EU under pressure to halt UAE trade deal over Sudan war
A Sudanese Sakharov Prize laureate is calling on the European Union to block a trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates, warning that Abu Dhabi's alleged financing of Sudanese war crimes makes a mockery of the bloc's human rights posturing.
A Sudanese human rights lawyer and recipient of the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize has issued a direct challenge to Brussels. He is calling on the bloc to immediately halt closed-door trade negotiations with the United Arab Emirates.
The demand puts a spotlight on the growing friction between the EU’s commercial ambitions in the Gulf and its stated foreign policy values. For investors and diplomats, it signals that human rights conditions could complicate a significant economic partnership.
The lawyer, who was imprisoned by the Sudanese regime in 2019, argues the UAE is actively fuelling Sudan’s civil war. He points to findings from the UN panel of experts, human rights organisations, and investigative reporting. These sources allege the UAE is funding, arming, and providing logistical support to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Recent reports indicate that foreign mercenaries are being trained in Libya with Emirati weapons before being deployed against Sudanese civilians. The plea comes just days after the UN Human Rights Council passed a motion on 6 July condemning escalating RSF violence in El-Obeid. That motion notably failed to mention the UAE’s alleged role in the conflict.
The timing is uncomfortable for Brussels. On Thursday, 9 July, the European Parliament passed texts condemning the ongoing slaughter in Sudan. The lawyer stressed the contradiction of issuing condemnations while simultaneously pursuing a trade agreement with a state accused of backing the perpetrators.
He cited the 18-month RSF siege of El-Fasher, where satellite images later revealed mass civilian casualties despite international resolutions. Following his address to the European Parliament in November 2025, the EU did impose sanctions on individuals affiliated with both the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces. However, he argues sanctions and resolutions are not effective if not translated into real action.
“Resolutions do not stop bullets,” the laureate warned, urging the EU to use its veto power over trade agreements as genuine leverage. “If the Sakharov Prize I hold is to mean anything, it must mean that Sudan matters to Europe,” he said, adding that the EU cannot be “cutting deals with those funding the genocide of my own people.”
