Sudan accuses UAE of genocide convention breach at ICJ
Sudan has formally accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on April 10th of violating the Genocide Convention by allegedly supporting paramilitary groups involved in ethnic violence in the Darfur region.
Presenting its case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Sudan called for urgent provisional measures to prevent further atrocities, The Middle East Monitor reports.
According to a report by Reuters, Sudan’s Acting Justice Minister, Muawia Osman, addressed the UN’s top court, asserting that the UAE had provided support to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) — a powerful paramilitary group — and affiliated Arab militias.
These groups have been implicated in ethnically targeted violence against the non-Arab Masalit community in West Darfur during 2023, which the United States officially recognised as genocide in January.
“The genocide against the Masalit is being carried out by the Rapid Support Force, believed to be Arab from Darfur, with the support and complicity of the United Arab Emirates,” Osman stated.
Sudan contends that the UAE has been arming the RSF, which has also been engaged in a brutal civil conflict with the Sudanese army for over two years.
Although the UAE denies these allegations from Sudan surrounding the Genocide Convention breach, findings from United Nations experts and US lawmakers have lent credibility to the claims.
In its plea to the ICJ, Sudan urged the court to impose emergency measures to prevent further genocidal actions and de-escalate tensions while the broader case proceeds — a process that could take years.
The UAE has dismissed the accusations as politically motivated and lacking in substance.
Reem Ketait, a senior official at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responded that there is “no credible evidence presented” to support Sudan’s assertions.
She also criticised the legal filing as a “cynical and baseless PR stunt.”
Later in the day of April 10th, the UAE is expected to present its defense before the court, where it is likely to challenge the ICJ’s jurisdiction over the matter.
Middle East Monitor. Reuters. Maghrebi
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