South Sudan on Friday said the U.N. arms embargo was undermining its ability to protect civilians and respond to security threats after the Security Council renewed sanctions on the country for another year.
The council adopted Resolution 2821 with nine votes in favour and six abstentions, extending an arms embargo, travel bans and asset freezes, as well as the mandate of the Panel of Experts assisting the South Sudan Sanctions Committee until July 1, 2027.
“The continued maintenance of the arms embargo is increasingly inconsistent with the realities and challenges facing the country today,” South Sudan’s U.N. Ambassador Sabino Edward Nyawella Amaikwey told the council after the vote.
Amaikwey said the sanctions limit the government’s capacity to protect civilians, secure its borders and respond to threats posed by armed groups.
“Rather than supporting and strengthening State institutions, these measures limit the Government’s capacity to protect civilians, secure its borders and respond to threats by armed groups,” he said.
He argued that sustainable peace is best advanced through strong national institutions, effective security arrangements and national ownership of the peace process. Measures that weaken state capacity while failing to deter spoilers warrant reconsideration, he added.
Amaikwey also urged the council to heed repeated calls by the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) for sanctions on South Sudan to be lifted.
China, Russia back South Sudan
China and Russia, which abstained from the vote, echoed calls for a review of the sanctions regime.
China’s U.N. Ambassador Sun Lei said Beijing abstained because the resolution contained what he described as “several unbalanced statements”.
He said the arms embargo, in place for nearly eight years, had constrained Juba’s ability to protect civilians and remained opposed by South Sudan and countries in the region.
Sun urged the council to make timely adjustments to the sanctions regime or lift it when conditions permit, and warned against using sanctions as a political tool to exert pressure or interfere in a country’s internal affairs.
Russia’s Deputy U.N. Ambassador Anna Evstigneeva said Moscow abstained because the resolution amounted to a technical rollover that failed to reflect proposals for a more balanced approach toward South Sudan.
She said Russia could not support a text that was “replete with criticism” of South Sudan’s government and overloaded with political assessments.
Evstigneeva also opposed linking the arms embargo to internal political developments and called for a more substantial easing of restrictions.
“It is high time for a more significant easing of restrictions,” she said, adding that the Security Council should follow what she described as Africa’s policy of gradually dismantling sanctions regimes on the continent.
She said future engagement with South Sudan should be based on respect for the country’s interests and consideration of its national, historical, cultural and ethnic circumstances.
The Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Somalia, Pakistan, China and Russia abstained. The resolution, drafted by the United States, renewed the sanctions regime without substantive changes from the text adopted a year ago.
Under Security Council rules, a resolution requires at least nine votes in favour and no veto from any of the five permanent members — the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France.
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