World should not allow Sudan to spiral further into chaos, says senior UAE diplomat

UAE ambassador calls for warring sides to 'urgently engage in good faith negotiations'

Ameirah AlHefeiti, the UAE's ambassador to the Netherlands. Antonie Robertson / The National

The world cannot allow Sudan to descend further into chaos, extremism and fragmentation, a senior UAE diplomat told The National on Monday, hours before the UN’s top court is set to rule on a case brought by Sudan against the Gulf state. The case accuses the UAE of backing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the war that has devastated Sudan since April 2023.

In its submission to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Sudan’s military-led government claims the UAE has provided arms to the RSF. Sudan has asked the ICJ to order provisional measures to halt all Emirati support.

The UAE has firmly rejected the allegations, calling the case politically motivated and factually baseless.

“The time for action is now. The killing must stop. The warring parties must urgently and without preconditions engage in good faith negotiations,” said the UAE's ambassador to the Netherlands, Ameirah AlHefeiti. “The The Sudanese Armed Forces' (SAF) repeated refusal to participate in talks is unacceptable. Any party that fails to engage seriously must be publicly called out.”

Sudan is engulfed in a civil war between the armed forces, led by Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, and the RSF, commanded by Gen Mohamed Dagalo. Tens of thousands of people have been killed, although estimates for the death toll are uncertain, and more than 13 million have been displaced, marking it as the world's largest displacement crisis. The humanitarian situation is dire, with millions requiring aid and widespread famine conditions reported.

Despite international efforts, the war wages on, with both sides accused of abuses. Last week, a UN report compiled by the Panel of Experts on Sudan found the warring parties responsible for committing widespread atrocities against civilians, including indiscriminate bombardments, conflict-related sexual violence and the obstruction of aid delivery.

But the report did not include any findings against the UAE, nor did it refer to the accusations brought forward by Sudan. The Emirates accused Sudan of misrepresenting the UN’s work to bolster what it described as a politically motivated case.

“The Security Council must not tolerate the misuse of UN platforms or the misrepresentation of its experts' work [by Sudan’s army] … in a cynical effort to distract from the atrocities that are happening on the ground,” the UAE’s ambassador to the UN, Mohamed Abushahab, told The National last week, after meeting UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo.