United Nations Security Council Resolution 2252 – Reports of the Secretary-General on the Sudan and South Sudan

Resolution 2252 (2015)

The Security Council,

Recalling its previous resolutions 1996 (2011), 2046 (2012), 2057 (2012), 2109 (2013), 2132 (2013), 2155 (2014), 2187 (2014), 2206 (2015), 2223 (2015), and 2241 (2015), and statements by its President S/PRST/2014/16, S/PRST/2014/26and S/PRST/2015/9,

Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, and national unity of the Republic of South Sudan, and recalling the importance of the principles of non-interference, good-neighbourliness, and regional cooperation,

Welcoming the signing of the “Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan” (the “Agreement”) as contained in the annex to S/2015/654, by President Salva Kiir Mayardit, the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement/Sudanese People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLM/SPLA-IO) Chairman Dr. Riek Machar Teny, Former Detainees representative Mr. Pagan Amum Okiech, and other stakeholders, and recognizing these signatures as a commitment by the parties to implement the Agreement, without exception, welcoming the steps that the parties to the Agreement have taken towards implementation of the Agreement including the declarations of ceasefire and signing of the transitional security arrangements, and calling upon the parties, with support from the United Nations and the international community, to fully implement the Agreement, including its timelines,

Expressing its concern with any statement or action by any party suggesting a lack of commitment to implement the Agreement, as contained exclusively in the annex to S/2015/654, and noting with deep concern reports of continued fighting, calling upon the parties to adhere to the permanent ceasefire immediately, and noting with deep concern the delays in implementing some other parts of the agreement including the establishment of a Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU),

Commending the expanded efforts of the “IGAD-Plus” configuration in helping to facilitate the signing of the Agreement by the parties and welcoming its ongoing support to implement the Agreement; and urging enhanced support by the international community, in particular the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the African Union (AU), during the peace implementation,

Welcoming the appointment of former President of Botswana Festus Mogae as Chair of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), and the first meeting of the JMEC on 27 November 2015, and urging all parties and international partners to engage fully with the JMEC and other bodies created by the Agreement,

Recognizing the important role played by civil society organizations, faith leaders, women, and youth in South Sudan in reaching the Agreement, and underscoring the importance of their participation

— and that of other political parties

— in implementing the Agreement,

Recalling its resolution 2086 (2013) and reaffirming the basic principles of peacekeeping, including consent of the parties, impartiality, and non-use of force, except in self-defence and defence of the mandate, recognizing that the mandate of each peacekeeping mission is specific to the need and situation of the country concerned, and underlining in this regard, that the basic principles are consistent with the mandates that the Security Council authorizes that seek to tackle new challenges faced by peacekeeping operations, such as force protection and safety and security, protection of civilians, and asymmetric threats, and that the Security Council expects full delivery of the mandates it authorizes,

Reiterating its grave alarm and concern regarding the political, security, economic, and humanitarian crisis in South Sudan, resulting from the internal Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) political dispute, and subsequent violence caused by the country’s political and military leaders since December 2013,

Recognizing that the safe return of all parties to Juba and the implementation of stable security arrangements in the capital during the transitional period are essential to the successful implementation of the Agreement as it will build confidence in the wider transitional security arrangements, and encouraging all parties to continue their efforts at reconciliation and building a democratic state,

Taking note with interest of the reports on the human rights situation in South Sudan issued by the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS) and the Secretary-General, welcoming the release of the AU Commission of Inquiry report on South Sudan and the Separate Opinion, and emphasizing its hope that these and other credible reporting will be duly considered by any transitional justice and reconciliation mechanisms for South Sudan including those established in the Agreement,

Expressing grave concern that according to some of these reports there are reasonable grounds to believe that war crimes and crimes against humanity, including those involving extrajudicial killings, rape and other acts of sexual violence, enforced disappearances, the use of children in armed conflict, arbitrary arrests and detention, and attacks on schools and hospitals have been committed by both government and opposition forces, and noting that crimes involving these actions threaten the peace, security and stability of South Sudan,

Strongly condemning all human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law, including those involving extrajudicial killings, ethnically targeted violence, rape and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence, recruitment and use of children, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and detention, violence aimed at spreading terror among the civilian population, targeting of members of civil society, and attacks on schools, places of worship, hospitals, and United Nations and associated peacekeeping personnel, by all parties, including armed groups and national security forces, as well as the incitement to commit such abuses and violations,

Stressing the increasingly urgent need to end impunity in South Sudan and to bring to justice all perpetrators of such crimes, and further stressing the importance of accountability, reconciliation and healing in ending impunity and ensuring a sustainable peace,

Further condemning harassment and targeting of journalists, and the use of media to broadcast hate speech and transmit messages instigating violence against a particular ethnic group, a practice that has the potential to play a significant role in promoting mass violence and exacerbating conflict, calling on the Government of South Sudan to take all appropriate measures in order to deter such activity, and further urging all parties to desist from these actions and instead contribute to promoting peace and reconciliation among the communities,

Emphasizing the importance of accountability for those responsible for violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights and that the Government of South Sudan bears the primary responsibility to protect its populations from crimes against humanity, war crimes, ethni c cleansing, and genocide,

Expressing serious and urgent concern over the approximately 2.4 million displaced persons and deepening humanitarian crisis, stressing the responsibility borne by all parties to the conflict for the suffering of the people of South Sudan, and the necessity of ensuring that the basic needs of the population are met, and commending United Nations humanitarian agencies, partners, and donors for their efforts to provide urgent and coordinated support to the population,

Recalling the need for all parties to the conflict to allow and facilitate, in accordance with relevant provisions of international law and United Nations guiding principles of humanitarian assistance, the full, safe and unhindered access of relief personnel, equipment and supplies and timely delivery of humanitarian assistance, to all those in need, in particular to internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees,

Condemning all attacks against humanitarian personnel and facilities, including those that resulted in the deaths of at least 41 personnel since December 2013, and recalling that attacks against humanitarian personnel and depriving civilians of objects indispensable to their survival may amount to violations of international humanitarian law,

Expressing its deep appreciation for the actions taken by UNMISS peacekeepers and troop- and police-contributing countries to protect civilians, including foreign nationals, under threat of physical violence and to stabilize the security situation within and beyond UNMISS sites, recognizing the significant resource and capacity challenges the Mission faces in implementing its mandate, expressing appreciation for UNMISS’s efforts to support IDPs seeking protection on its sites, while underlining the necessity to find sustainable solutions for IDPs including in alternative safe and secure locations, and in keeping with the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, and underlining in this regard need to extend its presence, including through proactive deployment and patrolling, to areas of displacement, return, and resettlement,

Reaffirming that sustainable peace requires an integrated approach based on coherence between political, security, development, human rights, including gender equality, rule of law, and justice and reconciliation activities and, in this regard, emphasizing the importance of the rule of law as one of the key elements of conflict prevention, peacekeeping, conflict resolution and peacebuilding,

Emphasizing that individuals or entities responsible for or complicit in, or having engaged in, directly or indirectly, actions or policies that threaten the peace, security or stability of South Sudan, may be designated for targeted sanctions pursuant to resolution 2206 (2015), recalling its willingness to impose targeted sanctions and noting with interest the 26 September 2015 communiqué of the African Union Peace and Security Council expressing its determination to impose measures against all those who impede implementation of the Agreement,

Emphasizing that persistent barriers to full implementation of resolution 1325 (2000), and subsequent resolutions on women, peace, and security including 2242 (2015), will only be dismantled through dedicated commitment to women’s empowerment, participation, and human rights, and through concerted leadership, consistent information and action, and support, to build women’s engagement in all levels of decision-making,

Expressing deep concern at persistent restrictions placed upon the movement and operations of UNMISS, including through repeated violations of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) and blocking the deployment of essential assets and enablers, and underscoring the importance of close cooperation and communication between UNMISS and the Government of South Sudan in addressing these issues,

Strongly condemning the attacks by government and opposition forces and other groups on United Nations and IGAD personnel and facilities, including the December 2012 downing of a United Nations helicopter by the SPLA, the April 2013 attack on a United Nations convoy, the December 2013 attack on the UNMISS camp in Akobo, the August 2014 shooting down of a United Nations helicopter by unidentified armed groups, the August 2014 arrest and detention of an IGAD monitoring and verification team, the October 2015 seizure and detention of UNMISS personnel and equipment in Upper Nile State by opposition forces, the detention and kidnappings of United Nations and associated personnel, the repeated attacks on the UNMISS camps in Bor, Bentiu, Malakal and Melut, and the disappearance purportedly caused by SPLA forces, and deaths of three United Nations-affiliated national staff and one national contractor in Upper Nile State, and, calling upon the Government of South Sudan to complete its investigations of these attacks in a swift and thorough manner and to hold those responsible to account,

Reiterating its request that UNMISS take additional measures, as appropriate, to ensure the security of its air operations in South Sudan, and report thereon to the Council,

Stressing the importance of effective engagement and liaison with local communities, as well as humanitarian actors, both within and outside the Protection of Civilians sites, in order to fulfil UNMISS’s Protection of Civilians mandate,

Expressing grave concern regarding the threats made to oil installations, petroleum companies and their employees, and urging all parties to ensure the security of economic infrastructure,

Recalling its resolution 2117 (2013) and expressing grave concern at the threat to peace and security in South Sudan arising from the illicit transfer, destabilizing accumulation and misuse of small arms and light weapons,

Expressing its appreciation for IGAD’s operation of the Monitoring and Verification Mechanism (MVM) and welcoming its transition to the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring Mechanism (CTSAMM), and calling for the withdrawal of armed groups invited by either side, consistent with the Agreement,

Reaffirming its resolutions 1265 (1999), 1296 (2000), 1674 (2006), 1738 (2006), 1894 (2009), 2150 (2014) and 2222 (2015) on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, and 1502 (2003) and 2175 (2015) on the protection of humanitarian and United Nations personnel; resolutions 1612 (2005), 1882 (2009), 1998 (2011), 2068 (2012), 2143 (2014) and 2225 (2015) on children and armed conflict; resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 1889 (2009), 1960 (2010), 2106 (2013), and 2122 (2013) on women, peace, and security; resolution 2150 (2014) on the prevention and fight against genocide; resolution 2151 (2014) on security sector reform; and resolution 2171 (2014) on conflict prevention,

Taking note of the 23 November 2015 Secretary-General’s reports and letter (S/2015/903, S/2015/899, and S/2015/902) and the recommendations contained therein,

Determining that the situation in South Sudan continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security in the region,

Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,

Adopted by the Security Council at its 7581st meeting, on 15 December 2015.