Swedish climate and human-rights activist Greta Thunberg has amplified the slogan “Habibi, Boycott Dubai (and the UAE)”, as global outrage mounts over the alleged war crimes of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) — a conflict exacting a devastating toll on women and girls.
Boycott Campaign and Its Catalyst
The hashtag #HabibiBoycottDubai, surged online following the RSF’s takeover of El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, on 26 October 2025. The campaign, spearheaded by grassroots activists and human-rights advocates, accuses the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of providing the RSF with military and financial support — enabling systematic violence that includes sexual assault, extrajudicial killings, and forced displacement.
The campaign connects tourism, business, and investment ties with Dubai to complicity in Sudan’s ongoing atrocities, calling for international accountability and economic pressure.
Atrocities in Sudan: Women and Girls on the Frontline
Since April 2023, Sudan has been torn apart by fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF, triggering one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters. In Darfur, particularly El Fasher, verified footage and witness reports show RSF fighters executing civilians, obstructing aid, and forcing mass displacement.
Human rights organizations report an alarming surge in sexual and gender-based violence, often used as a deliberate weapon of war. Non-Arab communities such as the Masalit have been targeted with rape, abduction, and forced servitude, according to the Human Rights Research Centre (HRRC).
Women and girls remain disproportionately affected — facing barriers to healthcare, food, and water, while being exposed to forced labor and sexual slavery in conflict zones.
UAE’s Alleged Role and Global Response
Though the UAE denies any involvement, multiple investigations indicate arms transfers and logistical support from the UAE to the RSF, often routed through third countries such as Chad. The UK-based Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) reported that UAE-manufactured vehicles fitted with French systems were recovered in RSF-controlled areas — a potential violation of UN arms embargoes.
In May 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled it lacked jurisdiction to hear Sudan’s case against the UAE under the Genocide Convention, a decision widely criticized by rights groups.
Calls to boycott the UAE and Dubai have since intensified, arguing that economic and reputational pressure may be among the few remaining tools to push for justice in Sudan.
A Call for Solidarity
For many women-led advocacy networks, the campaign represents more than a geopolitical dispute — it’s a call for solidarity across borders. Sudanese women’s organizations, joined by global allies, are urging the international community to center women’s experiences of conflict and to hold enablers of gender-based violence accountable.