Sudan has filed a case at the International Court of Justice, accusing the United Arab Emirates of breaching the Genocide Convention by giving “direct support” to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in connection with the genocidal acts allegedly perpetrated by the RSF against the Masalit people of Darfur.
According to Sudan “acts which have been perpetrated by an organization that goes by the name the Rapid Support Forces (‘RSF’) and militias allied with it, including, but not limited to, genocide, murder, theft of property, rape, forcible displacement, trespassing, vandalism of public properties, and violation of human rights,” have been “perpetrated and enabled by the direct support given to the rebel RSF militia and related militia groups by the United Arab Emirates.”
Sudan alleged that the UAE “is complicit in the genocide on the Masalit through its direction of and provision of extensive financial, political, and military support for the rebel RSF militia”.Sudan requests the Court to indicate provisional measures, pending a final judgment, requiring the United Arab Emirates to fulfill its obligations under the Genocide Convention by taking all necessary measures to prevent acts covered under Article II of the Convention.
However, The United Arab Emirates said it would seek immediate dismissal of the case, which it said lacked “any legal or factual basis,” a UAE official said in a statement to Reuters.
The unnamed official said that “The UAE is aware of the recent application by the Sudanese Armed Force’s representative to the International Court of Justice, which is nothing more than a cynical publicity stunt aimed at diverting attention from the established complicity of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in the widespread atrocities that continue to devastate Sudan and its people.”
UAE Foreign Minister Anwar Gargash took to X, stating, “Sudan’s priority should be to cease fire from this absurd, destructive war and to address the enormous humanitarian disaster. However, the army and its partners from the Muslim Brotherhood, remnants of the previous regime, continue their feeble media maneuvers to justify their rejection of peace and the political process, while providing protection to those wanted by the International Criminal Court.”
The RSF and Sudan’s army have been at war since April 2023, displacing more than 10 million people, and leaving over 12 million facing high levels of acute food insecurity.
While the United Arab Emirates provided $70 million to UN agencies to address the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Sudan, growing evidence suggests that the Gulf state is also arming the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in their deadly conflict with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
Critics say this support is closely linked to Abu Dhabi’s interest in the African country’s vast agricultural and mineral resources.
, in connection with the genocidal acts allegedly perpetrated by the RSF against the Masalit people of Darfur.){kind=link}