South Sudan: What if the UN lifts its arms embargo? – DW – 05/23/2025

DW

23-05-2025

The UN Security Council is due to vote in late May on whether to renew an arms embargo on South Sudan for another year. Amnesty International is warning that the conflict could worsen without it.
Global concern is once again shifting to South Sudan, the world's youngest nation.
The flare-up of a long-simmering conflict in the East African country has claimed thousands of lives. It has also displaced some 2.3 million people and pushed around 60,000 children into malnourishment .
International efforts to end the conflict have included a UN embargo on arms transfers to the parties to the conflicts, expires on May 31. UN Security Council members are set to vote on a draft resolution to extend the South Sudan sanctions regime.
According to Amnesty International, the lives of civilians are at risk without an extension of the arms embargo.
"We urge the [UN] Security Council to renew the embargo, enforce it and protect civilian lives," Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty's Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, said.
"While the UN arms embargo has not been a panacea, the human rights situation would almost certainly be worse without it," he added.
Amnesty describes as an open violation of the embargo the "deployment of armed Ugandan soldiers and military equipment to South Sudan since March 11, 2025."
How instability persists in South Sudan
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Violations of UN sanctions
The UN Security Council's arms embargo on South Sudan dates back to 2018 and its sanctions regime on the country to 2015.
On May 30, 2024, the Council extended the sanctions for a year. In addition to the arms embargo, it also encompasses asset freezes and travel bans.
At the time, the UN said it was open to reviewing the arms embargo through modification, suspension or progressive lifting. In its estimation, arms shipments violated the UN resolution to end the conflict and further contributed to the instability in the country.
However, a statement by International Crisis Group says that while the sanctions "appear to have made it harder for actors to deploy heavy weapons", the country's porous borders make it difficult to enforce a small arms and light weapons ban.
Civilians from South Sudan and Sudan have crisscrossed the border between their countries to escape conflicts Image: Sally Hayden/SOPA Images/ZUMA Press Wire/picture alliance
In a letter to the UN in early 2024, South Sudan's First Vice President, Riek Machar, accused Uganda of "grave violation" of the arms embargo following the Ugandan armed forces deployment into South Sudan.
According to Amnesty, its Crisis Evidence Lab recently verified two videos featuring Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) personnel and equipment.
"The first shows dozens of UPDF soldiers arriving at Juba International Airport on March 11. The second shows armored personnel carriers and military trucks," Amnesty said.
Amid the reported violations, there's growing concern over whether the UN can effectively intervene and what a renewal of the arms embargo could even mean.
UN Security Council pictured during a vote on protecting civilians in South Sudan and neighboring Sudan in November 2024 Image: Lev Radin/Sipa USA/picture alliance
Is UN peacekeeping working?
Recently, the UN Security Council extended the mandate of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) for 12 months, expressing "deep concern" over the deteriorating situation in the country.
Amid these continued efforts, some citizens are questioning the impact of UN peacekeeping efforts.
Can UN efforts prevent civil war in South Sudan?
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"The UN is here in Juba or in other parts of South Sudan. They are there, they are roaming around the streets, but they cannot take an action," Abraham Maliet Mamer, Secretary General of the South Sudan Investment Authority, told DW.
"I don't believe their mandate is clear. You cannot say you are peacekeeping, what peace are you keeping? People are fighting every day and you're not doing anything about it."
The UN, however, insists that it is doing all it can to stop the conflict.
"This country has suffered two civil wars before its independence and two after its independence. There is no appetite for more suffering in the population. They have suffered a lot due to civil wars. So, we have to stop the civil war at whatever cost," Lieutenant General Mohan Subramanian, UNMISS Force Commander, told DW.
Josey Mahachi and Cai Nebe contributed to this report.
Edited by: Benita van Eyssen