ICJ throws out Sudan genocide case against UAE over jurisdiction
May 5, 2025 (THE HAGUE) – The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday dismissed Sudan’s request for emergency measures against the United Arab Emirates and threw out the underlying case, finding it lacked jurisdiction because of a prior UAE reservation to the Genocide Convention.
Sudan filed the case at the world court on March 5, accusing the UAE of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention by providing support to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) allegedly committing atrocities against the Masalit ethnic group in Sudan’s West Darfur region amid the country’s ongoing conflict.
Khartoum had asked the court, also known as the World Court, to order the UAE to stop assisting the RSF, arguing the UAE’s actions amounted to complicity in genocide.
However, the UAE argued the court had no jurisdiction because the UAE had filed a reservation against Article IX of the Genocide Convention, the clause that allows states to bring disputes before the court. Sudan acceded to the convention in 2003 and the UAE in 2005.
The ICJ judges agreed with the UAE. The court found the UAE’s reservation to Article IX was clear and excluded its jurisdiction over disputes under the convention. It determined such reservations are permissible and do not undermine the treaty’s core obligations.
“The Court concludes from the foregoing that, having regard to the UAE’s reservation to Article IX of the Genocide Convention, this Article cannot constitute, prima facie, a basis for the jurisdiction of the Court in the present case,” the court said in its order.
As a result, the court rejected Sudan’s request for provisional measures by a 14-2 vote and ordered the case removed from its docket by a 9-7 vote.
While dismissing the case, the ICJ expressed “deep concern about the unfolding human tragedy in Sudan”. It noted, however, that states remain bound by their obligations under the Genocide Convention whether or not they accept the court’s jurisdiction to settle disputes.