Address by Nicaragua
Debate on the Report of the International Court of Justice
General Assembly
Thursday, October 24th, 2024
United Nations, New York
Mr President of the Assembly,
Mr. President of the International Court of Justice,
Mr. President,
1. Permit me to associate ourselves with the statement of Uganda on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement.
2. Nicaragua thanks the President of the International Court of Justice for his detailed report A/79/4, which shows the importance of the work which the main judicial organ of this organization continues to carry out.
3. It is well known that the current period has been extraordinary and that this has also been reflected in the high workload at the Court, having issued two judgments, one advisory opinion and 27 orders, along with 11 public hearings. To this are added four new contentious cases and one new request for an advisory opinion for this cycle.
4. Of these four new contentious issues, two of them strongly express the concern and rejection of the violations of international law in the occupied Palestinian territories.
5. In this regard, the court has been obliged to rule on three separate occasions on the provisional measures it has granted with respect to the Gaza Strip in the case initiated by South Africa against Israel.
6. Similarly, in its ordinance of April 30, 2024, the Court, although it did not decide on specific provisional measures, has "considered it particularly important to remind all States of their international obligations regarding the transfer of weapons to the parties to an armed conflict, in order to avoid the risk that such weapons may be used to violate the [Geneva Conventions and the Genocide Convention]."
7. In addition, the Court stressed that "States parties are bound by the Genocide Convention not to commit any other act listed in Article III", namely: acts of genocide, attempted genocide, complicity in genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, and incitement to commit genocide.
8. It is clear to Nicaragua that the practical importance of this reminder in the Nicaragua v. Germany case extends far beyond the bilateral dispute, and confirms that it is the right and duty of Nicaragua, as a State Party to the Genocide Convention and the Geneva Conventions, to seek compliance with the obligations under those Conventions as recognized by the Court when it comes to obligations erga omnes partes.
9. Consequently, Nicaragua has adopted and will continue to adopt all the measures it deems appropriate, in accordance with international law, to guarantee respect for these fundamental international obligations.
10. Nicaragua once again takes this opportunity to reiterate the Government's firm commitment to Reconciliation and National Unity with the rule of law at the international level and the peaceful resolution of disputes between states. This commitment has been evident since 1984 when Nicaragua resorted to the Court in its most difficult moments, a process that ended in a historic ruling that orders the United States to compensate the Nicaraguan people for all the atrocities committed against them which even today have profound social and economic consequences. Nicaragua still demands that this debt be paid.
11. Nicaragua recalls that in all the cases in which it has been a party, it has always faithfully fulfilled its international obligations, and that it expects reciprocity from its counterparts.
Mr. President,
12. Continuing with the observations of the task carried out by the Court this year, it is noticeable the continuous increase in requests for provisional measures, which corresponds to seven of the 27 orders issued this year.
13. The creation of a Special Committee of three Judges to supervise the application of the Provisional Measures ordered by the Court in 2021 shows the scale of the importance of the issue with those measures being mandatory for the States parties as well. That is why we consider the annual reports of the Court to be an opportunity to inform States of some of the work of this committee, and that is why we regret that this report again lacked such information.
14. The report also suggests that States parties are making greater use of the power to request advisory opinions from the Court, and thus the Tribunal is indeed exercising its function as the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. Although it is true that advisory opinions are not mandatory, they are the expression of current law and therefore make very clear the international obligations of States.
15. The recent advisory opinion on the legal consequences arising from Israel's policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, issued on July 19th 2024, makes clear the obligations of Israel, States in general and international organizations, in relation to violations of international law that have occurred in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since 1967 in the case study.
16. That is to say, all States have the obligation not to recognize as legal the situation arising from the illegal presence of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory nor to help or assist in maintaining the situation created by the continued illegal presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
17. With regard to the other two requests for advisory opinions, it should be noted that one of them relates to an issue of vital importance for humanity, namely the issue of Climate Change, and Nicaragua is therefore looking forward to the Court's decision, given the recent opinion of the International Maritime Tribunal on this issue.
18. On the other hand, Nicaragua also notes with interest the request made by the Administrative Council of the International Labour Organization (ILO) on the right to strike under ILO Convention No. 87, and hopes that this decision will allow us to start a new chapter assuming responsibilities and respecting commitments that lead to the sustainable development of the nations of the world.
Mr. President,
19. The Court's practical contribution to peacekeeping has been invaluable and has been increasing for at least three decades, and not least because there is greater confidence in the work of the UN's main judicial organ.
20. These are efforts in which we cannot afford setbacks, especially considering that the military budgets of the great powers are increasing, while the budgets to promote peace and the peaceful resolution of disputes tend to decrease as a result of petty interests.
Mr. President,
21. Finally, we call for an increase in voluntary contributions to the Trust Fund to assist States in the settlement of disputes through the International Court of Justice, and for the recognition of the jurisdiction of that body, which currently has only 74 declarations.
Thank you very much.