United Nations, May 27 (IANS): The UN Security Council has adopted a resolution to renew an arms embargo against South Sudan as well as targeted sanctions of travel ban and asset freeze against individuals and entities until May 31, 2023.
Resolution 2633, which was adopted on Thursday with 10 votes in favour and five abstentions, also extends the mandate of the Panel of Experts, which assists the work of the South Sudan Sanctions Committee, till July 1, 2023, reports Xinhua news agency.
China, Gabon, India, Kenya, and Russia abstained.
The resolution decides that the arms embargo shall not apply to the supply, sale or transfer of non-lethal military equipment, solely in support of the implementation of the terms of the peace agreement, as notified in advance to the Sanctions Committee.
It also reiterates the Security Council's readiness to review arms embargo measures, through modification, suspension, or progressive lifting of these measures, in the light of progress achieved on the key benchmarks as set out in last year's Resolution 2577, and encourages the South Sudan authorities to achieve further progress in this regard.
The resolution requests the UN Secretary-General, in close consultation with the UN Mission in South Sudan and the Panel of Experts, to conduct, no later than April 15, 2023, an assessment of progress achieved on the key benchmarks.
It also requests the South Sudanese authorities to report, by the same date, to the Sanctions Committee on the progress achieved in this regard.