With the world’s youngest country on the verge of a fresh conflict, the Security Council has extended the UN Mission in South Sudan’s (UNMISS) mandate for one additional year. The resolution, which was proposed by the US and backed by 11 other Council members, extended UNMISS’s mission until April 30 of the following year. In order to give extra time for discussions, the Council agreed to a brief nine-day “technical rollover” on April 30.
The Security Council gave the peacekeeping force permission to “use all necessary means” to carry out its mandate, which includes protecting civilians, assisting with the delivery of aid, supporting the implementation of the 2018 peace agreement, and looking into potential violations of international law, through the text that was adopted on Thursday. China, Pakistan, and Russia were the three countries that did not cast ballots.
The renovation takes place while South Sudan’s political and security landscape becomes more unstable. In April, Nicholas Haysom, the head of UNMISS, issued a warning to ambassadors about the unravelling of the shaky 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement, which was signed by longtime adversaries President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar. According to reports, the political impasse—which included Mr Machar’s arrest—has turned into an open military conflict, and hate speech and disinformation are escalating ethnic tensions and instability.
“This situation is eerily reminiscent of the conflicts that claimed over 400,000 lives in 2013 and 2016,”
Mr. Haysom stated.
The decision keeps the mission’s total force levels at 2,101 police officers and 17,000 soldiers, including 88 advisors for justice and prisons. The Council also stated that, depending on future circumstances, it is willing to think about modifying force levels and capacity-building. The resolution called on South Sudan’s leaders to immediately demonstrate political will and foster mutual trust, expressing “deep concern” at the delays in putting the 2018 agreement into effect. It called on the parties to have frank and productive discussions.
The transitional administration was urged to develop a suitable legal framework to finance national elections, emphasising that the “organisation and funding of free and fair elections is the responsibility of the South Sudanese authorities.” Additionally, the resolution denounced the recruiting of juvenile soldiers, the use of sexual abuse, and any interference with humanitarian efforts.
The Security Council first created UNMISS in 2011 after South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan in order to support peace and stability during a period when the fledgling country was dealing with serious internal strife and humanitarian issues.
US Acting Representative Dorothy Shea urged the international community to pull South Sudan “back from the brink” in her remarks before the adoption. She mentioned recent strikes on infrastructure and civilians as well as worsening conditions on the ground. She also mentioned that UNMISS continues to face obstacles that make it difficult for the mission to do its objective, such as being requested to leave its Tomping location. In summary, “as I believe we can all agree, UNMISS should aim to bring about permanent peace so that it no longer has to exist. It will be a good day when South Sudan no longer needs a peacekeeping force”, Ambassador Shea stated.
In reference to Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which emphasises action to advance global peace and security, she continued by saying that UN peacekeeping missions, such as UNMISS, “should not pursue ideological goals that are difficult to define and even more challenging to implement on the ground, but rather focus on core Chapter VII functions.” Pakistan gave an explanation of its stance after abstaining from the resolution together with China and Russia.
Muhammad Usman Iqbal Jadoon, the Deputy Permanent Representative, stated that the Security Council should provide UN peacekeepingUN Peacekeeping faces growing challenges, calls for reform intensify missions with “full and unified support.” Mission mandates “must be tailored to the needs on the ground, not the political priorities of Council members,” he said, adding that “mandate resolutions that are needlessly politicised complicate this task.”
