UAE faces genocide complicity charges in Sudan’s ICJ case
People fetch water in Al- Kamilin which was retaken by the Sudanese, in Sudan's al-Jazira state on February 19, 2025. (AFP Photo)
In a significant legal challenge, Sudan has filed a case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing the United Arab Emirates of complicity in genocide through its alleged support of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the court announced Thursday.
The Sudanese government claims the UAE is “complicit in the genocide on the Masalit community” by providing “extensive financial, political, and military support” to the RSF militia, according to the ICJ statement.
“The United Arab Emirates fuels the rebellion and supports the militia that has committed the crime of genocide in West Darfur,” Sudan’s submission to the court states.
The UAE swiftly rejected the allegations, calling the case “nothing more than a cynical publicity stunt aimed at diverting attention.” An Emirati official stated they would “seek the immediate dismissal of this baseless application.”
This legal battle unfolds against the backdrop of Sudan’s devastating civil war, which has raged for nearly two years between the RSF and the regular Sudanese army. The conflict has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and displaced more than 12 million people, with famine declared in parts of the country and expected to spread.
Sudan requests ‘provisional measures’ from ICJ
Sudan has requested emergency “provisional measures” from the ICJ, including demands that the UAE pay reparations. “The United Arab Emirates must make full reparation for the injury caused by its internationally wrongful acts, including paying reimbursement to the victims of the war,” the Sudanese submission argues.
While ICJ rulings are legally binding, the court lacks enforcement mechanisms. Sudan has nonetheless urged swift action “to ensure the urgent and fullest possible protection for the Sudanese civilian people who remain at grave and immediate risk of continuing and further acts of genocide.”
The filing accuses the RSF of numerous atrocities including “genocide, murder, theft of property, rape, forcible displacement, trespassing, vandalism of public properties, and violations of human rights.” Sudan claims 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.”
Sudan’s case alleges the UAE is breaching its obligations under the 1948 UN Genocide Convention “by attempting to commit genocide, conspiring to commit genocide, inciting genocide, complicity in genocide, and failing to prevent and punish genocide.”
This is not the first time such allegations have surfaced. In June, Sudan’s UN ambassador accused the UAE of “supporting [the RSF] with weapons,” claims the Emirati UN envoy dismissed as “ludicrous.”
UN experts monitoring the arms embargo on Darfur have described accusations that the UAE channeled weapons to the RSF through Chad as “credible.”
The Gulf state reportedly promised the United States in December it would not arm the RSF, after U.S. lawmakers attempted to block its $1.2 billion purchase of advanced rockets and long-range missiles. However, in January, those same lawmakers claimed the UAE had broken its promises and continued supplying the Sudanese rebels.
