Sudan takes UAE to International Court of Justice

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Sudan has accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of enabling genocide against the Masalit people in that country. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) confirmed on 5 March that Sudan had instituted proceedings against the UAE.

Sudan alleges that the UAE has violated its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which both countries have signed. Sudan contends that the UAE has done so by supporting the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The RSF is a paramilitary organisation accused of numerous atrocities in the ongoing Sudan war. The UAE denies the accusations.

RSF atrocities ‘enabled’ by the UAE

In its application to the ICJ, Sudan argued that the UAE has “enabled” and “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 says the RSF is guilty of human rights violations and genocide against the Masalit people, particularly in West Darfur.

The UAE has dismissed the case. A UAE official told Reuters it considered Sudan’s application “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.” According to Reuters, United Nations experts and U.S. lawmakers have reported that the UAE provides weapons to the RSF.

The war in Sudan

Sudan has suffered a series of wars over the past decades. The current war between the Sudanese army and the RSF started in April 2023 when tensions between the two main army factions boiled over into fighting in the capital Khartoum.

The RSF was founded by former dictatorial president Omar al-Bashir who later turned it into a semi-organised paramilitary force. Bashir was ousted from power in 2019 by a military coup led by both the army and the RSF.

In February, the United Nations (UN) estimated that 18 800 civilians had been killed in the Sudan war. The RSF is accused of specifically targeting the Masalit people. More than 30 million Sudanese need urgent humanitarian aid amidst what the UN calls “the largest and most devasting displacement”.

There are over three million refugees, plus nine million internally displaced people in Sudan. The total displaced population numbers more than the entire population of Switzerland.

What can the International Court of Justice do?

Sudan has asked the ICJ order the United Arab Emirates to order provisional measures. The first measure Sudan requests is an order for the UAE to take action to prevent genocidal acts. These acts include killing and causing serious bodily or mental harm, as well as “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part” and taking actions that prevent births in the group.

Sudan also asked the ICJ to order a second provisional measure:

“The United Arab Emirates shall, in relation to the members of the Masalit group, ensure that any irregular armed units which may be directed or supported by it and any organizations and persons which may be subject to its control, direction or influence, do not commit any acts described in point (1) above [the first provisional measure requested], or of conspiracy to commit genocide, of direct and public incitement to commit genocide, of attempts to commit genocide, or of complicity in genocide.”

The International Court of Justice, based in the Hague, is the principal court of the United Nations. In 2023, South Africa took Israel to the court, accusing the country of genocide in Gaza. The ICJ can take years to make a ruling on cases of genocide.

However, if it deems there are grounds to the case, it can order parties to implement provisional measures such as those Sudan requests. In the South African case against Israel, the court ordered Israel to prevent genocide by, amongst other actions, allowing the free flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.