UN Security Council extends Sudan sanctions regime, arms embargo

The UN Security Council on Friday unanimously adopted a US-drafted resolution extending the Sudan sanctions regime, including an arms embargo, for one month until Oct. 9.

All 15 council members voted in favor of the short-term technical rollover, which maintains the existing measures while allowing more time for negotiations on potential changes to the sanctions regime.

US Ambassador Jeff Bartos said Washington welcomed the adoption, but stressed that a long-term technical rollover was “not an option.”

Bartos said the US wants to expand the arms embargo from Darfur to all of Sudan, broaden sanctions criteria to cover conflict-related sexual violence, kidnapping for ransom and attacks on humanitarian personnel, and strengthen the mandate of the Panel of Experts.

“The current sanctions regime is over 20 years outdated, and is insufficient to address the realities of the war today,” he said.

“That is why this council should expand the arms embargo across the entire territory of Sudan, expand the listing measures to include horrific actions such as conflict-related sexual violence, kidnapping for ransom, and attacks on humanitarian personnel, and strengthen the mandate and effectiveness of the panel of experts,” he added.

Sudan’s UN Ambassador Al-Harith Idriss Al-Harith Mohamed opposed any expansion of the arms embargo, arguing that it would undermine Sudan’s ability re-establish control, its right to self-defense and creates “unfair equivalence” between the Sudanese Armed Forces and armed groups.

The sanctions regime, established in 2005, currently includes an arms embargo focused on actors operating in Darfur as well as targeted travel bans and asset freezes.

Sudan has been engulfed in fighting between the army and the RSF since April 2023, leaving tens of thousands dead and displacing millions.