The UN Security Council reaffirmed a weapons embargo and sanctions against South Sudan on Thursday, despite the country’s ongoing instability.
A resolution proposed by the US to prolong the moratorium until May 2023 was carried with 10 out of 15 votes, with Gabon, Kenya, India, Russia, and China abstaining.
The ban was established in 2018 after the conclusion of a five-year-long civil conflict between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar.
When the embargo was last extended a year ago, South Sudanese authorities were given a set of political and security requirements that had to be met before the restrictions could be abolished or reduced.
However, earlier this month, a UN expert panel recommended that the embargo be maintained due to ongoing ceasefire breaches as well as the government’s illegal importation of armored vehicles.
Furthermore, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that further progress is required in the areas of combatant disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration.
According to a diplomatic source, the resolution agreed on Thursday includes a provision for potential relaxation of limits on non-lethal military equipment if it is required to fulfill the 2018 peace accord.
According to a diplomatic source, the clause was introduced at the request of the Security Council’s three African members, Kenya, Gabon, and Ghana.
South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, has been plagued by insecurity since its independence from Sudan in 2011.
Nearly 400,000 people were killed and millions were displaced during the 2013-2018 violence.
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