On Thursday, Sudan presented its case before the United Nations’ highest court, alleging that the United Arab Emirates is in breach of the Genocide Convention by providing arms and financial support to the rebel paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) — a claim the UAE is firmly opposing.
Sudan is requesting the International Court of Justice to issue provisional measures — emergency orders — directing the UAE to take all necessary steps to stop killings and other crimes committed against the Masalit ethnic group amid the country’s two-year civil conflict.
“The genocide targeting the Masalit people is being perpetrated by the Rapid Support Forces, who are predominantly Arab from Darfur, with the backing and complicity of the United Arab Emirates,” said acting Justice Minister Muawia Osman in his opening remarks at the court in The Hague.
Responding after Sudan’s statements, the UAE government said: “Everything presented in court was circumstantial and would not satisfy an evidentiary threshold. There was no credible proof provided to support the allegations.”
Both countries are parties to the 1948 Genocide Convention. However, the UAE has a reservation to a section of the treaty — a factor that legal scholars suggest may hinder the case from progressing.
“The ICJ has previously ruled that this type of reservation is permissible and can obstruct a case from moving forward. It is likely the court will reach a similar conclusion here, effectively stopping the case,” said Melanie O’Brien, associate professor of international law at the University of Western Australia and a specialist on the Genocide Convention, in a statement to The Associated Press.
Sudan’s conflict erupted in April 2023 following longstanding tensions between the military and paramilitary RSF, initially clashing in Khartoum before spreading across the nation.
Both the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces have been accused of committing human rights abuses.
The UAE — a federation of seven emirates and a key U.S. ally — has been consistently accused of supplying weapons to the RSF, accusations it strongly denies despite evidence suggesting otherwise.
Conflict Observatory, a monitoring body funded by the U.S. State Department that has been tracking developments in Sudan, reported aircraft believed to have transported UAE arms to the RSF. These flights were said to pass through Maréchal Idriss Deby International Airport in Amdjarass, Chad. The UAE maintains that these flights were intended to support a local hospital.
In January, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on RSF leader Mohammad Hamdan Daglo Mousa, widely known as Hemedti, along with seven RSF-linked companies in the UAE, including one allegedly involved in smuggling gold from Sudan. That move came as the U.S. officially stated that the RSF is engaged in acts of genocide.
The conflict has resulted in over 24,000 deaths and displaced more than 14 million people — roughly 30% of Sudan’s population — according to United Nations data. An estimated 3.2 million Sudanese have fled to neighbouring countries.
The Sudanese military has since regained control of much of Khartoum from the RSF and announced last month that it had retaken the capital’s international airport.