There are certain states whose reputations in the global community are tainted. For habitual violations of international law, they are shunned, boycotted or slammed with economic sanctions. Reading these words, perhaps you’re thinking of Russia, Israel, Iran or North Korea. But there is one country that is rarely considered an outlaw, even if its actions increasingly fit the bill.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is belatedly starting to draw some scrutiny over mounting evidence that it is backing the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that have been terrorising Sudan for years. Since the beginning of the civil war in 2023, which was triggered by a contest for power between the RSF militia and the Sudanese army, the RSF has been accused of ethnic cleansing and sexual violence. A United Nations fact-finding mission concluded that its assault on non-Arab populations in the west of the country carried “the hallmarks of genocide”.

Over the course of the war, evidence has been found of the UAE providing arms to the RSF, smuggling weapons and drones to them via Chad, and backing Colombian mercenary forces that are providing critical support to the militia. The UAE continues to deny all these charges, saying it is a neutral party in the war. But this has become an almost comical performance of outraged innocence in the face of common knowledge. The act seemed to be working, though, as the UAE broadly managed to weather the allegations of its complicity without consequences.

But something is beginning to turn. Last week, in quick succession, two blows landed. In the first, the human rights organisation FairSquare called on the UK’s Foreign Office to investigate Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the deputy prime minister of the UAE and owner of Manchester City, and sanction him over his alleged role in the UAE government’s backing of the RSF.

The complaint,........

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