UAE avoids blame for Sudan war atrocities in EU Parliament text 

STRASBOURG — The United Arab Emirates embarked on a lobbying blitz in Strasbourg this week as the European Parliament prepared to vote on a resolution condemning ongoing atrocities in the Sudanese civil war.  

The Emirati delegation held meetings with key MEPs to insist that the UAE is playing a constructive role in Sudan, despite accusations that Abu Dhabi actively backs the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a notorious militia implicated in ethnic massacres and sexual violence. 

Parliament lawmakers ultimately passed a resolution Thursday afternoon that decried Sudan’s devastating civil war, but without mentioning the UAE’s alleged interference in the conflict.  

Human rights NGOs, independent media and Sudanese officials have said Abu Dhabi has fueled the conflict by transferring weapons to the RSF as it battles the Sudanese Armed Forces, which are supported by Egypt, for control of the country. 

The UAE denies supporting the RSF or interfering in Sudan’s war. A UAE government spokesperson told POLITICO there is zero evidence of interference and rejected any link to the paramilitary group. 

The Parliament text — backed by a broad coalition including the conservative European People’s Party (EPP), the center-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D), the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists, the far-right Patriots, the liberals of Renew and the Greens — condemns the two-year conflict, which has killed tens of thousands of people and plunged 25 million into extreme hunger.  

According to three Parliament officials familiar with negotiations between the political factions, language that criticized the UAE’s alleged role in Sudan proposed by the Socialists, Renew and Greens proved to be a red line for the EPP — which was, in turn, supported by groups to its right.  

Supportive signal 

The resolution drew an unusually assertive diplomatic operation from the Gulf.  

Lana Nusseibeh, the UAE’s envoy for Europe, traveled to Strasbourg with an entourage to meet with MEPs and argue that Abu Dhabi is working toward peace in Sudan rather than exacerbating the conflict.  

Two officials familiar with the talks told POLITICO that Emirati representatives denied any link to the RSF, while insisting they only wanted peace in Sudan and to be a key mediator for the country. 

Abu Dhabi’s delegation was provided a private room inside the European Parliament, next to the hemicycle, to conduct its meetings.  

“When foreign dignitaries come to Parliament and ask for a room, we give it to them. Not everyone asks, but if they do and if a room is available, we do,” Parliament President Roberta Metsola’s spokesperson Juri Laas told POLITICO. 

Lana Nusseibeh, the UAE’s envoy for Europe, traveled to Strasbourg with an entourage to meet with MEPs and argue that Abu Dhabi is working toward peace in Sudan rather than exacerbating the conflict. | Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images

Despite the absence of a direct reference to the UAE’s alleged support for the RSF, the Socialists, Renew and the Greens ultimately agreed to support the resolution.  

Three people involved in the process said the groups were satisfied with the language negotiated with the EPP and wanted to send a strong signal of support to Sudan. 

The Parliament’s resolution eventually condemned the RSF’s “atrocities” in Sudan and says ethnically motivated killings, rape, sexual enslavement and the starvation of civilians could potentially constitute “acts of genocide.” 

The text calls for sanctions on the militias involved in the civil war, plus penalties for “financiers and external enablers,” but without naming any other parties to the conflict. 

POLITICO reviewed an unofficial document circulated by the UAE ahead of the vote, rejecting allegations that it provided material, funding or political backing to the RSF. 

Marit Maij, one of the lead negotiators for the S&D, confirmed she met with the Abu Dhabi delegation “at the request of the UAE” inside the Parliament in Strasbourg.  

“We discussed the horrific situation in Sudan,” she said. “During the conversation, I stated that we have information that the Emirates are fueling the war by supporting the RSF.” 

The Greens’ negotiator on the file, MEP Nela Riehl, said “there’s nothing in the text that we oppose” but lamented that “things [are] missing,” including a clear mention of the UAE. 

The resolution does name-check the UAE as a key party in mediation efforts to achieve peace, along the U.S., Egypt and Saudi Arabia.  

Sensitive moment 

The Emirati lobbying push comes at a sensitive moment in EU-UAE relations.  

Brussels is pursuing closer economic ties with the Gulf state and is deep into ambitious free-trade negotiations — which one senior Emirati official, who was granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive discussions, said are progressing at lightning speed. 

The UAE downplayed the significance of Nusseibeh’s Strasbourg trip.  

A government spokesperson told POLITICO it was part of a routine tour through France, the U.K. and Slovakia “to discuss bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest, including key regional developments.” 

Gamaal El Attar, executive director of the Belgian human rights organization IFRD — which itself lobbied heavily on the resolution — characterized the UAE’s efforts as “damage control,” accusing Abu Dhabi of “heavy counter-lobbying” to avoid being singled out. 

The Emirati foreign ministry said in a statement it “welcomed the European Parliament’s timely resolution” and praised the fact that it “endorsed the work of the Quad,” the regional grouping the UAE belongs to alongside the U.S., Egypt and Saudi Arabia, which has sought an end to the war.