UN court to rule on Sudan’s accusation that UAE backed aramilitaries
In a lawsuit alleging that the United Arab Emirates violated the genocide convention by equipping and financing the rebel paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in Sudan’s bloody conflict, the highest U.N. court will rule on Monday on Sudan’s plea to impose emergency sanctions against the UAE.
Sudan requested a number of orders, referred to as temporary measures, from the International Court of Justice in March. One of these orders instructed the UAE to take all reasonable steps to stop the murders and other crimes against the Masalit people.
During a hearing last month, the UAE claimed the court lacked jurisdiction and referred to the file as a publicity stunt. Both legally and factually, the case is without merit. Reem Ketait, a senior official at the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated in a statement before to the ruling that the UAE is not participating in the conflict and that the Sudanese Armed Forces, one of the fighting parties, is using this issue as another means of diverting attention from its own obligations.
Sudan and the United Arab Emirates have both ratified the 1948 Genocide Convention. However, the UAE has a clause in the treaty that, according to legal experts, makes it unlikely that the lawsuit would go further. Long-simmering tensions between Sudan’s military and opposing paramilitary forces erupted in the capital, Khartoum, and expanded to other areas in mid-April 2023, plunging the country into a devastating battle.
The Sudanese military and the Rapid Support Forces have both been charged of mistreatment.
Despite evidence to the contrary, the United Arab Emirates, a U.S. ally and federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula, has vehemently denied any involvement in arming the RSF.
The United Nations has a complex and vital role to play in counteracting the current conflict within Sudan, addressing humanitarian aid, protection of civilians, peacekeeping, political mediation, and monitoring of human rights. The intricacy of the conflict and the unwillingness of Sudan’s primary armed parties to accept a UN peacekeeping force represent big challenges.
Additionally, The UN Security Council and the African Union’s Peace and Security Council (PSC) are directly involved in diplomatic initiative to bring about an end to the conflict. Suggestions are there to form a high-level task force under a respected former head of state to probe arms supplies and an International Contact Group on Sudan to steer peace initiatives and diplomatic pressure.
