The United Nations Security Council has extended the arms embargo imposed on Sudan's Darfur region for two months, but it could not push through a US proposal to expand the ban across the entire country after two permanent members, Russia and China, objected.
According to Al Jazeera, all 15 Security Council members agreed on Thursday to adopt Resolution 2830, extending the sanctions mechanism until December 11 to allow more time for negotiations. The resolution also extends the mandate of the panel of experts monitoring the measures until January 11, 2027.
The United Nations described the text as a short-term "technical rollover," after the sanctions mechanism had previously been extended for one month on September 11.
The sanctions were first imposed in 2005 under Resolution 1591. At that time, the Security Council established an arms embargo on armed forces in Darfur, a travel ban and asset freeze on designated individuals and entities, and a five-member panel of experts to monitor the measures.
Despite weeks of discussions, the United States failed to secure approval to broaden the embargo. Russia and China argued that the existing mechanism should be maintained.
Described as 'more than 20 years out of date'
US Ambassador to the United Nations Jeff Bartos told the Security Council last month that the current sanctions mechanism was "more than 20 years out of date and inadequate to address the realities of today's war." He called on the council to "expand the arms embargo across the entire territory of Sudan."
Russia's deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Anna Evstigneeva, said at the time: "We will not allow even a hint of expansion of the restrictive measures the council has imposed on Sudan."
Sudan's ambassador to the United Nations, Al-Harith Mohamed, argued that a comprehensive embargo runs counter to the UN Charter's right to self-defense.
The war between Sudan's army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began in April 2023 and has killed at least 59,000 people, though aid groups warn the true toll could be far higher. The conflict has also displaced about 13 million people and pushed parts of Sudan into famine.
Sudan's army now controls the center and east of the country, while the RSF holds Darfur in the west and part of the south. Darfur, a territory roughly the size of Spain, has seen some of the worst violence, with attacks on displacement camps and repeated ethnic massacres killing thousands each time.
