Sudan brings UAE to international court over genocide support

During Thursday's hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Sudan accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of complicity in genocide. Sudan accuses the UAE of supporting the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been waging war against the Sudanese government for two years and are charged with genocide against non-Arab residents of the country.

Muawia Osman, Sudan's acting Minister of Justice, said during the hearing that genocide against the black ethnic group Massalit in Darfur by RSF militias "would not be possible without support from the United Arab Emirates".

In January, the United States imposed sanctions on RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo for genocide in Darfur, which was also confirmed by an independent investigation by the Canadian non-governmental organisation, the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights.

Sudan has appealed to the ICJ to order the UAE to withdraw support for RSF and to pay "full compensation" to the government and war victims. The UAE denied the accusations, and Reem Ketait from the foreign ministry described them as "misleading" and "pure fiction".

UN reports suggest that the UAE supplied military equipment to the RSF through Chad, which has deteriorated relations between Sudan and Chad. The hearing in The Hague coincided with the publication of an Amnesty International report accusing the RSF of sexual violence, including forcing women into sexual slavery. The report "They Raped Us All" documents the rapes of 36 women and girls in four Sudanese provinces from the beginning of the war to October 2024.

The civil war between the Sudanese army and the RSF has been ongoing since April 2023. According to the UN and local authorities, over 20,000 people have died, and 15 million have been displaced. American researchers suggest the death toll may reach 130,000. The UN has accused both sides of the conflict of war crimes, and sanctions have been imposed on both the RSF and government forces.