UN Security Council adopts resolution extending arms embargo on South Sudan

UNITED NATIONS, MAY 30, 2023 (SUDANS POST) – The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Tuesday morning voted to adopt a draft resolution seeking to extend the arms embargo on South Sudan for another year.

The resolution, which was drafted by the United States, was adopted by a vote of 10-0, with five countries abstaining: Russia, China, Gabon, Mozambique, and Ghana.

The resolution is expected to be released by Friday to the public and will extend the arms emargo through 31 May 2024.

The arms embargo was first imposed in 2018 in an effort to curb the violence in South Sudan.

South Sudan has been mired in civil war since 2013, and the embargo has been credited with helping to reduce the flow of weapons into the country.

‘DONE IN BAD FAITH AND ILL INTENTION’

Reacting to the resolution, South Sudan’s UN ambassador Akuei Bona Malwal said the drafting of the resolution was “done in bad faith and ill intention.”

The South Sudanese diplomat said that the arm embargo is “counterproductive and has an adverse humanitarian effect on the very citizens the proponents claim to support and protect from arm way more than the government.”

Malwal also said that the resolution was an example of “…. interference in domestic affairs” and added that “much has been achieved including the implementation of chapter five with the final public consultation held in Juba between the 15 and 17 May under the theme ‘building sustainable South Sudan model for transitional justice.’”