Amnesty International calls on UN to act on arms embargo for S. Sudan
January 26, 2016 (JUBA) – The United Nations Security Council must act immediately on the recommendations of its own Panel of Experts and enforce a comprehensive arms embargo to halt the flow of weapons into South Sudan, Amnesty International said in a statement issued Tuesday.
The team of expert called for an arms embargo on the conflict-hit country.
The campaign group, however, said it has been lobbying for an arms embargo on help to help bring an end to serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law by South Sudan’s two warring factions.
“Last year’s peace agreement has proven insufficient to end atrocities and usher in accountability in South Sudan’s internal armed conflict. It should be a no-brainer for the international community to suspend the flow of arms where those arms are being used repeatedly to commit war crimes and to perpetuate grave and systematic human rights violations and abuses,” said Muthoni Wanyeki, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes.
“The arms embargo should be seen as a preventive rather than a punitive measure and be an essential step towards consolidating lasting respect for human rights. No country should be transferring arms to any party to the conflict in South Sudan until there are clear and enforceable guarantees that those arms will not be used to commit or facilitate further violations of international human rights or humanitarian law,” he added.
Tens of thousands of people were killed and nearly two million displaced since violence broke out in the young nation in mid-December 2013 following disagreement within the ruling party’s (SPLM) top leadership.
“There is clear and convincing evidence that the majority of acts of violence committed in the course of the war has been directed by or undertaken with the knowledge of senior individuals at the highest levels of government and within the opposition,” observed the UN panel’s report.
Both sides, it said, have continued to seek to arm their forces, even after the signing of the August 2015 agreement and in the face of considerable economic stress.
Amnesty International called for a comprehensive embargo on the supply, sale, transfer or transshipment of weapons, ammunition, military vehicles and any other forms of military assistance, including technical and financial assistance, equipment maintenance and training, to South Sudan.
Meanwhile, the UN Panel of experts cited Ukraine as one of the countries that facilitated arms transfers to South Sudan inform of helicopters and machine guns and it reportedly provided military logistical assistance.
In July 2014, Amnesty International said it slammed the shipment of more than 1,000 tonnes of small arms and light weapons to South Sudan’s government from the Chinese state-owned manufacturer, China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO), prompting China to cancel further arms transfers to South Sudan in September 2014 following international outcry.
The UN Security Council has repeatedly threatened sanctions against those blocking the peace process in South Sudan, but is yet to make this a reality.
(ST)