ICJ drops Sudan’s lawsuit accusing UAE of genocide

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on May 5th dismissed Sudan’s lawsuit which accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of being involved in genocide in Darfur, according to Middle East Monitor via Anadolu Agency.

The Hague-based court declared that it “manifestly lacked” the jurisdiction to hear the case and, therefore, terminated the proceedings. In March, Sudan submitted its case, alleging the UAE’s “complicity in genocide.” Sudan accused the UAE of giving military and financial aid to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Sudan also urged the court to impose conditions, which would prompt the UAE to stop actions which could constitute genocide against the Masalit ethnic group. Furthermore, Sudan demanded that the UAE end all support and cooperation with non-state armed groups.

During an April 10th hearing, Sudan’s acting Justice Minister Muawia Osman said: “The direct logistical and other support that the UAE has provided and continues to provide to the RSF… [Which is] the primary driving force behind the genocide now taking place, including killing, rape, forced displacement and looting,” Al-Monitor reported.

ICJ President Yuji Iwasawa noted that, during their presentation, Sudanese government lawyers accused the RSF of committing “extrajudicial killing, ethnic cleansing, rape, enforced disappearances and burning of villages as well as killing on an ethnic basis,” The Guardian reported on May 5th. However, the president stated that the UAE’s reservation had been clearly worded and did not conflict with the Genocide Convention.

Following the ICJ’s decision, Reem Ketait, a senior official in the Emirati Foreign Ministry, welcomed the move. He called it “a clear and decisive affirmation of the fact that this case was utterly baseless.”

But Sudan remains determined. Government spokesperson and Minister of Culture and Information for Sudan, Khalid Al-Aiser, said “the Sudanese nation’s case against the UAE will not stop at the ICJ.”

He emphasised that the court based its decision on procedural terms, under Article 9 of the Genocide Convention. He insisted that “other international courts are capable of hearing such cases.”

Meanwhile, Sudan’s ongoing conflict has claimed over 20,000 lives and displaced 15 million people. Some US academics estimate the death toll to be roughly 130,000.

Middle East Monitor via Anadolu Agency, The Guardian, Al-Monitor