Sudan filed genocide charges against the UAE at the World Court this week [Getty]
Sudan this week filed a case against the UAE at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing the Gulf state of complicity in genocide due to its alleged backing of the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia.
In the application, it has requested the court issue a series of measures ordering the UAE to prevent acts of genocide being perpetrated in Darfur.
Here’s what we know about the case.
What is Sudan alleging?
In its application, Sudan has accused the UAE of being “complicit in the genocide” allegedly carried out by the RSF against the Masalit people in West Darfur.
It alleges that Abu Dhabi has provided “extensive financial, political and military support” to the rebel group as it wages war against the country’s armed forces.
The militia has been accused of perpetrating several massacres against the Masalit in West Darfur since the country’s civil war broke out in April 2023. According to a UN report, between 10,000 and 15,000 people were killed in a single city during 2023.
The governor of West Darfur, Khamis Abakar, described the killings as a genocide shortly before he was killed by the RSF in 2023.
What does it want from the ICJ?
Sudan wants the 15 judges on the panel to approve provisional measures to protect the Masalit from further acts of violence.
Provisional measures are orders issued by the court before a case is heard directing a party to act in a particular way.
In its application, Sudan is requesting the court order the UAE to “take all measures within its power” to prevent breaches of the Genocide Convention in relation to the Masalit.
This includes conspiracy to commit genocide, incitement of genocide or complicity in genocide by armed groups that Sudan alleges are backed by Abu Dhabi.
Sudan’s case has a problem
Despite being a signatory to the Genocide Convention, the UAE has not consented to the court’s jurisdiction over disputes relating to the treaty.
When signing up to the convention, countries are permitted to submit a “reservation” that blocks the court from exercising jurisdiction.
Abu Dhabi made such a reservation when it joined the treaty in 2005, meaning the ICJ has no legal authority to hear a genocide-related case involving the UAE.
This means the ICJ will likely throw out the case
“I expect the ICJ to conclude that it does not have jurisdiction over the case based on the UAE’s reservation,” Michael Becker, an expert in international human rights law and former ICJ legal officer, tells The New Arab.
“This will also likely preclude the court from granting any of the provisional relief,” he says.
The application won’t necessarily fail at the first hurdle, as the court may decide to allow a full argument on the jurisdictional issue, he adds.
How Sudan will likely respond
Becker thinks Sudan will try to challenge the legal status quo that allows countries to refuse ICJ jurisdiction over genocide cases. It could do this by arguing that the ability to opt-out runs counter to the purpose of the Genocide Convention.
“This argument is almost certain to fail,” he predicts.
The court has on multiple occasions in its history confirmed the right of countries to refuse its jurisdiction and is unlikely to change its position now, he says.
“It strikes me as highly unlikely that Sudan will be able to persuade the ICJ to make a U-turn on this issue, notwithstanding the important legal issues raised by Sudan’s claims against the UAE,” he continues.
How has Abu Dhabi reacted?
The UAE has dismissed the case as “a cynical publicity stunt” and vowed to get it thrown out of the court.
“The UAE is aware of the recent application by the Sudanese Armed Force’s representative to the ICJ, which is nothing more than a cynical publicity stunt aimed at diverting attention from the established complicity of the Sudanese Armed Forces in the widespread atrocities that continue to devastate Sudan and its people,” an Emirati official said in a statement.
Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed, said Sudan was “pursuing feeble media manoeuvres”.
What happens next?
The court will in the coming weeks announce dates for the hearings, when the Sudanese and Emirati legal teams will make their arguments to the panel.
The judges will then in the subsequent weeks decide whether to proceed with the case.
