US rapper Macklemore has cancelled his upcoming October show in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, over the country’s alleged role in the deadly conflict in Sudan.
He said people had for months been asking him to call off the concert in solidarity with the Sudanese people “and to boycott doing business in the UAE for the role they are playing in the ongoing genocide and humanitarian crisis in the region”.
The rapper cited the UAE’s reported support for the Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been battling the Sudanese army.
“Until the UAE stops arming and funding the RSF I will not perform there,” he said in a post on Instagram.
Neither the Dubai city nor the UAE government have commented on Macklemore’s statement.
In June, the UAE denied accusations it was fuelling the conflict as “disinformation”, saying its focus was on alleviating the humanitarian crisis in the country.
Sudan’s ambassador to the UN, Harith Idriss al-Harith Mohamed, had said that the UAE’s financial and military support to the RSF was the “main reason behind this protracted war”.
But the UAE said this was a “ludicrous allegation” coming from the Sudan representative, “representing the armed forces, one of the warring parties”.
Since the fighting began in April last year, thousands of people have been killed and 10 million forced to flee their homes.
The war has sparked the world’s worst hunger levels on record, according to the UN-accredited Integrated food security Phase Classification (IPC).
Both sides have been blamed for atrocities but the RSF has been accused of carrying out a genocide against the non-Arabic population in parts of the western region of Darfur which it largely controls. It has denied the accusation, blaming local militias.
A number of talks aimed at ending the 16-month war have so far failed, with the rival factions still fighting for control of the country, worsening the humanitarian crisis.
Macklemore said in his statement on Saturday that he took the decision because “the current situation in Sudan is urgent, horrific and it’s going largely unnoticed globally”.
It was also inspired by the Israeli-Hamas war happening in Gaza, he says, noting that the plight of the Palestinian people “has woken the world up”.
The Grammy-winning artist’s latest song, Hind’s Hall, pays tribute to a girl who was killed in Gaza.
He has in the past released music addressing social issues, including drug addiction, consumerism and gay rights.
He says he is not judging other stars who perform in the UAE, which often hosts major international artists and sporting events.
“But I do ask the question to my peers scheduled to play in Dubai: If we used our platforms to mobilise collective liberation, what could we accomplish?” he added.