The International Criminal Court convicted Ali Kushayb, a former commander of Sudan’s Janjaweed militia, on 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity including murder, rape, torture and persecution.
Between Aug. 2003 and Mar. 2004, Khushayb oversaw a government-backed campaign in West Darfur that displaced civilians, pillaged villages and subjected detainees to inhumane treatment.
Kushayb was convicted of personally participating in sexual violence and targeted killings. His conviction is the first ICC trial linked to Sudan following a 2005 referral by the United Nations Security Council.
The Janjaweed was funded and operated under the direction of then-President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir, who was a Sudanese dictator from 1993 to 2019. Al-Bashir’s government financed the Janjaweed to crush the uprisings by non-Arab rebel groups in Darfur.
The ICC has also issued two outstanding arrest warrants against al-Bashir for committing war crimes, though he has yet to face trial.
This verdict comes amid ongoing violence that continues to devastate Sudan. In April 2023, an internal war broke out between the Sudanese Army and a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces.
The RSF branched from the Janjaweed militia led by Kushayb during the Darfur conflict in the early 2000s and are repeating the same patterns of violence that have long devastated the region.
Civilians in Darfur face renewed threats as the power struggle between the army and the RSF continues.
On Jan. 7, just before leaving office, the Biden administration declared that a genocide is occurring in Sudan. Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the war has left “over 30 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, and tens of thousands dead.”
The U.S. then imposed sanctions on the leader of the RSF and companies based in the United Arab Emirates that were involved with the RSF.
In March 2025, Sudan filed charges against the UAE at the International Court of Justice, alleging that the UAE financed and armed the RSF, thereby violating the Genocide Convention of 1948.
The UAE’s stakes in Sudan are largely tied to its gold mines and the RSF controls significant portions of Sudan’s gold production, particularly in Darfur, with much of it being exported to the UAE.
Analysts suggest that Sudanese gold may be the driver behind the UAE’s alleged support for the RSF, as the UAE secures a strategic foothold amid the Sudanese civil war.
In May, the ICJ dismissed its case against the UAE, ruling it lacked jurisdiction. When the UAE signed the Genocide Convention in 2005, it entered a reservation on Article IX of the treaty, which prevents other countries from bringing genocide disputes against it to the ICJ.
By opting out, the UAE cannot be tried or legally investigated under this provision. As The Hague keeps a close watch on the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Sudan, the hope remains that this verdict will be the first of many to serve justice for the victims.
