In 2015, amid a brutal civil war in South Sudan, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) introduced sanctions targeting senior officials, including travel bans and asset freezes. After repeated violations of a ceasefire agreement, the UNSC escalated its response three years later by imposing a comprehensive arms embargo. While a fragile peace was eventually established, the embargo has remained in place and has been renewed annually since then.
With the embargo review scheduled for May 29, there is growing pressure from African members of the UNSC—namely Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Algeria—to lift these restrictions. The African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) publicly supported this move on March 18.
However, lifting the embargo at this critical juncture would be ill-advised. Violence has resurged across the country, with at least 180 deaths reported between March and mid-April, fueled by intensifying conflict between President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar, who is currently under house arrest.
Easing restrictions on arms inflow would likely exacerbate the already dire situation, posing risks not only to South Sudan but also to neighboring states and the broader African continent.
The African Union’s development framework, Agenda 2063, sets an ambitious goal of “Silencing the Guns” by 2030, aiming to end all armed conflicts and promote peaceful dialogue as the preferred method of conflict resolution.
The AUPSC’s recommendation to remove the embargo contradicts these objectives. Proponents argue that unrestricted access to weapons could help unify government and opposition forces and support security sector reform.
Yet this perspective overlooks the deepening divisions within South Sudan, particularly the escalating tensions between Kiir and Machar. Supplying more weapons to parties already implicated in serious human rights abuses and international crimes risks intensifying the conflict.
South Sudan’s security forces—including the army, National Security Service, and various armed opposition groups—have repeatedly targeted civilians, their very responsibility to protect. Investigations by the African Union’s Commission of Inquiry on South Sudan and the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan have documented these violations spanning over a decade.
Notably, around the time the AUPSC advocated lifting the embargo, South Sudan’s government allegedly deployed improvised incendiary devices in aerial attacks that resulted in at least 58 deaths, including children, and numerous injuries.
Maintaining the embargo alone is insufficient; enforcement is crucial and currently faltering. In early March, Uganda deployed troops and military equipment to South Sudan without notifying the UNSC Sanctions Committee or securing an exemption—constituting a clear breach of the embargo.
Moreover, despite claims that South Sudan’s Mi-24 attack helicopters have been grounded since the embargo’s 2018 imposition, there are indications that parts have been acquired illicitly, allowing these helicopters to become operational again.
On May 4, the humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported that two helicopter gunships bombed its medical facility in Old Fangak and fired upon the town, killing seven and wounding 20 others. Attacks on medical facilities engaged in humanitarian work violate international humanitarian law and are considered war crimes. Incidents like these underscore the urgent need for the UNSC to renew and reinforce the arms embargo.
If effectively implemented and enforced, extending the UNSC arms embargo would not hinder security sector reforms. Instead, it would prevent the chaotic accumulation of weapons that fuels the ongoing conflict and results in civilian suffering.
If the African Union is truly committed to the vision of “Silencing the Guns,” it should support strong controls on arms transfers to South Sudan. African members of the Security Council should vote in favor of renewing the embargo and bolstering its enforcement mechanisms.
Source: Al Jazeera And Other News Agencies
UN Security Council Arms Embargo
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