ICC dismisses Sudan’s genocide case against UAE

The International Court of Justice has rejected Sudan’s claim that the United Arab Emirates breached the Genocide Convention by backing paramilitary groups in the Darfur area. On Monday, the court announced that it lacked the jurisdiction to impose provisional measures against the UAE, as Sudan had sought, and its judges decided to conclude the case.

The UAE promptly rejoiced at the decision. Reem Ketait, the Deputy Assistant Minister for Political Affairs, stated that the decision is “a clear and definitive confirmation that this case was completely unfounded.”

“The Court’s finding that it is without jurisdiction confirms that this case should never have been brought,” Ketait said. “Quite simply, today’s decision represents a resounding rejection of the Sudanese Armed Forces’ attempt to instrumentalize the Court for its campaign of misinformation and to distract from its own responsibility.”

“The facts speak for themselves: the UAE bears no responsibility for the conflict in Sudan. On the contrary, the atrocities committed by the warring parties are well-documented,” Ketait said.

Sudan filed its case against the UAE in March, accusing it of arming the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), an accusation that the UAE had repeatedly denied. Sudan’s acting justice minister, Muawia Osman, told the court that “a genocide is being committed against the ethnic group of the Masalit in the west of our country,” with the “support and complicity of the United Arab Emirates.”

Starting in April 2023, two of Sudan’s most influential generals – Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and his former ally Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo of the paramilitary RSF – have been embroiled in a violent conflict for dominance over the nation, divided between their bases.

The continuing civil war has led to one of the globe’s most severe humanitarian crises, and attempts at diplomacy to resolve the conflict have been unsuccessful. Located in The Hague, Netherlands, the ICJ addresses conflicts between nations and breaches of international agreements. Sudan and the UAE both signed the Genocide Convention in 1948.