EU Calls for Action on UAE’s Sudan Genocide Support
A European research institution has stated that addressing the genocide in Sudan necessitates decisive actions against the United Arab Emirates, such as divesting from the country.
The Analyst News Foundation, citing the European Microscope for Middle East Issues, emphasized that the UAE is funding war criminals in Sudan and that the international community must hold Abu Dhabi responsible.
It pointed out that the war that broke out in Sudan about sixteen months ago between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces had devastating effects, as it led to the forced displacement of about ten million people and the death of tens of thousands.
Despite its denial of any connection to the war, all reports indicate that the UAE is investing heavily in violence, as part of a strategic effort to expand its influence in the Horn of Africa region.
To pursue its objectives in the country, Abu Dhabi provided arms and financial support to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, leading to widespread atrocities and massacres. To pressure the UAE into halting its support for these actions and its alliance with war criminals, institutions connected to the UAE should begin to withdraw their investments.
The RSF was primarily formed from the reorganization of the infamous Janjaweed militia in 2013 to aid the central government’s counter-insurgency efforts in Darfur and South Kordofan. In 2017, the Sudanese Parliament enacted legislation to formalize its operations.
Over the years, the militia has been responsible for numerous crimes and atrocities, including the destruction of villages, murder of protesters, sexual abuse and rape, mass killings, ethnically motivated violence, unlawful detention, attacks on hospitals and churches, and assaults on journalists and media organizations.
Cooperation between the UAE and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began with the onset of the Yemen conflict. The ousted Sudanese president deployed fighters from both the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces to the front lines.
Recognizing RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo as a valuable ally, the UAE began supporting the paramilitary group by providing financial assistance, hosting the RSF’s social media team, and facilitating diplomatic trips for Dagalo.
To compel the UAE to cease its support for this violence and its collaboration with war criminals, institutions affiliated with Abu Dhabi should start withdrawing their investments.
Additionally, the UAE has been supplying military support to militias. Within a single week, open source investigators tracked three air shipments from the UAE to an airport it established in eastern Chad, a clear breach of the UN arms embargo on Sudan.
A UN report stated that the UAE flights coincided with an increase in highly advanced weapons used by the Rapid Support Forces, including drones and anti-aircraft missiles.
Recently, Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Laboratory identified an Emirati cargo plane suspected of providing lethal aid to the Rapid Support Forces militia in the region.
Last year, The New York Times revealed that injured RSF fighters were being airlifted for treatment at a military hospital in Abu Dhabi.
The newspaper reported: “Under the guise of rescuing refugees, the United Arab Emirates is running a complex secret operation to support one side in the escalating war in Sudan.”
The UAE views the rise of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan as a way to advance its economic and political interests. This includes gaining control over additional seaports and agricultural land while blocking the return of the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood—a movement associated with militant political Islam and a traditional adversary of the UAE that had governed Sudan for over 30 years.
Additionally, the UAE seeks to recruit more Sudanese to fight in Libya alongside General Khalifa Haftar, its primary ally who is working with the notorious Russian mercenary group Wagner.
Reports suggest that the UAE is financing Wagner’s operations in Libya, while Wagner, in turn, provides weapons to the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan.
There are also direct economic motivations influencing this situation. A recent SwissAid investigation revealed that the UAE is the leading destination for illicit gold smuggled annually from Africa, including Sudan. Reports suggest strong connections between warlord Hemedti’s family and Sudan’s gold trade.
The result of the UAE’s continued support for the Rapid Support Forces militias has been bloody. Militias have committed numerous genocides and massacres, especially in the Darfur region. In November 2023, the RSF launched a six-day offensive against the ethnic Masalit people in refugee camps in Ardamata.
The United Nations reported that dozens were summarily executed, women were raped, and thousands were forced to leave the city.
In a disturbing display of its brutality towards non-Arab tribes, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia perpetrated another genocide in El Geneina, West Darfur, resulting in the deaths of thousands and the displacement of hundreds of thousands.
A recent Human Rights Watch report documented that RSF members committed severe crimes including rape, looting, and torture in the area.
Despite international calls to prevent further atrocities, the RSF is now besieging El Fasher, the last remaining refuge for displaced individuals in the region. The RSF has also attacked and destroyed refugee camps in Darfur, places many believed to be safe havens.
The UAE’s support for the Rapid Support Forces has drawn strong criticism from many observers and human rights groups. In April, Refugees International published a statement calling on the UAE to refrain from supporting the militia and asking the UN Security Council to intervene.
US Senator Sarah Jacobs also submitted a resolution prohibiting the sale of American weapons to the UAE until it stops assisting the Rapid Support Forces.
Recently, the US Treasury Department banned several UAE-based companies with links to the war in Sudan. Congress is currently considering a resolution declaring that the actions of the Rapid Support Forces against non-Arab tribes in Darfur constitute genocide.
In response to the global outcry, the UAE has initiated a disinformation campaign, denying its support for the RSF and dismissing credible and independent reports by falsely claiming neutrality in the conflict.
The UAE seems to be obstructing independent investigations into the matter: the UK, a UAE ally and the designated authority for Sudan at the UN, has reportedly attempted to suppress criticism of Abu Dhabi’s role in arming Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces militia.
At UK’s request, the UN Security Council also postponed a meeting to discuss Sudan’s complaint against the UAE.
Investors in Emirati projects should recognize the moral implications of supporting a state that explicitly funds a militia committing horrific genocides to further its political and economic ambitions.
The ongoing genocide in Darfur represents one of the most violent crimes against humanity and a flagrant violation of human rights and international law.
Given the UAE’s lack of response to global condemnation, divestment has emerged as the most potent solution to deter Abu Dhabi from continuing its support for the Rapid Support Forces militia and financing genocide.
The UAE has long invested heavily in numerous institutions and initiatives worldwide, not only for profit but also to build soft power.
This includes funding academic institutions at top American universities; The UAE partially funded the Middle East Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School, a unique program created in 1998 that provides a platform for emerging leaders and advocates to shape regional policy.
The UAE has also partnered with the Gates Foundation to work with local farmers to adapt to climate change issues.
Members of the UAE’s ruling family have purchased several sports clubs in Europe, and the country has expanded its technology sector, including Microsoft’s $1.5 billion investment in the Abu Dhabi-based Artificial Intelligence Development Initiative.
The UAE has notable financial ties to the United Kingdom, including museums, water and energy companies, and major universities, from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to the British Museum.
The Foundation emphasized that investors and leaders of these projects must recognize the moral implications of supporting a state that explicitly funds a military militia and commits horrific genocides to achieve narrow political and economic objectives.
This campaign must extend to arts and popular culture as well. Activists recently called on American rapper Macklemore, who has been vocal in supporting Gaza, to cancel his scheduled concert in Dubai due to the UAE’s role in supporting the Rapid Support Forces.
Another campaign calling on tourists to stop visiting Dubai is now gaining many supporters. These moves represent the first step that should serve as an example of a broad divestment campaign.
By supporting the RSF militia and its genocide, the UAE is reshaping the global peace order and sending a message to other malign actors that it can take similar steps against others in the future, knowing that its financial investments and shady political connections will protect them.
The Foundation concluded that the global community, having witnessed genocides such as the Holocaust, Srebrenica, and Rwanda, must act decisively this time. We cannot continue to stand idly by and allow the UAE to finance another human tragedy before our eyes.
