World Court 'lacks jurisdiction' to rule on Sudan’s genocide case against UAE

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday said it cannot rule on Sudan's case accusing the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of fuelling genocide in Darfur by supplying weapons to paramilitary forces, saying it lacked jurisdiction.

Sudan had argued before the UN's top court last month that the UAE was violating the Genocide Convention by supporting paramilitary forces in Darfur, but the UAE said the case should be thrown out.

The court on Monday said it could not judge the case against the UAE, rejected Sudan's request for emergency measures and ordered the case be removed from its docket.

Due to the lack of jurisdiction "the court is precluded by its statute from taking any position on the merits of the claims made by Sudan", a summary of the ruling said.

Sudan said on Tuesday the ruling of a lack of jurisdiction does not absolve the UAE of genocide allegations and pledged to pursue all legal avenues to protect its people and state.

The UAE hailed the ruling as a legal victory.

"The decision is a clear and decisive affirmation that this case was utterly baseless. The court’s finding that it is without jurisdiction confirms this case should never have been brought," said Reem Ketait, deputy assistant minister for political affairs at the UAE's ministry of foreign affairs.

"The facts speak for themselves: the UAE bears no responsibility for the conflict in Sudan. On the contrary, the atrocities committed by the warring parties are well-documented."

By a vote of 14 to two, the court threw out Sudan's request for emergency measures to prevent genocidal acts against the Masalit tribe, which has been the focus of intense ethnic-based attacks by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied Arab militias.

Sudan accuses the UAE of arming the RSF, which has been fighting the Sudanese army in a two-year-old civil war. The UAE denies the charge but some UN experts and US lawmakers have found it credible, citing evidence in reports by human rights organisations about the supply of weapons.

The latest report by a UN panel of experts published in April did not mention the UAE except to refer to its involvement in peace talks in Sudan.

The ICJ is the UN's highest court that deals with disputes between states and violations of international treaties. Sudan and the UAE are signatories of the 1948 Genocide Convention.

Reuters