Sudan and UAE Face Off at Top UN Court Over Genocide Claims
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague convened Monday to deliver its decision in a case brought by Sudan against the United Arab Emirates, accusing the Gulf nation of aiding genocide in the ongoing conflict between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Sudan alleges the UAE supplied weapons and logistical support to the RSF, fueling atrocities against civilians, especially the Masalit ethnic group in West Darfur.
Sudan’s acting Justice Minister Muawia Osman told the court that the violence “would not be possible without UAE complicity,” citing arms shipments and other support as key enablers of mass killing, rape, and forced displacement. The war, which erupted in April 2023 between General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s army and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo’s RSF, has created the world’s worst hunger and displacement crisis, according to the United Nations. Over 542 civilians have been killed in North Darfur in the last three weeks alone.
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The UAE has dismissed the case as “political theater,” denying all charges and warning of the misuse of international legal institutions. Reem Ketait, a senior official at the UAE Foreign Ministry, said Sudan’s claims are “at best misleading and at worst pure fabrications.”
A separate UN Security Council report released this week documented widespread abuses by all sides in the conflict and found no conclusive evidence supporting Sudan’s accusations against the UAE. Emirati officials have also criticized Sudan for misrepresenting leaked excerpts from draft UN reports to support its legal claims.
Legal experts say jurisdictional technicalities could ultimately determine whether the ICJ agrees to hear the case on its merits.
