South Sudan

South Sudan has been under EU arms embargo since March 1994 (Council Decision 94/165/CFSP), initially as part of the Republic of Sudan and as an independent State from July 2011 onwards (Council Decision 2011/423/CFSP). Since July 2014, a specific arms embargo against South Sudan has been in force (Decision 2014/449/CFSP). Sanctions were amended in 2015 (Decision 2015/740/CFSP).

1. Conventional weapons

Prohibitions

The current sanctions regime, as detailed in updated versions of Council Decision 2015/740/CFSP and Regulation 2015/735, prohibits :

• The sale, supply, transfer or export of arms and related materiel of all types, including weapons and ammunition, military vehicles and equipment, paramilitary equipment and spare parts for the aforementioned to South Sudan (Decision 2015/740/CFSP, art.1, para.1).
• The provision of technical assistance, brokering services or other services, including the provision of armed mercenary personnel, financing or financial assistance related to military activities or related to the provision, manufacture, maintenance and use of such items are prohibited to any natural or legal person, entity or body in, or for use in, South Sudan (Decision 2015/740/CFSP, art.1, para.2, a and b, and Regulation 2015/735, art.2).

Exceptions

However, the sanctions regime provides for several exceptions.

Requiring no prior approval or notification from/to the UN Sanctions Committee:

• The sale, supply or transfer of arms and related materiel, intended solely for the support of or use by UN personnel, including the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS) and the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) (Decision 2015/740/CFSP, art.2, a, and Regulation 2015/735, art.3, a).
• The sale, supply or transfer of protective clothing, including flak jackets and military helmets, temporarily exported to South Sudan by UN personnel, representatives of the media, humanitarian and development workers and associated personnel for their personal use only (Decision 2015/740/CFSP, art.2, c, and Regulation 2015/735, art.3, b).

Requiring prior notification to the UN Sanctions Committee :

• The sale, supply or transfer of non-lethal military equipment intended solely for humanitarian or protective use, and related technical assistance or training (Decision 2015/740/CFSP, art.2, b, and Regulation 2015/735, art.4, para.1, a).
• The sale, supply or transfer of arms and related materiel temporarily exported to South Sudan by the forces of a State which is taking action, in accordance with international law, solely and directly to facilitate the protection or evacuation of its nationals and those for whom it has consular responsibility in South Sudan (Decision 2015/740/CFSP, art.2, d, and Regulation 2015/735, art.4, para.1, b).
• The supply, sale, transfer or export of arms and related materiel, as well as technical training and assistance, to or in support of the African Union Regional Task Force intended solely for regional operations to counter the Lord’s Resistance Army (Decision 2015/740/CFSP, art.2, e, and Regulation 2015/735, art.4, para.1, c).

Requiring prior approval from the UN Sanctions Committee:

• The supply, sale, transfer or export of arms and related materiel, as well as technical training and assistance, solely in support of the implementation of the terms of the peace agreement (Decision 2015/740/CFSP, art.2, f, and Regulation 2015/735, art.4, para.1, d).
• Any other supplies, sales, transfers or exports of arms and related materiel, or provision of assistance or personnel (Decision 2015/740/CFSP, art.2, g, and Regulation 2015/735, art.4, para.1, e).

Others

The EU sanctions regime is indefinite.

South Sudan is also under UN arms embargo.