The embargo restricts weapons sales to the government and opposition groups and are part of a broader sanctions regime imposed on South Sudan. The Security Council is due to vote on renewing or lifting the embargo and sanctions on May 30.
In a May 6 progress report submitted to the Council on Friday, South Sudan claims to have met benchmarks that serve as prerequisites for potential embargo modification. This includes progress on security sector reform and governance, and ceasefire implementation.
“Approximately 90% of the Army have been deployed. The few remaining are now ready for deployment upon commencement of Phase-2. The first battalion deployed to Greater Equatoria, Second Battalion to Greater Bahr-El-Ghazal and the Third to Greater Upper Nile,” the report claims.
South Sudan has also argued that the embargo restricts its ability to equip and reform the national army, the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF), and integrate opposition forces, hindering peace efforts enshrined in the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS).
“[The] continuation of the Arms Embargo not only deprives South Sudan from its duty to protect its territory and to have credible security for the conduct of free, fair, transparent, and credible election by retarding that work of elections related organs,” the report signed by Cabinet Minister Martin Elia Lomuro states. “[But] it has delayed the implementation of R- ARCSS notably deployment of the unified forces and their capacity to meet internal conflict in parts of the nation where armed groups engage in violence.”
The report argues that a properly equipped SSPDF would deter violence and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid. It further claims the current embargo makes it challenging to secure training and equipment from third-party states.
“The SSPDF cannot be expected to expeditiously and effectively deal with these outbreaks without having the proper equipment to reach the point of conflict and to engage safely with the armed groups. The mere presence of a properly equipped and trained SSPDF force is capable of having the effect of dissuading armed groups from violence before it commences. A further consequence is that the SSPDF do not have the necessary capacity to protect the delivery of humanitarian resources in those parts of the country which are threatened by violence or more broadly from criminal depredations of those resources,” it said.
However, the government’s claims of progress are disputed by independent monitors like the Ceasefire Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring and Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM). In March, the CTSAMVM head, Maj. Gen. Hailu Gofna Eddosa, reported persistent delays in unifying the Necessary Unified Forces (NUF) envisioned in the R-ARCSS. He stated that only around 6% (roughly 4900) of the 83,000 peacekeepers outlined in the agreement have been deployed.
Two United Nations reports, by the Secretary General and by the UN Panel of Experts, also present evidence that contrast the government’s claims on force unification and deployment, security sector reform, and weapons stockpiles management. The Panel of Experts have, for instance, documented several instances of arms embargo violations, including evasion tactics deployed by the government to skirt such restrictions.
Opposition groups like the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) further complicate the narrative. They have accused the government of deploying their components of the unified forces without proper food, medical supplies, and salaries.
SPLA-IO Division 4A Commander General John Turuk Khor in Unity State alleges that in April, the government deployed SPLA-IO forces from southern Unity State to the Sudanese border without informing SPLA-IO leadership and without necessary resources. He claims his soldiers, now supposedly part of the unified forces, are facing starvation and illness.
“We learned with regret that the SSPDF commander in Bentiu and the governor have deployed the forces who were brought from Muom training center without any prior information to the other signatories of the revitalized peace agreement, especially the SPLM-IO. They have deployed them to the border of Sudan,” Turuk told Sudans Post last week. “Their colleagues from the SSPDF are receiving their salaries, while the SPLA-IO forces are not. This is unacceptable and violates the agreement. They are suffering and facing starvation, while their counterparts have food.”
The government’s progress report also claims that preparation for phase II of the unification process, including cantonment and training, is complete and was due to commence in the second week of May. However, as of the third week of May, the process hasn’t started. Soldiers previously trained haven’t reported back due to a history of unmet promises.
In Unity State, General Turuk also alleges the government restricts opposition soldiers from entering training centers without weapons, creating mistrust. He said such restrictions “create lack of misunderstanding and mistrust between” the SSPDF, SPLA-IO and South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA).
Two opposition soldiers, now selling charcoal at Rubkona market in Unity State to support their families, expressed concerns about joining training centers, citing the hardships faced by those who have graduated and been deployed.
“We are not going, and we must wait and see if the government is serious. Even our colleagues who have graduated and deployed don’t have food and the government soldiers are receiving their salaries and providing for their families. How can we go, and we know that we will die of starvation and diseases like Malaria?” said one of them.
Investigations conducted by Sudans Post in November 2023 and February 2024 found that SSPDF has continued to recruit soldiers into its rank and file in the country’s Northern Bahr el Ghazal State, violating the R-ARCSS which prohibits such recruitment. CTSAMVM has recently acknowledged these recruitment activities.
Local civil society organizations, in anticipation of the UN meeting on arms embargo, expressed support for renewing the arms embargo and warned against actions such as permitting the import of weapons that could jeopardize security for South Sudan’s citizens.
Bol Deng Bol, Executive Director of INTREPID South Sudan and head of Jonglei Civil Society Network (JCSN), cited irregularities in the cantonment process and indicated that training and cantonment camps remain empty.
“CTSAMVM is the monitoring body, and we can go with their findings, not the story of the Government when considering the progress made so far in the implementation of the security arrangements. Besides, the Necessary Unified Forces deployed in the Upper Nile, Eastern Equatoria and Jonglei States have long deserted their deployment camps in search for food, water, medicine and feeding for their families. They’re burning charcoal, fishing, herding cattle, poaching and the worst of them are practicing night robbery in towns. 6% were deployed but the deployment sites are empty. How can the Government explain that? There is no proof of deployment of these forces,” he said.
“The arms are still at large in the hands of civilians as disarmament attempts keep failing. Civilians are still heavily armed than the Police and other organized forces, hence, the perpetual sub-national violence. Extension of the arms embargo period is needed as it is justified. If this is lifted, it will signify an influx of more weapons into the hands of civilians. Soldiers need money and manipulate civilians who want guns for survival and communal protection. It is a perfect trade. This should not be allowed at all costs to avoid exacerbating the already deteriorating security situation in South Sudan,” he added.
Edmund Yakani, Executive Director of Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) also advocates for embargo renewal, fearing an influx of weapons could undermine peace efforts and protection of civilians amidst escalating communal violence which he blames on political elites.
“The current situation in South Sudan, where politically discontented individuals resort to forming armed groups to access state political power, underscores the necessity of maintaining and renewing the UN arms embargo to mitigate the proliferation of arms. The pursuit of political power through armed struggle should be abolished, and renewing the UN arms embargo is essential to curbing such endeavors. Any failure to renew the embargo would be detrimental to peace efforts,” Yakani said.
Ter Manyang Gatwech, Executive Director of the Centre for Peace and Advocacy (CPA), stressed the importance of renewing the arms embargo on South Sudan, citing concerns such as the proliferation of arms among civilians, failures of the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (RTGONU) in addressing human rights issues, economic crises, and obstacles in soldiers’ graduation due to certain leaders’ actions within RTGoNU.
Gatwech emphasized that lifting the embargo would worsen the fragile situation in the country, urging the RTGONU to prioritize implementing the revitalized peace agreement and addressing citizen’s concerns to mitigate the need for prolonging the embargo.
“The Arms Embargo on South Sudan should be renewed due to multiple factors, including the heavy presence of arms in the hands of the civilians across the country, RTGONU has failed to improve on the human rights situation in South Sudan, economic crisis, soldiers are not able graduated because of intentionally behaviors of some leaders within RTGoNU,” Manyang said.
“However, the only ways for RTGONU to survive from the Arms Embargo until they are willing to implement the R-ARCSS and improve the situations faced by many citizens in the country. The intra- communal conflicts between clans among many communities motivational UN Security Council to continue the renewal of Arms Embargo on South Sudan,” he added.