The top court in the United Nations is set to rule on Monday in a case that Sudan filed against the United Arab Emirates, alleging that the Gulf state assisted in genocide by allegedly providing arms to Sudan’s paramilitary groups.
Sudan filed the complaint at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, claiming the UAE has been providing arms and support to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been engaged in a brutal conflict with Sudan’s national army since 2023.
The UAE has strongly denied the allegations, describing Sudan’s accusations as “political theatre” and asserting that the case detracts from international efforts to end a war that has already cost tens of thousands of lives.
Sudan has been gripped by a violent power struggle since April 2023 between military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF chief Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.
The conflict has spiralled into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with famine taking hold in five areas and mass displacement affecting millions.
North Darfur has witnessed some of the fiercest violence, with the United Nations reporting over 500 civilian deaths in the past three weeks alone.
Credit: Nick Gammon / AFP
While devastation continues on the ground, lawyers representing both sides presented their arguments in the ICJ’s stately Peace Palace last month.
Sudan’s acting justice minister, Muawia Osman, told the court that the RSF’s campaign of “killing, rape, forced displacement, and looting” would not be possible without the UAE’s logistical and material backing.
“The ongoing genocide would not be possible without UAE complicity,” Osman stated, calling for the court to hold Abu Dhabi accountable.
The UAE’s response was firm. Reem Ketait of the foreign ministry dismissed Sudan’s claims as “misleading” and “fabricated,” accusing Khartoum of abusing international legal mechanisms for political ends.
Despite the gravity of Sudan’s allegations, legal experts say the case could be dismissed on jurisdictional grounds. When the UAE ratified the UN Genocide Convention in 2005, it added a reservation rejecting a clause that enables countries to bring disputes before the ICJ.
“The court has no basis for jurisdiction in this case,” Ketait told the bench, urging judges to strike the case from the docket.
Sudan countered that the UAE’s reservation undermines the Genocide Convention’s objective, which is to ensure collective international responsibility to prevent atrocities.
It is demanding that the ICJ not only order the UAE to halt its alleged support for the RSF but also compel full reparations, including compensation for victims.
While ICJ rulings are legally binding, the court lacks enforcement power. Past cases—such as its orders for Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine or its ruling on Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories—have gone unheeded.
