India, Kenya speak on arms embargo vote abstention

India and Kenya have spoken out after declining to vote in favour of a resolution extending targeted sanctions and arms embargo on South Sudan at the United Nations Security Council.

On May 27, the UN Security Council (UNSC) adopted resolution 2577 (2021) under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter by a vote of 13 in favour of none against, but Kenya and India abstained.

According to the Council, the renewed arms embargo and individual travel ban and assets freeze will be expected to end till May 31, 2022, if South Sudan witnesses positive progress on peace implementation and reduction in armed violence.

The embargo prohibits the supply, sale or transfer of weapons, as well as the provision of technical assistance and other military assistance to the territory of South Sudan.

South Sudan’s neighboring countries and other UN member states are obliged to ensure the implementation of the sanctions.

Neighbourly support

However, Kenya, as South Sudan that did not take part in voting against its neighbor, urged that the Council move will do more harm than good to the hard won peace in the young African Nation.

In a statement obtained by the City Review, Kenya said its neighbour needed regional and international support to enable full implementation of the revitalised agreement. 

 “It is Kenya’s believe that the arms embargo and targeted sanctions have not been effective tools in support of the South Sudan pace process. Indeed, they have in certain cases been counterproductive. In this regard, IGAD and the African Union have repeatedly called for the lifting of all sanctions on South Sudan,” the statement partly read.

Kenya, as a head of East African Committee (EAC), is now trying to fully implement visa free movement according to the EAC protocol to maintain ties with South Sudan and unity amongst EAC member states.

In his part, the outgoing Indian Ambassador to South Sudan, S D Moorthy said there was no justified grounds to extend the sanctions, but the need to provide supports to ensure that South Sudan fully implements the revitalize agreement.

He added that rampant intercommonunal conflicts and crimes in South Sudan did not warrant Security Council to extended restrictions on the country.

“India abstained from voting against South Sudan, the reason being the impact of earlier arms embargo is not very serious in this country. It is not making any huge impact. The communal violence, the crimes are not the reasons for these sanctions. There are some political issues, there are some communal issues, and these issues should be addressed,” said Moorthy. “We don’t want to put more and more pressure on South Sudan.”

It is close to a year and half since the government began peace implementation with little progress witnessed in Chapter Two of the security arrangement, the government blames the arms embargo.

On May 28, the office of President Kiir lamented that the move had paralyzed the security arrangement’s provisions adding the government could not graduate forces without guns it could not import at the moment.

“So, it is the security arrangement within the peace agreement the Security Council has paralyzed and they are expecting us to implement it, so it is quite unfortunate,” lamented Ateny Wek Ateny, President Kiir’s Press Secretary.