ICJ Reviews Sudan’s Genocide Complaint Against UAE
Khartoum brings landmark case to the ICJ, alleging Abu Dhabi's backing of Sudan’s RSF violates the UN Genocide Convention amid ongoing war and humanitarian catastrophe.
Watan-The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will witness a heated confrontation on Thursday between Sudan and the United Arab Emirates as it considers a lawsuit filed by Khartoum, accusing Abu Dhabi of violating the UN Convention on the Prevention of Genocide due to its alleged support for Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The Emirati government denounced the lawsuit, stating that it “lacks any legal or factual basis and represents yet another attempt to divert attention from this catastrophic war,” which has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions, and caused famine in large parts of the northeast African country.
Sudan is requesting the ICJ to compel the UAE to halt its alleged support for the RSF, which has been fighting the Sudanese army since 2023.
Sudan Accuses UAE of Backing Genocide in Darfur
The complaint, filed by Sudan’s military-backed government, accuses the RSF of committing “genocide, murder, theft of property, rape, forced displacement, attacks on and destruction of public property, and human rights violations.”
According to the lawsuit, these acts “were committed and carried out as a result of direct support provided by the United Arab Emirates to the rebel Rapid Support Forces and their affiliated militias.”
Sudan has urged the ICJ—the highest judicial body of the United Nations that settles disputes between states—to issue “provisional measures” requiring the UAE to pay compensation.
Sudan accuses the UAE of breaching its obligations under the 1948 UN Genocide Convention by “attempting to commit genocide, conspiring to commit it, inciting it, participating in it, or failing to prevent or punish it.”
However, a senior Emirati official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, said, “These baseless allegations are a misuse of the court’s time and procedures.”
Abu Dhabi has consistently denied supplying weapons to the RSF. The United States has imposed sanctions on both sides, accusing the army of attacking civilians and the RSF of “committing genocide” in the western Darfur region.
“Important Questions”
Legal experts say Sudan’s case may falter over questions of jurisdiction.
When the UAE signed the UN Genocide Convention, it entered a “reservation” on a key article that allows states to bring disputes against one another before the ICJ.
Michael Becker, an international law expert at Trinity College Dublin, wrote in a recent article on the legal blog Opinio Juris that Sudan’s accusations raise “important questions.”
Becker noted, “Since the UAE entered a reservation to Article IX when it joined the UN Genocide Convention in 2005, the ICJ may conclude that it lacks jurisdiction to hear this dispute.”
Sudan argued in its complaint that the UAE’s reservation “contradicts” the objective of the Genocide Convention, which affirms a global collective responsibility to prevent the world’s worst crime.
Sudan’s lawyers are scheduled to present their arguments at the Peace Palace in The Hague at 10 a.m. (08:00 GMT), with the UAE’s response expected at 4 p.m.
The ICJ’s rulings are legally binding, but the court does not have enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance.
