A United Nations Security Council sanctions committee on Friday called on all parties in South Sudan to uphold a cease-fire and accelerate implementation of the 2018 peace agreement, citing recommendations from a UN panel of experts.
The sanctions committee’s statement follows the submission of the UN panel’s final report to the Security Council on July 1. The report is available here.
The committee specifically urged South Sudan’s leaders to exercise restraint, expedite the unification of the country’s security forces, and complete the training of a national army. It also condemned all attacks on U.N. and humanitarian personnel.
Furthermore, the committee called on all member states to take steps to prevent violations of the arms embargo on South Sudan. It also urged global customs authorities to exercise vigilance over imports of timber and charcoal from South Sudan and its neighbors, warning of fraudulent export documentation.
The recommendations are aimed at supporting the fragile Revitalized Peace Agreement, which ended a five-year civil war that killed nearly 400,000 people.
The 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement in South Sudan is at “serious risk” of collapse unless regional powers urgently step in to halt escalating violence and political repression, the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan.
President Kiir has ruled South Sudan since it gained independence from Sudan in 2011. In March, First Vice President Riek Machar was placed under house arrest, raising fears of renewed political instability.
Kiir and Machar signed a peace agreement in 2018, ending a five-year civil war that killed 400,000 people. However, implementation has stalled since Machar was placed under house arrest in Juba on March 26, and sporadic fighting continues to displace and kill civilians.