NEW YORK – South Sudan has warned the UN Security Council against imposing sanctions on the country’s leaders.
Francis Deng, South Sudanese Ambassador to the UN, said on Wednesday in New York that such measures would not bring a durable solution and would only further fuel tensions in the conflict-raven nation.
“It is a well-known fact that sanctions hardly ever achieve their intended objective.
“Instead, they only tend to harden positions toward confrontation rather than cooperation,’’ he added.
The Security Council has been weighing imposing sanctions as the conflict between factions led by South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar worsens in spite a number of ceasefire agreements.
Meanwhile, Gary Quinlan, Australian ambassador to the UN and current President of the Security Council, said the council was prepared to take appropriate measures, including targeted sanctions and an arms embargo.
The latest report by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon noted that the “international community has grown impatient” with the inability of South Sudan’s political leaders to solve the crisis.
The Security Council voted to extend the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission on the ground for another six months.
A power struggle between Kiir and former deputy Machar turned violent in December.
The conflict, which has a strong ethnic component, has left tens of thousands of people killed and about 1.8 million displaced. (dpa/NAN)
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