MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th November, 2020) South Sudan hopes to be alleviated of UN Security Council sanctions by the end of the year in order to embark on much-needed reforms, particularly in security and defense, South Sudan's ambassador to Moscow, Chol Tong Mayay Jang, told Sputnik.
Much of South Sudan's leadership was placed under sanctions by the UNSC in 2018 after years of civil war. The sanctions, which were renewed this year till mid-2021, place an arms embargo among other measures intended to restrict the defense sector. The warring sides agreed on a power-sharing peace deal in February this year and have subsequently called to lift the sanctions.
"Sanctions are affecting the country badly because South Sudan is a land-locked country, we don't manufacture most things, we have to import everything ... Russia has really been on our side, pushing for the lifting of these sanctions. So we hope by the end of this year sanctions would be lifted," the diplomat said.
The ambassador said that lifting the sanction was crucial to allow the government to build up security infrastructure and that it had lodged a request to that end.
"We made our request, we reached out to the UNSC members to convince the US, who established these sanctions, that it is high time for the sanctions to be lifted. For the government to implement all the reforms, particularly the security sector reform, the sanctions need to be lifted," the ambassador recalled.
According to the UN Security Council's schedule, the body will meet in December to discuss the UN mission in the country and the progress on establishing a temporary pan-African hybrid court system in the country to prosecute overdue, sensitive cases. Discussions or a vote on the sanctions against the country were not on the agenda until May 2021.
