Sudan has filed a case against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), alleging that the UAE violated its obligations under the Genocide Convention by arming the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The RSF has been accused of committing atrocities, including genocide, against the non-Arab Masalit tribe in West Darfur in 2023.
UAE Denies Allegations, Calls Case “Cynical Publicity Stunt”
The UAE has dismissed Sudan’s case as lacking “any legal or factual basis.” In a statement to Reuters, a UAE official described the lawsuit as a “cynical publicity stunt” aimed at diverting attention from the Sudanese Armed Forces’ (SAF) alleged complicity in widespread atrocities. The UAE has consistently denied supporting the RSF, despite claims by Sudanese officials, UN experts, and US lawmakers.
The Background of the Darfur Conflict
The charges stem from intense ethnic-based attacks by the RSF and allied Arab militias against the Masalit tribe in West Darfur. These attacks, documented in detail by global news agency, Reuters, were determined to constitute genocide by the United States in January 2024.
Survivors have reported that Masalit boys were targeted for killing, while young women were subjected to rape during waves of violence following the outbreak of the civil war in April 2023.
Sudan’s Allegations Against the UAE
In its application to the ICJ, Sudan is alleging that the RSF committed “genocide, murder, theft of property, rape, forcible displacement, trespassing, vandalism of public properties, and violation of human rights.”
According to the Sudanese government, these acts were “perpetrated and enabled by the direct support given to the RSF and related militia groups by the UAE.”
Why It Matters
The conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which erupted over a power struggle in April 2023, has devastated Sudan, spreading hunger, disease, and risking the country’s fragmentation. The war has drawn in several foreign powers and sparked ethnic violence in multiple regions, with West Darfur experiencing the bloodiest attacks.
Meanwhile, the RSF and allied political groups are in the process of establishing a parallel government to the army-aligned administration based in Port Sudan. This move has been rejected by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, further complicating the political landscape.
On the other hand, the ICJ, the UN’s highest court for disputes between states and violations of international treaties, will hear Sudan’s request for emergency measures against the UAE.
While a hearing on these measures is expected to hold within weeks, a final ruling on whether genocide occurred in Darfur could take years. Both Sudan and the UAE are signatories to the 1948 Genocide Convention.
