The Hague: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is set to deliver its ruling on Monday regarding Sudan’s case against the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Sudan accuses the UAE of being complicit in the ongoing genocide in Darfur by allegedly providing support to rebel groups.
Sudan has brought the UAE before the UN’s highest court, arguing that the UAE is supplying arms to the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been engaged in conflict with the Sudanese army since 2023.
The UAE, however, denies these claims, dismissing Sudan’s allegations as “political theatre” intended to divert attention from efforts to end the ongoing war, which has led to tens of thousands of deaths.
Since April 2023, Sudan has been embroiled in a violent power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, commander of the RSF. The conflict has resulted in what aid organizations are calling the world’s largest displacement and hunger crisis. Famine has now officially affected five regions of Sudan, according to a UN-backed assessment.
North Darfur has become a major battleground, where at least 542 civilians have been killed over the past three weeks, according to the United Nations.
While the devastation continues in Sudan, legal experts have been debating the case in the serene surroundings of the ICJ’s Peace Palace.
Muawia Osman, Sudan’s acting justice minister, argued before the court that the ongoing genocide could not be happening without UAE complicity, including the alleged shipment of weapons to the RSF. Osman stated, “The logistical and other support the UAE has provided and continues to provide to the RSF has been a primary factor driving the genocide, including killings, rapes, forced displacements, and looting.”
In response, Reem Ketait, a senior official from the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, rejected Sudan’s accusations, calling them “at best misleading and at worst pure fabrications.” Ketait further criticized the case as part of Sudan’s broader agenda to use international platforms to target the UAE.
Jurisdictional Challenges
Legal experts suggest that Sudan’s case could face significant challenges due to technical jurisdictional issues. When the UAE became a signatory to the UN Genocide Convention in 2005, it included a “reservation” to a crucial clause that allows countries to bring cases against other states at the ICJ.
Ketait argued, “There is clearly no basis for the court’s jurisdiction in this case,” urging the ICJ to dismiss the suit.
However, Sudan contends that the UAE’s reservation is incompatible with the fundamental principles of the Genocide Convention, which emphasizes the collective responsibility of the global community to prevent genocide.
Khartoum’s Demands
Sudan is asking the ICJ to order the UAE to cease its alleged support for the RSF and to make full reparations, including compensation for the victims of the ongoing conflict.
ICJ rulings are final and binding, but the court has no enforcement mechanisms. Past decisions, such as one demanding Russia halt its invasion of Ukraine, have shown the court’s limited ability to ensure compliance.
