On Monday, the UN Supreme Court abandoned Sudan’s lawsuit against the United Arab Emirates over allegedly complicity in the genocide during the brutal Sudanese civil war.
Sudan took the UAE to the International Court of Justice and said alleged support for the Paramilitary Speedy Support Force (RSF) was contributing to the genocide.
However, the ICJ abandoned it, saying it had a “clearly lacking” jurisdiction to control the case.
UAE officials welcomed the judge’s ruling.
“This decision is a clear and decisive affirmation of the fact that the lawsuit is completely unfounded,” UAE Foreign Ministry’s Deputy Minister of Political Affairs Reem Ketait said in a statement sent to French news agency AFP.
Before the ruling, Ketite had accused Sudan of submitting the case in “a cynical attempt to distract attention from the brutal record of atrocities against Sudanese civilians.”
Sudan is a case against the UAE in a UN court over “accomplicity of genocide”
When the UAE signed the UN’s Genocide Treaty in 2005, it “reserved” into important clauses that allowed the country to sue others at the ICJ over the conflict.
Since April 2023, Sudan has been torn apart by power struggles with the Army Abdel Fatta al-Burhan and the commander of the Paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF) commander, Mohamed Hamdan Dagro.
The war caused what aid agencies describe as the world’s biggest evacuation and hunger crisis. According to non-supported ratings, hunger has officially struck five regions across Sudan.
Human tragedy
According to the United Nations, the North Darfur region is a specific battlefield, with at least 542 civilians being killed in the past three weeks.
The ICJ said it was “deeply concerned about the human tragedy in Sudan that forms the background to the current conflict.”
“Virtuous conflicts have devastating effects, particularly in West Darfur, resulting in the loss of life and the loss of suffering,” the court added.
The Sudan War is the world’s “worst humanitarian crisis,” says the African Union.
The court ruled that it had no jurisdiction to advance Sudan’s legal action, and therefore did not control the fundamental merits of the case.
The court said, “Whether the state has accepted the jurisdiction of the court… They must comply with their obligations (to the Genocide Convention).”
Sign up for the AllAfrica newsletter for free
Get the latest African news
success!
Almost finished…
You need to check your email address.
Follow the instructions in the email you sent to complete the process.
error!
There was a problem processing the submission. Please try again later.
Countries are also “bearing responsibility for conduct caused by them that violate international obligations.”
A handful of pro-Sudan protesters held demonstrations outside the Peace Palace. A banner with screams and wavings, including those who read “UAE Kills Sudan” at the ICJ seat in The Hague.
“We feel totally disappointed….We seek justice,” said a protester from Hisham Fadl Akasha, a 57-year-old engineer.
Demand for compensation
During a hearing on the case last month, Sudan’s Justice Minister Muawea Osman told the court that “continued genocide is not possible without the UAE’s accomplice, including the shipment of weapons to the RSF.”
“The direct logistics and other support that the UAE continues to provide and provide to the RSF continues to be the main driving force behind the ongoing genocide, including murder, rape, forced, looting and looting,” Osman said.
Khartoum had urged ICJ judges to force the UAE to halt allegations of support for the RSF and to provide “full reparations” including compensation for the war victims.
The ICJ has rejected the Sudan case, but the bloody conflict in Sudan shows no signs of mitigation.
On Sunday, the RSF attacked Sudan’s port and said the army attacked in its first attack on government seats distributed to the army during the country’s two-year war.
(In AFP)
