Sudan takes UAE to ICJ over funding of RSF rebels

Sudan has filed a case against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing the oil rich Emirate of breaching the genocide convention by arming and funding the rebel paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF)

The Hague: Sudan has filed a case against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing the oil rich Emirate of breaching the genocide convention by arming and funding the rebel paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Sudan's case against UAE

Sudan in its application at the ICJ cited violations by the UAE of its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, popularly known as Genocide Convention, in relation to the Masalit group in Sudan, most notably in West Darfur.

In a statement released Thursday March 06, 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said Sudan’s Application concerns "acts which have been perpetrated by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and militias allied with it, including, but not limited to, genocide, murder, theft of property, rape, forcible displacement, trespassing, vandalism of public properties, and violation of human rights."

According to Sudan, all such acts have been “perpetrated and enabled by the direct support given to the rebel RSF militia and related militia groups by the United Arab Emirates.”

Sudan in its application also expressed concerns “acts adopted, condoned, taken, and being taken by the Government of the United Arab Emirates in connection with the genocide against the Masalit group in the Republic of the Sudan since at least 2023”.

"UAE complicit in genocide"

Sudan in its case against the UAE at ICJ alleged that the UAE “is complicit in the genocide on the Masalit through its direction of and provision of extensive financial, political, and military support for the rebel RSF militia”.

Sudan also asked the court to impose urgent interim orders, known as provisional measures, on the UAE, including doing all it can to prevent the killing and other crimes targeting the Masalit.

Sudan was dragged into a deadly conflict in mid-April 2023, when long-simmering tensions between its military and paramilitary rebels broke out in the capital, Khartoum, and spread to other regions.

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