Sudan has filed a case against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing the Gulf nation of violating its obligations under the Genocide Convention by supplying arms to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The ICJ, also known as the World Court, confirmed the filing on Thursday.
The UAE swiftly rejected the allegations, calling the case “a cynical publicity stunt” without “any legal or factual basis.” A UAE official said that the country would seek the immediate dismissal of the lawsuit.
The charges relate to ethnic-based attacks by the RSF and allied Arab militias against the non-Arab Masalit tribe in 2023 in West Darfur. The attacks were determined to be genocide by the United States in January.
Sudanese officials have repeatedly accused the UAE of backing the RSF, which has been locked in a brutal civil war with the Sudanese army for nearly two years. While the UAE has denied these claims, UN experts and US lawmakers have deemed them credible.
According to Sudan’s application at the ICJ, the RSF is responsible for “genocide, murder, theft of property, rape, forcible displacement, trespassing, vandalism of public properties, and violation of human rights.” The court’s statement added that Sudan alleges these acts were “perpetrated and enabled by the direct support given to the rebel RSF militia and related militia groups by the United Arab Emirates.”
The UAE, however, has dismissed the claims, instead accusing Sudan’s military of being complicit in the atrocities that continue to devastate the country.
The war in Sudan erupted in April 2023 due to a power struggle over the integration of the RSF into the national army. The conflict has led to severe humanitarian crises, spreading hunger and disease while threatening to fracture the country.
Ethnic violence has been reported in multiple regions, but the worst atrocities occurred in West Darfur. Survivors recounted that Masalit boys were specifically targeted for killing, while young women were subjected to sexual violence in repeated waves of attacks.
Sudan has requested emergency measures from the ICJ, urging the court to order the UAE to prevent further genocidal acts. A hearing on the emergency measures is expected in the coming weeks, but a final ruling on whether genocide occurred could take years.
Both Sudan and the UAE are signatories to the 1948 Genocide Convention, making them subject to the ICJ’s jurisdiction in this case.
Meanwhile, the RSF and its allied political groups are attempting to establish a parallel government, challenging the authority of the Sudanese military-aligned administration based in Port Sudan. This move has been rejected by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, further complicating the region’s geopolitical landscape
