ICJ dismisses Sudan's case against UAE
The top United Nations court has dismissed a case brought by Sudan accusing the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of breaching the UN Genocide Convention by arming and funding the rebel paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in Sudan's deadly civil war.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) said on Monday that it 'manifestly lacked' the authority to continue the proceedings and threw out the case. While both Sudan and the UAE are signatories to the 1948 Genocide Convention, the UAE has a carveout to the part of the treaty that gives The Hague-based court jurisdiction.
In March, Sudan asked the ICJ for several orders, known as provisional measures, including telling the UAE to do all it can to prevent the killing and other crimes targeting the Masalit people in Darfur.
The UAE called the filing a publicity stunt and, in a hearing last month, argued the court had no jurisdiction.
The court on Monday agreed with the UAE's arguments, rejected Sudan's request for emergency measures and ordered the case be removed from its docket.
Due to the lack of jurisdiction, 'the court is precluded by its statute from taking any position on the merits of the claims made by Sudan', a summary of the ruling said. The UAE hailed it as a legal victory. (Agencies)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Qatar Tribune
2 days ago
- Qatar Tribune
Israeli attacks kill 27 aid seekers in Gaza, says health ministry
Agencies Gaza Israeli forces have killed at least 27 Palestinians and injured 90 more as they opened fire close to an aid distribution site in Rafah, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza. The latest killings came early on Tuesday at the Flag Roundabout, near an aid hub operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). It was the third such incident around the Rafah hub in as many days. Gaza's authorities report that more than 100 aid seekers have been killed since the United States- and Israel-backed GHF started operating in the enclave on May 27, with reports of violence, looting and chaos rife. The Israeli military said it had fired shots as 'a number of suspects' deviated from the regulated routes, on which a crowd was making its way to the GHF distribution complex. The 'suspects' were about 500 metres (approximately 550 yards) from the site, the military said in a statement on Telegram, adding that it was looking into reports of casualties. The death toll was confirmed by Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the Gaza Health Ministry's records department. A spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross, Hisham Mhanna, said 184 wounded people had been taken to its field hospital in Rafah, 19 of whom were found dead on arrival, and eight others died later of their wounds. Video verified by Al Jazeera's Sanad fact-checking agency showed the arrival of dozens of injured people at the hospital. Gaza's Government Media Office accused Israel of 'a horrific, intentionally repeated crime', saying it has been luring starving Palestinians to the GHF centres – controversially opened following an 11-week total blockade to take over most aid distribution from the United Nations and other aid agencies – and then opening fire. It said Tuesday's death toll brought the number of aid seekers killed at aid sites in the Rafah governorate and the so-called Netzarim Corridor since GHF launched operations to 102, with 490 others injured. The United Nations on Monday demanded an independent investigation into the repeated mass shootings of aid seekers in Gaza. 'It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food,' said Secretary General Antonio Guterres. 'I call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for perpetrators to be held accountable.' 'We heard from witnesses that there was chaos,' said Al Jazeera's Hind Khoudary, reporting about Tuesday's killings from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza. 'The Israeli forces just opened fire randomly, shooting Palestinians … using quadcopters and live ammunition.' Health Ministry officials and doctors said most of the wounded have been hit in their chest and head, she added. The bloodshed, she continued, had unfolded in the same way as on the previous two days, amid ongoing chaos around the aid distribution centres. 'There's no process. There's no system,' she said. 'You just need to run first to be able to get the food.' Rasha al-Nahal told The Associated Press news agency that 'there was gunfire from all directions', and that she saw more than a dozen people dead and several wounded on the road. When she finally made it to the distribution hub, there was no aid, al-Nahal said, adding that Israeli troops 'fired at us as we were returning'. Another witness, Neima al-Aaraj, from Khan Younis, described the shooting as 'indiscriminate'. 'I won't return,' she said. 'Either way, we will die.' The Israeli military, in its statement on Telegram, said troops had fired warning shots as people deviated from 'designated access routes' and 'after the suspects failed to retreat, additional shots were directed near a few individual suspects who advanced toward the troops'. However, it denied firing on civilians or blocking them from accessing aid. This account echoes statements around similar incidents on Sunday, when 31 aid seekers were reportedly killed, and on Monday, when three more were killed.
Al Jazeera
2 days ago
- Al Jazeera
Two suspected Ugandan rebels killed in Kampala explosion
Two suspected Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels, including a female suicide bomber, were killed in an explosion near a prominent Catholic shrine in Uganda's capital, Kampala, as crowds gathered to mark Martyrs' Day. The blast on Tuesday took place in the upscale suburb of Munyonyo, outside the Munyonyo Martyrs' Shrine, where Ugandans were assembling to commemorate 19th-century Christians executed for their faith. No civilian injuries were reported. 'A counterterrorism unit this morning intercepted and neutralised two armed terrorists in Munyonyo,' said army spokesman Chris Magezi on X. He confirmed one of the assailants was a female suicide bomber 'laden with powerful explosives'. Footage broadcast by NBS Television, an independent outlet, showed a destroyed motorbike and debris scattered across the road. Police Chief Abas Byakagaba told NBS the explosion occurred while 'two people were on a motorcycle,' adding: 'The good thing, though, is that there were no people nearby who were injured.' There has been no immediate claim of responsibility. While Ugandan authorities are still piecing together the events, Magezi suggested the suspects were linked to the ADF, a rebel group that originated in Uganda in the 1990s but later relocated to eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The ADF has pledged allegiance to ISIL (ISIS) and was behind a spate of deadly bombings in Uganda in 2021. The group has been accused by the United Nations of widespread atrocities, including the killing of thousands of civilians in the region. Martyrs' Day is one of Uganda's most significant religious holidays, drawing thousands of pilgrims annually. Security forces have increased patrols across the capital in the aftermath of the incident.
Al Jazeera
2 days ago
- Al Jazeera
‘Corpses rotting in the Nile' as cholera tears through Sudan
After Sudan's army recaptured the national capital region of Khartoum in March, tens of thousands of people returned to check on their homes and reunite with loved ones. The joy of returning was tempered by the shock of seeing the damage caused during nearly two years under the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group that has been fighting the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), recognised by many Sudanese and the UN as the de facto authority in Sudan, since April 2023. In a region whose hospitals and food and medicine stores had been systematically plundered by the RSF, many returnees started falling sick. Many of the returnees had settled in Omdurman, one of the national capital's three cities, where living conditions were slightly better than in the other cities. This is because several localities in Omdurman never came under the RSF's control, insulating it from heavy clashes, pillaging, and looting. Omdurman quickly became overcrowded, with 'thousands of people [returning] from Egypt alone', according to Dr Dirar Abeer, a member of Khartoum's Emergency Response Rooms, neighbourhood committees spearheading relief efforts across the country. The crowding, Dr Abeer said, meant an accelerated spread of cholera, an acute, highly contagious diarrhoeal infection that is endemic to Sudan and can be fatal if not treated. 'In areas south of the Nile in Omdurman, there are a lot of corpses rotting next to [or in] the Nile, and this has [partially] caused the spread of infection,' said Badawi, a volunteer in Omdurman who declined to give his full name due to the sensitivity of speaking in a warzone. Cholera has become an epidemic in Sudan, spreading in several states, including White Nile and Gadarif, and killing hundreds in the last two weeks. As in Khartoum, the spread was fuelled by overcrowding and a lack of essential services in these regions. The waterborne disease could be stopped with basic sanitation and provisions, said Fazli Kostan, the project coordinator for Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF. 'But that's not really possible right now,' he told Al Jazeera, referring to a lack of electricity to pump water since Omdurman's electricity grids went down on May 14. The RSF had fired a barrage of suicide drones that day, which took out major power stations and grids, consequently shutting down water treatment plants and causing a sharp rise in cases. Deprived of safe drinking and bathing water, people have resorted to drinking contaminated water from the Nile, as well as scooping up water from the ground after it rains, Badawi said. The SAF-backed Ministry of Health (MoH) reported a huge surge in daily cholera cases in the national capital region between May 15 and May 25, with at least 172 people dying between May 20 and May 27. The UN says daily cases spiked from 90 to more than 815 in the latter half of May. Those who contract the disease often rush to the nearest hospital, further straining an already overwhelmed and ill-equipped health sector. However, local volunteers said many people do not experience life-threatening symptoms and that they would be better off staying at home and isolating themselves. The overcrowding at hospitals has further exacerbated the spread of the disease and overstrained the already collapsing health sector, they explained. 'We do not have enough medication or medical tools, and the rate of people coming to the hospitals is far more than we can handle,' said Kareem al-Noor, a medic at al-Nao hospital in Omdurman. 'The [remaining hospitals] are at full capacity and people are also waiting for treatment, crowded on the streets,' al-Noor added. Dr Abeer feels the SAF-backed health authorities are not doing enough to tackle the epidemic. While she acknowledged that the health sector was largely destroyed by the RSF, she believes the current health authorities could be doing more. Al Jazeera submitted written questions to Dr Montasser Towarra, the MoH spokesperson, asking him what measures the ministry is undertaking to help volunteers and to provide basic provisions. He had not answered by the time of publication. Sudan is also suffering an acute hunger crisis. Since the civil war, millions of Sudanese have struggled to feed their families due to spoiled harvests, the systematic looting of markets and food aid and the destruction of homes and livelihoods. According to the UN, about 25 million people – more than half the population – currently suffer extreme food shortages. Hunger can weaken bodies and lead to an acute increase in contagious diseases, according to Alex De Waal, an expert on Sudan and famine. He noted that civilians – especially children – have always been more likely to die from diseases if they are also on the brink of starvation. 'We could see an excess of hundreds of thousands of deaths [due to these factors] over the next year,' warned De Waal. The UN has also warned that up to one million children could die from cholera unless the spread is thwarted quickly. The only way to thwart the health crisis is to repair basic provisions such as electricity and sewage systems to improve sanitation, said De Waal. However, he believes that repairing essential services is not a priority for the army, which remains the de facto authority. Al Jazeera sent written questions to SAF spokesperson, Nabil Abdullah, to ask if the army is planning on repairing vital resources such as bombed electricity grids. Abdullah said, 'These questions are not for the army, but for the Ministry of Health.' Tawarra from the MoH also did not respond to these questions. De Waal suspects the army is prioritising combat operations against the RSF. 'My sense is the army is too stretched financially and organisationally to prioritise anything other than fighting the war,' he told Al Jazeera.
