The Netherlands-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday dismissed Sudan's claim that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had fueled genocide in Darfur.

Last month, Khartoum argued before the UN's top court that the UAE was violating the Genocide Convention by supplying weapons to paramilitary forces.

What did the court say?

The judges sided with the UAE in its ruling, accepting its arguments that the UN court "manifestly lacked" jurisdiction to rule on the case.

Sudan had made a request to the court for urgent measures against the Gulf nation. 

However, the UAE had firmly argued that the court was not legally competent to rule on the matter. 

When the UAE signed up to the UN's Genocide Convention in 2005, it entered a "reservation" to a key clause allowing one country to sue another at the ICJ over disputes.

This reservation meant the Hague-based ICJ had no power to intervene in the case, the Emiratis said.

While the top UN court agreed with this, it expressed its concern about violence in the region.

The ICJ said it was "deeply concerned about the unfolding human tragedy in Sudan that forms the backdrop to the present dispute."

"The violent conflict has a devastating effect, resulting in untold loss of life and suffering, in particular in West Darfur," the court added.

In their ruling, the judges added that, regardless of the opt-out clause, states "remain responsible for acts attributable to them which are contrary to their international obligations."

What is happening in Sudan's civil war?

Since April 2023, Sudan has been plunged into chaos by a brutal power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and paramilitary RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

The conflict has sparked what aid agencies now call the world’s worst displacement and hunger crisis, with famine officially declared in five regions, according to a UN-backed report.

North Darfur has become a flashpoint, where the UN says at least 542 civilians have been killed in just the past three weeks.

On Sunday, the RSF struck Port Sudan, the army said, marking the first attack on the seat of the military-aligned government in the country's two-year war.
 

Edited by: Darko Janjevic