The United Nations’ top court on Monday dismissed a case accusing the United Arab Emirates of fueling genocide in Sudan by supporting paramilitary forces in the country’s ongoing civil war. The court said it “manifestly lacks jurisdiction.”
The International Court of Justice did not rule on the allegations made by the Sudanese government, but by a 14-2 vote, it declined to issue the provisional emergency measures against the U.A.E. that Sudan had requested. By a 9-7 vote, it officially removed the case from its docket, according to a summary of its decision.
Both Sudan and the Emirates are signatories to the 1948 Genocide Convention, but the U.A.E., when it signed the treaty in 2005, opted out of a key clause that allows countries to sue each other at the International Court of Justice, based in The Hague.
In March, Sudan asked the court to take up its case, alleging the Emirates had violated the Genocide Convention by arming and funding the Rapid Support Forces, a powerful paramilitary group that is fighting the Sudanese military.
At the initial hearing last month, Sudan urged the court to impose several preliminary orders requiring the U.A.E. to halt actions that could amount to genocide against the Masalit people in the western Darfur region, and to end any further assistance to the R.S.F.
The Emirati government rejected the claims, saying Sudan had failed to present credible evidence and arguing that the court lacked jurisdiction.