South Sudan’s unity government on Friday described the renewal of the arms embargo and sanctions by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as unproductive, reported The East African.
The statement came after the UNSC voted on Friday to renew the sanctions for another year amid unrest in the country.
The Council condemned the ongoing human rights violations in South Sudan and expressed deep concern at continued fighting in the country. The resolution, drafted by the United States, was passed with 10 out of 15 votes.
The extension of the ban implies that all Member States will prevent the direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer of arms to South Sudan’s territory. The council also extended the travel and financial measures put in place in 2015, according to which all Member States shall take measures to freeze the financial assets of designated individuals and prevent their entry into or transit through their territories.
The council also extended targeted sanctions against South Sudanese individuals.
In a press statement, South Sudan’s Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ministry said the Security Council should have followed the African Union’s position.
“The African people have spoken clearly through the African Union Decision 815 of February 2022 that sanctions and arms embargo is unproductive,” the ministry said. “That some countries would dismiss the African Union’s stance on this matter shows an old hubris with no value for a world shaken by wars, including Africa and Europe.”
South Sudan’s coalition government, however, applauded China, Gabon, India, Kenya, and Russia for not voting for the sanctions on Juba. The five countries abstained from the vote.
The ministry said that the five countries understand that the United Nation’s vision of world peace requires that sovereign nations respect one another as equals. It added that the countries stand in solidarity with the people of South Sudan for whom these sanctions are cruel policy with no clear intention.
