlier this month as a result of the case. Neither the Nicaraguan mission to the United Nations in New York, nor its embassy in Vienna, which now covers Germany, responded to a request for comment.
It’s a point that only makes sense if you don’t pay attention to international geopolitics.
Small countries have a vested interest in the upholding of international law because they are vulnerable, so they quite often stick their heads up above the parapet for it. E.g. when the Rohingya Genocide occurred in South East Asia a small country in West Africa, The Gambia, are the ones who took them to the ICC.
As for South Africa, it has a very long history of criticizing Israel for its apartheid. Bishop Desmond Tutu made international headlines by calling it an apartheid after his visit to Israel and Palestine. Moreover, during Apartheid South Africa era, Israel was one of the big weapons suppliers to the Apartheid regime (which was at war with its neighbour) when many countries were boycotting it.
The entire African Union are quite sensitive about what Israel does.
If you know anything about history, it makes perfect sense that South Africans would be leading the charge here (which they have done consistently).