Collective Erasure vs. Individual Annihilation – Cambridge International Law Journal

Introduction

Genocide is extensively considered probably the most extreme worldwide crime, distinguished by its authorized requirement of particular intent (dolus specialis) to destroy, in entire or partially, a nationwide, ethnic, racial, or spiritual group as such. Because of this acts of violence, nonetheless brutal or widespread, don’t represent genocide except they’re aimed not merely at people, however on the focused group’s collective existence. Outlined below the 1948 Genocide Conference, this psychological factor makes genocide tough to prosecute. Courts usually acknowledge atrocities however chorus from labelling them as genocide as a consequence of an absence of compelling proof that the destruction was aimed on the group itself, slightly than at its members as people. This distinction, between group-directed and individual-directed violence, creates a excessive evidentiary barrier, particularly when assessing the obligation of third-party states who allow such campaigns. Utilizing the case of the United Arab Emirates’ alleged assist to the Fast Assist Forces (RSF) in Sudan, this text explores why proving genocide stays legally tough regardless of in depth documentation of atrocities that disproportionately have an effect on a particular ethnic group.

The Authorized Framework of Genocidal Intent

Dolus specialis, the particular intent required for a conviction of genocide, calls for greater than proof of violence and even discriminatory motives; it requires proof that the destruction was directed at a bunch as such, slightly than merely at people belonging to that group. Victims should be intentionally focused primarily based on their precise or perceived membership in a protected group, with the supposed end result being the group’s bodily or organic eradication, in entire or in substantial half. This stringent evidentiary commonplace has considerably influenced worldwide jurisprudence. In Prosecutor v Krstić, the Worldwide Legal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia Appeals Chamber (‘ICTY’) dominated that Normal Krstić aided and abetted genocide within the Srebrenica bloodbath however was not a principal perpetrator as a consequence of lack of proof of non-public genocidal intent. Although concerned in planning the killings, the courtroom held that genocidal intent requires greater than concentrating on people—it calls for an intent to destroy a considerable a part of a bunch (para 595). Whereas the courtroom discovered no conclusive proof of Krstić’s particular person intent, it affirmed that genocide occurred in Srebrenica and that the Bosnian Muslim group had been partially destroyed (para 134). Recognising genocide is one threshold (para 36); proving particular person duty for it requires the next bar of proof. Beneath Article III of the Genocide Conference, legal responsibility extends past direct fee (Article III(a)) to incorporate complicity (Article III(e)); nonetheless, in all circumstances, the perpetrator’s intent should be directed on the destruction of the group itself or foreseeably lead to such destruction. Such stringent requirements increase considerations, as in at present’s world of proxies and oblique warfare, actual hyperlinks will be tough, if not inconceivable, to show.

The Worldwide Court docket of Justice’s (‘ICJ’) ruling in Bosnia v Serbia underscores that widespread atrocities couldn’t meet the authorized threshold of genocide within the absence of clear proof of intent to destroy an ethnic group. Though the Court docket recognised in depth abuses throughout Bosnia, solely the Srebrenica bloodbath was discovered as genocide (para 297). The execution of over 8,000 Bosniak males and boys reached the symbolic and numerical threshold for genocidal intent. Related acts of ethnic cleaning elsewhere have been excluded as a result of Court docket’s interpretive warning. It careworn that even systematic violence should be clearly linked to a deliberate plan to annihilate a bunch, not merely displace or defeat it (para 277).

UAE Involvement in Sudan

The state of affairs unfolding in Sudan bears disturbing similarities to the atrocities dedicated in Srebrenica. Mounting proof means that the Fast Assist Forces (RSF) have engaged in a scientific marketing campaign in opposition to the Masalit ethnic group, notably in West Darfur. As in Srebrenica, the violence seems to be focused, ethnically motivated, and organised, elevating appreciable considerations {that a} genocide could also be underway. UN businesses and Amnesty Worldwide have documented a sustained sample of assaults concentrated in Masalit-majority areas resembling El Geneina. These embrace ethnically selective killings following identification checks, the invention of mass graves overwhelmingly containing Masalit victims, and widespread acts of cultural erasure, just like the destruction of properties, cemeteries, and non secular establishments. Essentially the most alarming are persistent experiences of sexual violence by RSF forces, usually accompanied by slurs and threats aimed toward stopping Masalit replica. Such acts align with recognised indicators of genocide below worldwide regulation, notably these aimed toward dismantling a bunch’s organic continuity. The same intent was recognized in Srebrenica, the place the focused killing of Bosnian Muslim males had extreme procreative penalties for the group. As famous within the circumstances, the destruction of a good portion of the male inhabitants, in a patriarchal society, was discovered to inevitably consequence within the bodily disappearance of the group. Lots of the surviving ladies have been unable to remarry, resulting in what the courtroom described because the group’s potential extinction. The RSF’s actions in opposition to the Masalit may probably result in a comparable end result.

Regardless of documented proof of the sexual assault in opposition to ladies and the killing of Masalit males, there’s not a constant symbolic commonplace as seen in Krstic. Whereas sexual violence is undoubtedly a grave atrocity, the Krstic case and ICJ’s opinions counsel that validating the declare that sure actions undermine a bunch’s organic continuity requires extremely particular proof, resembling demonstrable declines in delivery charges or reproductive capability. Equally, the killing of Masalit males, although deeply terrorising and morally abhorrent, could also be alternatively categorized below current authorized crimes, resembling battle crime or act of ethnic cleaning. Though the dying toll— estimated to be 15,000 Masalit civilians—might meet the numerical threshold below the Krstic precedent, one may argue that these fatalities occurred within the broader context of the RSF’s armed battle with the Sudanese Military, slightly than because of focused marketing campaign of group destruction. Regardless of their ugly nature, these massacres lack the symbolic specificity—like army males who’re Bosnian Muslims—obligatory to fulfill the authorized commonplace for proving genocide.

The place the comparability to Srebrenica turns into most poignant, nonetheless, are the parallels between Serbia and UAE. Regardless of credible warnings and an increasing physique of proof, exterior actors have continued to offer materials assist to the RSF. Notably, the United Arab Emirates has been repeatedly recognized as a key supply of arms and logistical backing. Refined weaponry, like Norinco AH4 howitzers and Wing Loong drones, are traced to Emirati provide strains, with some transfers reportedly carried out through Chad—below the quilt of humanitarian support. In parallel, the ICJ dominated that Serbia was circuitously chargeable for the Srebrenica genocide, citing inadequate proof that the perpetrators acted below its directions or management. Likewise, to carry the UAE complicit in Sudan’s atrocities, the ICJ would require conclusive proof that it knowingly and deliberately supported a genocidal marketing campaign to eradicate the group in entire or partially, not merely that it armed a proxy pressure engaged in battle. With out clear proof of shared intent, like inside directives and communications, ongoing arms transfers usually tend to be construed as reckless or politically motivated slightly than as authorized complicity for genocide. Subsequently, whereas the size and nature of RSF violence in opposition to the Masalit might resemble the atrocities in Srebrenica, the authorized threshold for holding exterior sponsors accountable stays dauntingly excessive.

In Might 2025, the ICJ dismissed Sudan’s case in opposition to the UAE on procedural grounds, citing the UAE’s prior reservation to Article IX of the Genocide Conference, which excluded the Court docket’s jurisdiction over such disputes (para 35). It is a distinct subject from the substantive deserves of the case. Even when the proceedings had superior, Sudan would face the excessive evidentiary threshold of demonstrating that the UAE knowingly supported the RSF’s marketing campaign to destroy the Masalit group, not merely that it supplied arms to a regional actor. Absent proof of shared intent (e.g. official directives or inside communications), even repeated arms transfers after public warnings usually tend to be interpreted as reckless, opportunistic, or politically motivated slightly than complicit for genocide. In distinction to the occasions at Srebrenica—the place particular people, resembling Normal Krstić and members of the Drina Corps, have been recognized and prosecuted—key actors accountable throughout the UAE context have but to be clearly named or held accountable. In essence, the continued atrocities in Sudan might replicate the identical scale of horror witnessed in Srebrenica, each in nature and in influence. The authorized bar for proving complicity stays excessive: hinging not solely on what assist was supplied, but additionally on the intent behind it and the data of its potential use.

Conclusion

The excessive evidentiary threshold for proving dolus specialis continues to impede accountability, notably for third-party enablers. UAE’s alleged assist to the RSF in Sudan illustrates how even overwhelming proof of offering sustained help in ethnic violence might fall wanting the authorized commonplace for complicity below Article III(e) of the Genocide Conference. The Conference was crafted to stop impunity for such crimes, however its inflexible requirement for demonstrable genocidal intent renders prosecutions arduous. Courts stay reluctant to deduce intent from patterns of conduct alone, even when its sample extremely resembles previous genocides. The Conference dangers changing into extra symbolic than enforceable in up to date conflicts characterised by oblique warfare and proxy actors. The intent of the genocidaire stays central to prosecution, however can be probably the most elusive factor to show, and paradoxically, the strongest defend for many who support genocidal violence behind the scenes.

Shreya Margale is a Juris Physician candidate on the College of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Barnard School, Columbia College, with a focus in worldwide politics.