SA’s UN ambassador clashes with US over South Sudan sanctions

A Nepalese peacekeeper patrols outside the UN Protection of Civilians (PoC) site in Juba, South Sudan

South African ambassador to the UN Jerry Matjila and the US acting ambassador to the UN Jonathan Cohen have clashed at the UN Security Council (UNSC) over the renewal of sanctions on South Sudan.

Matjila told the UNSC on Thursday that South Africa held the “firm view that sanctions imposed on South Sudan at this time are not helpful to the current complex political process”.

Despite South Africa’s opposition, a US draft resolution extending sanctions and an arms embargo on South Sudan was adopted by the UNSC by a vote of 10 in favour with five abstentions.

The 15-member UNSC, however, only required a minimum vote of nine in favour before it could proceed, the East African reported.

The arms embargo, assets freeze and a global travel ban imposed on eight South Sudanese nationals for their role in fuelling the war will now stay in place until May 31 2020.

South Africa was not the only country to oppose the resolution, with Equatorial Guinea, the Ivory Coast, Russia and China abstaining from voting, with the latter two refraining from vetoing the resolution.

Matjila acknowledged that while progress in implementing last year’s peace deal between South Sudan President Salva Kiir and opposition groups, which was brokered in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, had been slow sanctions would be counter-productive in pushing the sides towards agreement.

But African opposition to the renewal of sanctions was strongly criticised by Cohen, who expressed regret at the three countries’ opposition to stopping the flow of weapons to one of the continent’s deadliest civil conflicts.

Washington was behind the UNSC’s decision last year to implement an arms embargo on South Sudan which has been torn apart by civil war since 2013.

Last year’s peace deal was meant to see a unity government comprising Kiir and the leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In Opposition, Dr Riek Machar, implemented by May 12.

However, this has been postponed for another six months due to ongoing disagreements.

–  African News Agency (ANA)

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android^[2].^[1]

References

1. ^{^} iOS (itunes.apple.com)
2. ^{^} Android (play.google.com)