Sudan urges ICC to speed up Darfur war crimes cases, probe UAE role
January 19, 2026 (UNITED NATIONS) – Sudan urged the International Criminal Court on Monday to accelerate war crimes charges for atrocities in Darfur and investigate the role of regional sponsors of the conflict, including the United Arab Emirates, a senior Sudanese official said.
Ammar Mohamed Mahmoud, Sudan’s Minister Plenipotentiary, told the U.N. Security Council the court should issue immediate arrest warrants for leaders involved in the violence, noting some suspects have been filmed documenting their own crimes on mobile phones.
Mahmoud spoke after ICC Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan delivered the court’s semi-annual briefing on Darfur.
“The delay in exercising criminal jurisdiction raises serious questions,” Mahmoud said, citing two incidents he called ethnic genocide in El Fasher since 2023.
He said the court has issued no arrest warrants almost two years after atrocities in El Geneina, West Darfur, and that the delay has created a sense of impunity.
“If the court had acted quickly regarding the El Geneina events, subsequent atrocities might have been avoided,” he said.
Mahmoud demanded investigations include anyone proven to be supporting or colluding with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), regardless of location.
Sudan has evidence the UAE provided military equipment and weapons to the RSF, Mahmoud said. Abu Dhabi has consistently denied the accusations.
He urged the ICC to investigate media outlets that have whitewashed militia crimes, naming Sky News Arabia for what he called “professional irresponsibility.”
“Justice will only be achieved by holding accountable those who kill, fund, arm or provide media cover for these crimes,” Mahmoud said.
He also called for investigating individuals in European countries who incite killing civilians and raping women and girls.
Mahmoud said the RSF continues to carry out ethnic killings and systematic terror against civilians, and accused the group and its sponsors of planning genocide by imposing a siege and starving El Fasher’s population for nearly 2-1/2 years.
The RSF seized control of El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, on October 26, 2025, after an 18-month siege, committing mass killings, sexual violence and destroying water sources and medical facilities, he said.
“These atrocities could not have occurred without military, financial and logistical support from a known regional sponsor,” Mahmoud said.
Sudan continues to cooperate with the ICC, he said, noting visits by the Office of the Prosecutor to Sudan in mid-2025 and by Sudan’s attorney general to The Hague in December 2025.
Sudan is preparing for an ICC delegation to visit displacement camps to meet survivors of the El Fasher attack, Mahmoud said.