BERLIN: Germany’s highest court on Thursday threw out a case brought by a Palestinian civilian from Gaza seeking to sue the German government over its weapons exports to Israel.
The complainant, supported by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), had been seeking to challenge export licenses for German parts used in Israeli tanks deployed in Gaza.
After his case was rejected by lower courts in 2024 and 2025, he had appealed to the Federal Constitutional Court.
But the court in Karlsruhe dismissed the case, stating that “the complainant has not sufficiently substantiated that the specialized courts misjudged or arbitrarily denied a possible duty to protect him.”
While Germany is obliged to protect human rights and respect international humanitarian law, this does not mean the state is necessarily obliged to take specific action on behalf of individuals, the court said.
“It is fundamentally the responsibility of the state authorities themselves to decide how they fulfil their general duty of protection,” it added.
The ECCHR called the decision “a setback for civilian access to justice.”
“The court acknowledges the duty to protect but only in the abstract and refuses to ensure its practical enforcement,” said Alexander Schwarz, co-director of the NGO’s International Crimes and Legal Accountability program.
“For people whose lives are endangered by the consequences of German arms exports, access to justice remains effectively closed,” he said.
The ECCHR had been hoping for a successful appeal after the Constitutional Court ruled last year that Germany had “a general duty to protect fundamental human rights and the core norms of international humanitarian law, even in cases involving foreign countries.”
In that case, two Yemenis had been seeking to sue Berlin over the role of the US Ramstein air base in a 2012 drone attack.
The complainant was one of five Palestinians who initially brought their case against the German government in 2024.
German court rejects Palestinian’s claim over weapons exports
https://arab.news/8n7h8
German court rejects Palestinian’s claim over weapons exports
- Complainant had been seeking to challenge export licenses for German parts used in Israeli tanks deployed in Gaza
- The ECCHR called the decision “a setback for civilian access to justice”
UN peacekeepers defy South Sudan military’s order to leave opposition-held town
JUBA, South Sudan: The United Nations Mission in South Sudan said Monday that it would not comply with a government order to shut down its base in Akobo, an opposition stronghold near the Ethiopian border where tens of thousands of refugees have fled.
On Friday, the South Sudanese army ordered UN peacekeepers as well as NGOs and civilians to vacate the town ahead of a planned assault.
But the mission refused to leave and said it would provide “a protective presence for civilians” in the town, adding that the safety and security of its personnel “must be fully respected at all times.”
The UN Mission said it was engaging “intensively with national, state and local stakeholders” regarding this order. “Any military operations in and around Akobo gravely endanger the safety and security of civilians,” said mission chief Anita Kiki Gbeho.
The South Sudanese government has been fighting opposition forces since a 2018 peace deal broke down about a year ago.
A dramatic escalation took place in December 2025, when opposition forces seized several government outposts in northern Jonglei. A government counter-offensive repelled their forces a month later and displaced over 280,000 people. Tens of thousands have sought refuge in Akobo, where a small contingent of UN peacekeepers is stationed.
Fearing the looming government assault on Akobo, humanitarian workers were evacuated over the weekend, and a mass exodus of the population has also begun.
Local officials contacted by the The Associated Press said fleeing civilians faced danger and widespread shortages of essential supplies. Dual Diew, the Akobo County health director, who has fled to Ethiopia, said there were 84 wounded patients at the hospital. “We have most of them with us here now,” he said, adding that they lack medicine and basic nursing equipment.
Christophe Garnier, the leader of Doctors Without Borders in South Sudan said the organization had to evacuate its staff from Akobo on Saturday and learned of the subsequent looting of its hospital and the ransacking of its office.
“People in Akobo must now either flee without protection or remain at risk of being killed, while losing access to health care and other essential services,” he said.
The three Western governments that have played a major role in the peace process — the U.S, UK, and Norway — sent a letter to President Kiir on Monday urging that the army’s evacuation order be revoked and warning of “further deaths, displacement and suffering for the South Sudanese people” if the offensive on Akobo is implemented.
