2023-05-30 19:47:00
Given the decision taken by the UN Security Council of extend for one year the arms embargo imposed on South SudanTigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, said:
“The extension of the UN arms embargo on South Sudan is good news for millions of civilians who have suffered human rights violations at the hands of armed individuals, including horrific cases of rape and other types of sexual violence.”
“The arms embargo is essential to stop the shipment of arms to South Sudan, where they have been used for almost ten years to perpetrate and facilitate the commission of crimes with flagrant impunity”
“The UN Security Council vote sends a clear message to the South Sudanese government that it must act urgently to implement the Joint Plan of Action on Combating Conflict-Related Sexual Violence, among other benchmarks. established by the Security Council by virtue of Resolution 2577 of May 2021.
While this vote is a positive step, we regret that South Sudan will be allowed to import ‘non-lethal’ material without notifying and requesting a waiver from the Security Council Sanctions Committee.
Investigations have shown that security forces continue to misuse less lethal weapons to violently suppress peaceful protests and cause terrible death and injury.
We further urge the Security Council to ensure that efficient mechanisms are in place to control the flow of arms into South Sudan. States, companies or individuals who violate the arms embargo must be held accountable.”
In recent reports to the UN Security Council, both the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan and the Group of Experts and the Secretary General have denounced an increase in cases of conflict-related sexual violence and a stagnation in the implementation of the Joint Action Plan, one of the key benchmarks for lifting the arms embargo. In 2022, an Amnesty International report also noted how weapons are used by government troops, pro-opposition groups and other non-state armed groups in conflict-related sexual violence in South Sudan.
Additional information
The Security Council imposed an arms embargo on South Sudan through its Resolution 2428 (2018), and has renewed it several times since then, most recently through Resolution 2633 (2022). With Resolution 2577 (2021), the Security Council expressed its willingness to review the arms embargo measures after an assessment by the Secretary-General of progress against five benchmarks.
These parameters refer to the completion of the Defense and Security Strategic Review process contained in the Revitalized Agreement for the Settlement of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (Revitalized Agreement); the formation of a unified command structure for the Necessary Unified Forces; progress in the establishment and implementation of the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process; the progress of the South Sudanese defense and security forces in the proper management of their current stocks of arms and ammunition; and the implementation of the Joint Action Plan for the Armed Forces on combating conflict-related sexual violence.
The UN has reported little or no application of these benchmarks.
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