United Nations Security Council Resolution 2683 – Reports of the Secretary-General on the Sudan and South Sudan (South Sudan sanctions)

Resolution 2683 (2023)

The Security Council,

Recalling its previous resolutions, statements of its President, and press statements on the situation in South Sudan,

Affirming its support for the 2018 “Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan” (the Revitalised Agreement), stressing that the peace process only remains viable with the full commitment by all parties, urging the full implementation without delay of the Revitalised Agreement and of the Agreement on the Roadmap to a Peaceful and Democratic end to the Transitional Period of the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan, and noting with concern the delayed implementation of the Revitalised Agreement, which necessitated a further two-year extension of the transitional political arrangement,

Welcoming encouraging developments in the implementation of elements of the Revitalised Agreement, including the completion of the first phase of the training and graduation of the Necessary Unified Forces, the drafting of documents required in stage 1 of the Strategic Defence and Security Review, and on training, awareness-raising, and sensitization for the implementation of the Joint Action Plan for the Armed Forces on addressing conflict-related sexual violence,

Expressing appreciation for the leadership of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in advancing the peace process in South Sudan, welcoming the resumption of mediation by the Community of Sant’Egidio to foster political dialogue between signatories and non-signatories of the Revitalised Agreement, and calling on South Sudanese parties to demonstrate the political will to peacefully resolve the outstanding differences that are driving continued violence,

Expressing concern over the continued intensification of violence prolonging the political, security, economic, and humanitarian crisis in most parts of the country, condemning the mobilization of armed groups and encouragement of defections, including by members of the government forces and armed opposition groups, and further recognizing that intercommunal violence in South Sudan is politically and economically linked to national-level violence and corruption,

to avoid a relapse into widespread conflict and respect the agreed command structure arrangement, and stressing the need to expeditiously finalize the security arrangements set out in Chapter II of the Revitalised Agreement, including by ensuring regular and adequate payment of salaries to the Necessary Unified Forces, consistent with the budgetary outlays to the National Security Service and of the South Sudan Presidential Guard Unit, and by assigning clear missions to these forces in keeping with the Strategic Defense and Security Review (SDSR) process contained in the Revitalised Agreement,

Expressing deep concern at continued fighting in South Sudan, condemning repeated violations of the Revitalised Agreement and the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities, Protection of Civilians and Humanitarian Access (ACOH), strongly condemning all fighting, including violence in Upper Nile, Jonglei, and Central Equatoria states, and demanding that parties that violate the ACOH be held accountable in accordance with their obligations under the ACOH and Revitalised Agreement,

Strongly condemning past and ongoing human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law by all parties, including by armed groups and national security forces, as well as the incitement to commit such abuses and violations, and the alarming surge in conflict-related sexual violence, which is a basis for designation, as described in paragraph 15 (e) of resolution 2521 (2020), further condemning harassment, targeting, and censorship of civil society, including journalists, human rights defenders, humanitarian personnel, and media correspondents, emphasizing that those responsible for violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights must be held accountable, and that the Revitalised Transitional Government of National Unity (RTGNU) bears the primary responsibility to protect its population from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity, and expressing concernthat, despite the signing of the Revitalised Agreement, violations and abuses including those involving gender-based violence continue to occur, which may amount to international crimes, including war crimes and crimes against humanity,

Expressing its alarm and deep concern over continued armed violence against humanitarian workers and facilities, and food convoys that resulted in the deaths of at least 20 humanitarian workers and volunteers and nearly 50 security incidents since January 2023, and the looting and destruction of life-saving assistance, strongly condemning all instances of violence against humanitarians, expressing grave concern at the imposition of taxes and illegal fees which hamper the delivery of humanitarian assistance across the country, stressing the detrimental impact of continued insecurity on humanitarian operations across the country, encouraging all parties to allow and facilitate safe, rapid and unhindered humanitarian access to people in need, and calling on RTGNU to protect humanitarian personnel and create a safe and enabling environment for humanitarian assistance, consistent with international humanitarian law and its obligations under the Revitalised Agreement,

Expressing grave concern regarding increased violence between armed groups in some parts of South Sudan, which has killed and displaced thousands, and condemning the mobilization of such groups by parties to the conflict,

Expressing deep concern regarding the delays in implementing the Revitalised Agreement, in particular calling for the use of a single Treasury account and the required audits, reviews and additional tools for an oil marketing system that is open, transparent, and competitive, as specified in Chapter 4 of the Revitalised Agreement, calling on the parties to implement fully the Revitalised Agreement, including by allocating the necessary financial resources, establishing transitional institutions without delay, and ensuring full, equal, and meaningful participation of women and inclusion of youth, faith groups, and civil society in all conflict resolution and peacebuilding efforts, and to make progress on transitional reforms, including establishing free and open civic space, an inclusive constitutional drafting process, and economic transparency and public financial management reform, expressing deep concern about the detrimental effect of corruption and misuse of public funds on the RTGNU’s ability to provide services to its population, and further stressing the need to enhance good economic governance to ensure effective national revenue collection and anti-corruption structures in order to finance implementation of regulatory framework essential for a political transition, and the humanitarian needs of the population,

Appreciating that Member States continue to express clear intent to provide technical assistance and capacity building to relevant authorities in South Sudan, complying with the provisions of resolution 2428 (2018), in support of the implementation of the Revitalised Agreement, and encouraging Member States to provide support to the RTGNU on ammunition storage and armory control, with the view to build South Sudan’s capacity in light of the benchmarks set out in paragraph 2 of resolution 2577 (2021),

Recalling the need for Member States to ensure that all measures taken by them to implement this resolution comply with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, international human rights law and international refugee law, as applicable,

Stressing that the measures imposed by this resolution are not intended to have adverse humanitarian consequences for the civilian population of South Sudan, and recalling paragraph 1 of resolution 2664 (2022), which states that the provision, processing or payment of funds, other financial assets, or economic resources, or the provision of goods and services, by certain entities or organizations, necessary to ensure the timely delivery of humanitarian assistance or to support other activities that support basic human needs, are permitted and are not a violation of the asset freeze,

Expressing deep concern at the findings and conclusions shared through the Final 2023 report (S/2023/294) of the United Nations Panel of Experts, and stressingthat armed violence, impunity and misallocation of revenues can have a devastating impact on society and individuals, weaken democratic institutions, undermine the rule of law, perpetuate violent conflicts, facilitate illegal activities, divert humanitarian assistance or complicate its delivery, and undermine economic markets,

Also 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, and further expressing concern that illicit trafficking and diversion of arms and related materiel of all types undermine the rule of law and have the potential to undermine respect for international humanitarian law, can impede the provision of humanitarian assistance and have wide-ranging negative humanitarian and socioeconomic consequences,

Acknowledging the cooperation by the South Sudanese authorities with the Panel of Experts, and strongly encouraging the South Sudanese authorities to continue their engagement with the Panel of Experts and prevent any obstruction to the implementation of its mandate,

Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General on South Sudan arms embargo benchmarks (S/2021/321),

Taking note of the Secretary-General’s report of 28 April 2023 (S/2023/300), as requested in paragraph 5 of its resolution 2633 (2022), providing an assessment of the progress achieved on the key benchmarks,

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 9332nd meeting, on 30 May 2023.