Africa-Press – South-Sudan. Amnesty International has welcomed the UN’s renewal of the arms embargo on South Sudan, calling it essential for protecting civilians and preventing human rights abuses. But the South Sudanese government has condemned the decision, arguing that the embargo and targeted sanctions undermine peace efforts.
The UN Security Council on Friday renewed for one year the arms embargo against South Sudan, along with targeted sanctions including a travel ban and asset freeze on specific individuals and entities.
In a statement to the media, Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, said the arms embargo has been instrumental in curbing the flow of weapons used to commit violations of international humanitarian law.
“We welcome the renewal of the arms embargo as it has been crucial to curtailing the flow of weapons that have been used to violate international humanitarian law,” said Chagutah. “We urge the Security Council and UN member states to diligently enforce it, especially in the face of ongoing violations.”
Chagutah, however, expressed concern that some members of the Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council had called for the embargo’s removal despite a worsening human rights situation in South Sudan.
“Placing more guns in the hands of warring parties involved in serious human rights violations and crimes under international law would have been dangerous to civilians,” he warned.
Amnesty International has recently documented violations of the arms embargo, including the deployment of Ugandan armed forces and military equipment into South Sudan in March 2025, reportedly without prior notification to the UN Sanctions Committee.
The rights group also reported continued use of attack helicopters by South Sudan’s military, indicating ongoing illegal supply of spare parts.
The organization further cited past findings from 2020 of newly imported small arms, illicit concealment of weapons, and misuse of armored vehicles in violation of the peace agreement signed in 2018.
Amnesty said such breaches demonstrate the failure of both the South Sudanese government and opposition parties to comply with the embargo or honor commitments to uphold human rights under the peace deal.
However, South Sudan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Cecilia Adut Manyok expressed deep disappointment over the UN Security Council’s decision to renew the arms embargo and targeted sanctions on individuals in South Sudan.
She described the move as a setback to the country’s fragile peace process and efforts to unify the armed forces.
Speaking at the UN headquarters in New York, May 30, Ambassador Adut stressed that the ongoing sanctions were obstructing the training and deployment of the Necessary Unified Forces — a key pillar of the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement.
She emphasized that progress on unifying the army and preparing for national elections in 2026 is already underway, but the sanctions remain a major hurdle.
The broader human rights landscape in South Sudan remains dire, with continuing abuses committed by government forces, opposition fighters, and armed youth, according to the report.
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