Rights Groups Urge ICC to Investigate UAE Officials Over Sudan Atrocities

A coalition of human rights organizations has formally petitioned the International Criminal Court to investigate senior United Arab Emirates officials for allegedly enabling atrocity crimes in Sudan.

The submission, filed Monday by the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights and allied groups, targets foreign actors accused of aiding combatants in Darfur.

It highlights alleged logistical and financial support provided to both the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces.

The filing invokes Article 15 of the Rome Statute to prompt a prosecutorial inquiry into foreign officials.

It alleges these actors supplied arms, mercenaries, and equipment to the warring factions despite a longstanding UN arms embargo.

The submission specifically names the UAE alongside intermediaries from Libya, Ethiopia, Chad, Somalia, Kenya, and Uganda.

The identities of the specific officials remain undisclosed in the filing. The coalition also attributes broader regional involvement to Iran, Türkiye, and Egypt regarding alleged crimes committed by the Sudanese army.

Accountability Beyond the Battlefield

The ICC holds existing jurisdiction over Darfur following a 2005 UN Security Council referral.

Legal scholars indicate this mandate could theoretically extend to Emirati nationals accused of aiding RSF crimes.

Pursuing accountability faces significant hurdles, however, as the UAE has not ratified the court's founding treaty.

Irwin Cotler, founder of the Wallenberg Centre, stated that networks of impunity enabling the violence must face consequences.

The new communication expands recent efforts to hold foreign enablers legally accountable through the international tribunal.

Earlier this month, Sudanese survivors filed a separate communication targeting senior Emirati figures, including Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a UAE vice president.

Alleged Supply Networks

The Wallenberg Centre submission utilizes confidential evidence and investigative findings to detail external involvement.

An annex maps alleged RSF supply lines originating from UAE airports in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, and Ras Al Khaimah.

Suspected arms shipments were reportedly routed through transit hubs in Chad, Libya, and Ethiopia between April 2023 and the present.

The UAE has consistently denied supplying weapons or backing the RSF. Multiple investigations have nevertheless documented suspected supply routes, including an airbridge through Amdjarass in Chad.

Additional reports indicate the UAE utilized a complex network across Libya, Uganda, and breakaway regions of Somalia to funnel materiel.

Broadening the Investigation

Further investigations revealed covert RSF support from an Ethiopian army base and the presence of identical vehicles at a Somaliland port where the UAE maintains a military presence.

Human Rights Watch reported last month that Colombian mercenaries hired via a UAE-based company transited Emirati military bases before deploying to Sudan.

The ICC deputy prosecutor previously confirmed an active investigation into Darfur atrocities committed since April 2023.

The office has not yet broadened its scope to include foreign complicity. The petitioning NGOs aim to compel the prosecutor to examine individuals sustaining the conflict from abroad.

A recent UN report attributed the majority of sexual crimes in the conflict to the RSF.

In January, the ICC prosecutor described the RSF siege of El Fasher as a manmade catastrophe perpetuated by regional actors.

Despite ongoing investigations, the ICC has not yet sought arrest warrants for Sudanese nationals in the current conflict.