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Abstract

Resolution 2729 (2024)
Adopted by the Security Council at its 9620th meeting, on 29 April 2024
The Security Council,
Recalling its previous resolutions, statements of its President, and press statements concerning the situation in South Sudan,
Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, and national unity of the Republic of South Sudan, and recalling the importance of the principles of non-interference, good-neighbourliness, and regional cooperation,
Affirming its support for the 2018 “Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan” (the Revitalized Agreement),
Stressing that the peace process only remains viable with the full commitment by all parties, and urging the full implementation without delay of the Revitalized Agreement and of the Agreement on the Roadmap to a Peaceful and Democratic end of the Transition Period of the R-ARCSS (the Roadmap), further stressing that only through the implementation of the Revitalized agreement’s provisions for peaceful, unified security forces, use of public resources for the common good, accountability mechanisms, the creation and funding of electoral institutions and political and civil space leading to free and fair elections, carried out in a transparent, credible, peaceful and timely manner, undisturbed by disinformation and other forms of information manipulation can bring lasting stability to South Sudan,
Urging the South Sudanese transitional government and future leadership to focus on delivering the long-term development needs of their people, to build democratic institutions, and ensure good governance,
Noting the steps taken in the implementation of the Revitalized Agreement, including in the implementation of chapter II, on training and deployment of the first batch of the Necessary Unified Forces, on submission of bills to the Parliament for the establishment of the commission for truth, reconciliation and healing and a compensation and reparation authority, on the reconstitution of the national constitutional review commission to draft the permanent constitution, the reconstitution of the national elections commission, and the reconstitution of the political parties council, and urging the South Sudanese transitional government to distribute the funding it has committed to these commissions,
Recalling preambular paragraphs of resolution 2677 (2023), including with reference to the security, humanitarian, economic and human cost of the conflict in all its forms, the many challenges facing UNMISS and the people of South Sudan, and the critical role, functions, and operations of UNMISS,
Recognizing the Secretary-General’s report from 22 February 2023, in which he called upon the Government and parties to facilitate unhindered humanitarian access along the Nile River corridor which will enable the delivery of services to the most vulnerable persons, and urged that the corridor is given adequate consideration for its potential to contribute to economic and social development of South Sudan and recommended that in this endeavor UNMISS should provide the required support as needed,
Expressing appreciation for the leadership of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in advancing the peace process for South Sudan and welcoming the commitment and efforts of IGAD and its member states, the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC), the African Union (AU), including the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) and the AU High-Level Ad hoc Committee for South Sudan (C5), the United Nations (UN), and countries in the region to continue engaging with South Sudanese leaders to address the current crisis, and encouraging their continued and proactive engagement,
Encouraging the resumption of political dialogue between signatories and non-signatories of the Revitalized Agreement and encouraging all parties to continue their efforts to peacefully resolve disputes in order to achieve an inclusive and sustainable peace,
Encouraging the Government of South Sudan to continue engaging with the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) to enhance international support for South Sudan’s peacebuilding objectives,
Strongly condemning all human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law by all parties, including armed groups and national security forces, reiterating the urgent need to end impunity in South Sudan and to bring justice to all those responsible for violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights, and expressing grave concern at ongoing reports of sexual and gender-based violence, including the findings of the report of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict in South Sudan (S/2023/99) and on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence to the Security Council (S/2023/413) of the use of sexual and gender-based violence as a tactic by parties to the conflict against the civilian population in South Sudan, including use of rape and sexual slavery for the purpose of intimidation and punishment, based on perceived political affiliation, and employed as part of a strategy targeting members of ethnic groups, and further expressing concern that sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls has persisted after the signing of the Revitalized Agreement, as documented in the March 2024 report published by the UN Commission of Human Rights in South Sudan (CHRSS) on “Conflict-Related Sexual Violence against women and girls in South Sudan”, and noting that violations and abuses involving sexual and gender-based violence may amount to international crimes, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, but welcoming South Sudan’s depositing of instruments of ratification to the Maputo Protocol and to UN human rights treaties, including the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights,
Expressing grave concern over the high numbers of violations and abuses against children, in particular the increase in those involving the continuing recruitment and use of children, as well as killing and maiming and sexual and gender-based violence being committed by all parties to the conflict, and calling on all actors to contribute to the rehabilitation and reintegration of children and youth formerly associated with armed groups and forces,
Expressing serious and urgent concern over the more than 2.2 million internally displaced persons and ongoing humanitarian crisis, over 9 million in need of humanitarian assistance, and the estimated 7.1 million people who face severe food insecurity and the risk of famine in some areas, according to the Famine Early Warning System, further expressing concern that the conflict in Sudan has further compounded humanitarian need in South Sudan including through the influx of 651,000 refugees and returnees, and that the serious deterioration in the economic situation will further increase levels of humanitarian need, encouraging the South Sudanese authorities to work in close partnership with the UN, and International and national NGOs to ensure life-saving humanitarian assistance reaches those in need,
Recalling its resolution 2417 (2018) that recognizes the need to break the vicious cycle among armed conflict, displacement, and food insecurity, condemning the unlawful denial of access by humanitarian personnel to civilians in armed conflict and underlining that the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare may constitute a war crime, strongly condemning all attacks against humanitarian personnel and facilities that resulted in the deaths of 18 personnel since 2022, including four thus far in 2024, further condemning obstructions by all parties of civilians and humanitarian actors seeking to reach civilians in need of assistance, expressing grave concern at the imposition of taxes and illegal fees which hamper the delivery of humanitarian assistance across the country, and commending United Nations humanitarian agencies, partners, and donors for their efforts to provide urgent and coordinated support to the population,
Expressing grave concern at reports of ongoing human rights violations and abuses, including reports of sexual and gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence against women and girls, violations and abuses against children and abductions of women and children, further expressing concern at the reports documented by the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan of ongoing repression of civic and political space, including the harassment, targeting, censorship, arbitrary arrest and enforced disappearance of members of civil society, journalists, human rights defenders, and humanitarian personnel, as well as undue and continued restrictions of freedoms of opinion, expression, peaceful assembly and association,
Stressing the importance of transitional justice measures included in Chapter V of the Revitalised Agreement, to end impunity and promote accountability, bring to justice all those responsible for violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights, facilitate national reconciliation and healing, and ensure a sustainable peace, particularly those efforts undertaken by the UN-mandated Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, expressing serious concern over the delays in the establishment of transitional justice mechanisms called for in Chapter V of the Revitalised Agreement,
Emphasizing that persistent barriers to full implementation of resolution 1325 (2000), and subsequent resolutions addressing women, peace, and security, including resolution 2242 (2015), will only be dismantled through dedicated commitment to gender equality, women’s empowerment, education, participation, and human rights, as well as concerted leadership, consistent information and action, and support, to facilitate women’s full, equal, and meaningful participation in all levels of decision-making and leadership,
Recognizing the adverse effects of climate change, ecological changes, land degradation, food insecurity, and natural disasters, among other factors, on the humanitarian situation and stability in South Sudan, calling on the government to engage with local communities to address these challenges, and emphasizing the need for comprehensive risk assessments and risk management strategies by the GoSS and the United Nations to inform programs relating to these factors, and acknowledging the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, and underlining the importance of mobilizing resources from the international community to support capacity building programs and, technology transfer and to strengthen South Sudan’s resilience to address the effects of climate change,
Taking note of South Sudan leaders’ commitments to the people of South Sudan to hold elections, underlining the primary responsibility of the GoSS in organizing and funding free and fair, peaceful elections that should be carried out in an inclusive, transparent, peaceful, and timely manner, undisturbed by disinformation and other forms of information manipulation,
Expressing deep concern about the delays in meeting the transitional government’s obligations as articulated in the Roadmap, and further recognizing that free and fair, conducted through a peaceful process, necessitate that the GoSS fulfills its commitment to promptly execute key benchmarks for the constitutional process and create conditions for the protection of civic and political space, and ensure the will of all eligible South Sudanese voters and the full, equal, meaningful, and safe participation and inclusion of women, and safe, meaningful and diverse inclusion of youth, persons with disabilities, IDPs, South Sudanese refugees, as well as members of all political groups is critical for a transition toward a stable, inclusive, democratic, and self-reliant state,
Expressing alarm at the outbreak of violence in the Malakal POC site, which led to several killings and the mass displacement of 8,000 Nuer into Malakal Town, and further stressing that any future re-designation of Malakal as a PoC site should be in line with the criteria defined in paragraph 18 (d) of resolution 2567 (2021), informed by the needs and will of local communities,
Commending the work of UNMISS, and expressing its deep appreciation for the actions taken by UNMISS peacekeepers and troop- and police-contributing countries in implementing the UNMISS mandate in a challenging environment,
Determining that the situation in South Sudan continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security in the region,
Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,
UNMISS Mandate
1. Decides to extend the mandate of UNMISS until 30 April 2025;
2. Decides that UNMISS’s mandate is designed to advance a multiyear strategic vision to prevent a return to civil war and an escalation of violence in South Sudan, to enable the self-reliance of South Sudan and to address the critical gaps towards building durable peace at the local and national levels, to support inclusive and accountable governance, and to provide support as outlined in paragraph 3 (d) for and free and fair, peaceful elections in accordance with the Revitalized Agreement;
3. Decides that UNMISS shall have the following mandate, authorizes UNMISS to use all necessary means to implement its mandate, requests the Secretary-General to inform the Security Council of any obstacles to the implementation of the mandate, and stresses that the protection of civilians shall be given priority in decisions about the use of available capacity and resources;
(a) Protection of civilians:
(i) To use all necessary means to ensure effective, timely, and dynamic protection of civilians under threat of physical violence through a comprehensive and integrated approach, in areas of emerging or ongoing violence that require urgent attention and, in this regard:
• To prevent, deter, and stop violence against civilians, including politically driven violence, particularly in high-risk areas, as well as to promptly and effectively engage any actor that is credibly found to be preparing attacks, or engages in attacks, against civilians, including those in IDP camps, and in the UNMISS protection of civilians site,
• To maintain a proactive deployment and a mobile, flexible, robust, and effective posture including by conducting active patrolling by foot and by vehicle, in particular in high-risk areas, IDP camps, and the UNMISS protection of civilians site, emphasizing that, pursuant to the SOFA, UNMISS is fully authorized to undertake its mandated tasks,
• To identify and deter threats and attacks against civilians, including through strengthened implementation of a mission-wide early warning and response system that draws upon robust conflict-sensitive analysis, regular interaction and close consultations, in areas at high-risk of conflict, in particular when the GoSS is unable, or fails, to provide such security, and includes tracking, analyzing and reporting on the rate and effectiveness of the Mission’s protection of civilians responses and ensuring that risks of sexual and gender-based violence in conflict and post-conflict situations are included in the Mission’s data collection, threat analysis and early warning system,
• To protect civilians, and maintain public safety and security of and within the UNMISS protection of civilians site and re-designated sites, irrespective of the source of violence, to maintain a flexible posture linked to threat analysis, to rapidly respond to threats in other locations, to promptly develop contingency plans for protecting civilians in both the protection of civilian and re-designated sites in a crisis, and ensure the ability to scale up presence and protection of re-designated sites if the security situation deteriorates;
(ii) To provide specific protection for women and children, including through the continued and consistent use and deployment of UNMISS’s Child Protection Advisers, Women Protection Advisers, and uniformed and civilian Gender Advisers, and share best practices with relevant local stakeholders for the purpose of capacity building, and to further deter, prevent, and respond to sexual and gender-based violence, including by actively intervening to protect civilians threatened by, and survivors of, sexual violence, irrespective of its source, and by facilitating access to organizations that provide services and support to survivors, including medical, sexual and reproductive health, psychosocial, mental health, legal, and socioeconomic services;
(iii) To exercise good offices, confidence-building, and facilitation in support of UNMISS’s protection strategy, especially in regard to women, youth, and children, including to facilitate, the prevention, mitigation, and resolution of intercommunal violence through, inter alia, support to community-led peace dialogue processes, in line with evidence-based best practice, and informed by gender-sensitive conflict and political economy analysis and, conflict-sensitive analysis, mediation and community engagement in order to foster sustainable local and national reconciliation as an essential part of preventing violence and long-term state-building activity;
(iv) To foster a secure environment for the safe, informed, voluntary, and dignified return, relocation, resettlement or integration into host communities for IDPs and refugees, informed by robust gender responsive conflict analysis, and when and to locations where conditions are conducive, including through monitoring of and promoting respect for human rights, coordination with police services, security and government institutions, and civil society actors in relevant and protection-focused activities, investigation and prosecution of sexual and gender-based violence and conflict-related sexual violence, as well as other human rights violations and abuses in order to strengthen protection of civilians, combat impunity, and promote accountability, at all times operating consistent with the United Nations Human Rights Due Diligence Policy (HRDDP);
(v) To facilitate the conditions for safe and free movement into, out of, and around Juba, including at the means of ingress and egress from the city and major lines of communication and transport within Juba, including the airport;
(vi) To consider, monitor and report the environmental impacts of its operations when fulfilling its mandated tasks and, in this context, to manage them as appropriate and consistent with applicable and relevant General Assembly resolutions and United Nations rules and regulations, noting that the sustainability of peace and security support is improved by the implementation of the United Nations Department of Operational Support’s Strategy: “Way Forward: Environment Strategy for Peace Operations 2023–2030”, which emphasizes good stewardship of resources and a positive legacy of the mission, and identifies the goal of transition to renewable energy, reduction in waste generation, water use and electricity, consumption in missions to enhance safety and security, save costs, offer efficiencies and benefit the mission and contribute to positive infrastructure legacy for host communities;
(b) Creating the conditions conducive to the delivery of humanitarian assistance:
(i) To contribute, in close coordination with humanitarian actors, to the creation of security conditions conducive to the delivery of humanitarian assistance, so as to allow, in accordance with international law, including applicable international humanitarian law, all humanitarian personnel full, safe and unhindered access to all those in need in South Sudan, and timely delivery of humanitarian assistance, including IDPs and refugees, consistent with United Nations guiding principles of humanitarian assistance, including humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence, including by providing gender-sensitive risk assessments on the adverse effects of climate change;
(ii) To ensure the security and freedom of movement of United Nations and associated personnel where appropriate, including through explosive ordnance risk mitigation and clearance, and to ensure the security of its installations and equipment necessary for implementation of mandated tasks;
(c) Supporting the Implementation of the Revitalized Agreement and Peace Process:
(i) To use good offices to support the peace process and the creation of conditions conducive to the full implementation of the Revitalized Agreement and the Agreement on the Roadmap to a Peaceful and Democratic end of the Transition Period of the R-ARCSS, to prevent further escalation of political violence and address the root causes of conflict, including through advice, technical assistance, and coordination with relevant regional actors, in particular to learn from the National Dialogue to generate significant political reform and continue a South Sudanese dialogue about how to encourage power-sharing and peaceful political competition;
(ii) To assist all parties, including through the support of Gender Advisers: to provide the full, equal, meaningful, and safe participation, and effective engagement of women, and meaningful, diverse and effective engagement of civil society, youth, and other marginalized groups in the peace process, transitional government bodies and institutions, and all conflict resolution and peacebuilding efforts, including on transitional justice, electoral, judicial, legislative, and institutional reform, the constitution-making process, and security sector transformation; to promote an open, free, inclusive, and safe civic and political space; and to ensure that the protection, rights, well-being and empowerment of children affected by armed conflict are fully incorporated in these processes, as well as their views and needs considered in their design;
(iii) To participate in and support the work of CTSAMVM, RJMEC, and other implementation mechanisms in the implementation of their mandates, including at the subnational level;
(iv) To use good offices and provide technical assistance and advice to the GoSS and other relevant parties, while maintaining political neutrality of UNMISS, in coordination with the United Nations Country Team and other regional and international partners regarding electoral assistance and consistent with the Revitalized Agreement, that are focused on: (1) expert advice on technical aspects of the conduct of elections; (2) support to voter education programs for the prevention and response to election violence; (3) continued trainings and dialogues among all political stakeholders, with the full, equal, meaningful, and safe participation of women, youth, returnees, internally displaced persons and refugees, and members of other vulnerable populations to mitigate tensions throughout the electoral period; and (4) technical assistance and logistical support for creating the conditions conducive to free and fair elections, conducted through a peaceful process, and notes that additional UNMISS support will be continually assessed and reviewed by the Security Council according to progress made by the South Sudanese authorities prior to implementation of Paragraphs 6, 7, and 8 below;
(v) To provide support for the implementation of gender-responsive community violence reduction (CVR) programs, to complement community disarmament initiatives in cooperation and coordination with development partners and community representatives, with a particular focus on the members of armed groups ineligible or unwilling to be integrated into the Necessary Unified Forces, women and youth;
(vi) To use technical assistance and capacity building to support the GoSS and non-governmental South Sudanese voices to strengthen, expand and reform all components of the rule of law and justice sector, in a conflict-sensitive and gender-responsive manner, and in line with the terms of the Peace Agreement in order to strengthen protection of civilians, combat impunity, and promote accountability, including investigation and prosecution of sexual and gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence, and human rights violations and abuses in a survivor-centered approach, which includes taking measures for the protection of victims and witnesses;
(vii) To ensure that any support provided to non-United Nations security forces and government officials is informed by robust conflict-sensitive analysis and provided in strict compliance with the HRDDP, and that capacity-building support to civilian institutions is informed by conflict sensitive analysis, including the monitoring and reporting on how support is used and on the implementation of mitigating measures;
(viii) To take fully into account gender considerations as a crosscutting issue in advancement of the strategic vision and throughout its mandate to assist the GoSS and other relevant stakeholders in creating a legal, political and socioeconomic environment conducive to ensuring the full, equal, meaningful and safe participation, involvement, and representation of women at all levels in line with the 35% quota provision in the Revitalized Agreement; as voters, candidates, electoral observers, in early warning addressing barriers, threats and risks to women’s leadership and agency in elections and for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security, protection of civilians, including by engaging women’s networks as partners in protection;
(d) Monitoring, investigating, and reporting on violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights:
(i) To monitor, investigate, verify, and report immediately, publicly, and regularly on abuses and violations of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law, including against women and children and all forms of sexual and gender-based violence, including conflict related sexual violence, and, where possible, on the chains of command and the decision-making structures that led to abuses and violations of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law, including those that may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity;
(ii) To accelerate implementation of monitoring, analysis and reporting arrangements on sexual and gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence, including by ensuring these arrangements promote timely action to deter, prevent and respond to incidents of sexual and gender-based violence; and by strengthening the monitoring and reporting mechanism for violations and abuses against children;
(iii) To monitor, investigate and report on incidents of hate speech and incitement to violence in cooperation with the United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide;
(iv) To coordinate with, share appropriate information with, and provide technical support, to include capacity building, to international, regional, and community and national mechanisms and relevant local stakeholders engaged in monitoring, investigating, prosecuting and reporting on violations of international humanitarian law and human rights violations and abuses, including those that may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity, as appropriate;
4. Decides to maintain the overall force levels of UNMISS with a troop ceiling of 17,000 personnel, and a police ceiling of 2,101 personnel, including 88 justice and corrections advisors, and expresses its readiness to consider adjustments to UNMISS force levels and capacity-building tasks based on security conditions on the ground and implementation of priority measures in paragraph 9 below;
South Sudan Peace Process
5. Demands that all parties to the conflict respect their obligations under international law, in particular international humanitarian law and international human rights law, as applicable, and demands all parties to the conflict and other armed actors to immediately end the fighting throughout South Sudan and engage in political dialogue, reminds South Sudanese authorities of their primary responsibility to protect civilians in South Sudan, demands all parties to refrain from all forms of violence against civilians, including protected UN personnel and humanitarian personnel, including national and locally recruited personnel, as well as protected medical personnel, further calls upon all parties to refrain from all forms of destabilizing activities, incitement to hatred and violence, and misinformation and disinformation campaigns aimed at UNMISS, including through social media, and to end restrictions and obstructions to UNMISS’ freedom of movement, and further demands South Sudan’s leaders to implement the permanent ceasefire declared in the Revitalized Agreement and all previous ceasefire and cessation of hostilities agreements, including commitments in the Rome Declaration;
6. Expresses its deep concern about the delays in implementing the Revitalized Agreement urges the leaders of South Sudan to display political will and build mutual trust urgently calls upon the parties to engage, in the spirit of consensus and compromise, in an open and constructive dialogue on the way forward to address this situation and to fully implement the Revitalized Agreement, in particular calls for the use of a single Treasury account and the required audits, reviews and additional tools for an oil marketing system that is open, transparent, and competitive and roots out corruption so that the South Sudanese public may benefit from the country’s oil wealth, calls upon the parties to implement fully the Revitalized Agreement, including by allocating the necessary financial resources, establish its institutions without delay, and ensure full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of women, and inclusion of youth, faith groups, and civil society in all conflict resolution and peacebuilding efforts, stresses the need to expeditiously finalize security arrangements, establish all transitional institutions, and make progress on transitional reforms, including establishing free and open civic space, an inclusive constitutional drafting process, and economic transparency and public financial management reform, recognizes the detrimental effect of corruption and misuse of public funds on the GoSS’s ability to provide services to its population, and further stresses the need to enhance good economic governance to ensure effective national revenue collection and anti-corruption structures in order to finance implementation of regulatory framework essential for a political transition, and the humanitarian needs of the population;
7. Stresses the organization and funding of free and fair elections is the responsibility of the South Sudanese authorities, urges GoSS to adopt the appropriate legislative framework to enable durable South Sudanese financing of elections, further urges the GoSS and all national stakeholders to ensure the preparation of free and fair, peaceful elections carried out in a transparent, credible, peaceful and timely manner, reflecting the will of all South Sudanese and with the full, equal, meaningful, and safe participation of women, and the safe, meaningful, and diverse participation of youth, people with disabilities, South Sudanese IDPs, refugees, and members of all political groups, which is criticalfor a transition toward a stable, inclusive, democratic, and self-reliant state, and in this regard, underscores that elections support by UNMISS be focused as outlined in paragraph 3 (c) (iv) of this resolution;
8. Calls upon the GoSS as well as all relevant parties to ensure an environment conducive to open political dialogue consistent with the Revitalized Agreement, which includes free and constructive political debate, freedom of opinion and expression, including for civil society, opposition parties, and members of the press and, freedom of peaceful assembly, equitable access to media including State media, the security of all political actors, freedom of movement for all candidates, as well as for presence of domestic and international election observers and witnesses, journalists, human rights activists and actors from civil society including women;
9. Urgently calls upon the GoSS and all relevant actors to take action to fulfill the following priority measures:
• Utilize robust conflict-sensitive analysis to provide protection of civilians and security to re-designated protection of civilian sites, and to prevent and respond to violence or criminality directed towards the inhabitants of those camps, in a manner consistent with its obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law, as applicable, and to appropriately vet all security forces personnel involved in providing security at the re-designated sites,
• Make progress on creating a conducive political environment for elections including, prioritizing key benchmarks outlined in the Secretary-General’s 17 October 2023 assessment (S/2023/784) including reducing political violence, and ensuring key tasks are met consistent with the principles of inclusive governance,
• End all obstructions to UNMISS, including, inter alia, obstructions that hamper UNMISS carrying out its mandate to monitor and investigate human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law, and immediately cease obstructing international and national humanitarian actors from assisting civilians, and facilitate freedom of movement for the CTSAMVM,
• Make progress on promptly implementing the security arrangements by ensuring the regular and adequate payment of salaries to the necessary unified forces, consistent with the budgetary outlays to the National Security Service and of the South Sudan Presidential Guard Unit, and by assigning clear missions to these forces in keeping with the Strategic Defense and Security Review (SDSR) process contained in the Revitalized Agreement,
• Conclude without further delay a Memorandum of Understanding with the African Union to establish the Hybrid Court for South Sudan, start its effective establishment, and set up the Commission for Truth, Reconciliation, and Healing and the Compensation and Reparation Authority, and to provide mechanisms enabling civil society, victims, and witnesses to safely participate in these mechanisms without fear of reprisals or retaliation;
10. Reiterates its call upon the GoSS to comply with the obligations set out in the SOFA between the GoSS and the United Nations, and immediately cease obstructing UNMISS in the performance of its mandate, calls upon the GoSS to take action, to deter, and to hold those responsible to account for any hostile or other actions that impede UNMISS or international and national humanitarian actors, and to continue to take all appropriate measures to ensure the safety and security and freedom of movement of UNMISS personnel and assets with unhindered and immediate access, reminds the GoSS that, pursuant to the SOFA, UNMISS, as well as its contractors, does not require prior authorization or permission to undertake its mandated tasks and shall enjoy full and unrestricted freedom of movement without delay throughout South Sudan, affirms the critical importance of the ability of UNMISS to monitor, investigate, and report on violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights and to use all of its bases without restrictions in order to execute its mandate, and urges the GoSS to facilitate the smooth functioning of all UNMISS bases and to build an environment of mutual cooperation for UNMISS and its partners to conduct their work;
11. Demands that all parties immediately cease all forms of violence, human rights violations and abuses, and violations of international humanitarian law, including sexual and gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence, and calls on the GoSS [to] urgently renew and implement the Action Plan for the Armed Forces on Addressing Conflict Related Sexual Violence and the South Sudan National Police Service Action Plan on addressing conflict-related sexual violence, hold those responsible for these violations and abuses accountable, in order to break the prevailing cycle of impunity, and to increase its efforts to expeditiously and transparently complete the ongoing investigations of allegations of human rights violations and abuses and hold perpetrators accountable in a manner consistent with its international obligations, encourages it to release the reports of those investigations; and calls upon the GoSS to immediately condemn and counter increasing hate speech and ethnic violence and to promote reconciliation among its people; counter increasing hate speech and ethnic violence and to promote reconciliation among its people;
12. Demands that all parties allow, in accordance with international law, including applicable international humanitarian law, the rapid, safe and unhindered access of relief personnel, equipment and supplies, and timely delivery of humanitarian assistance, including along the Nile River Corridor, to all those in need throughout South Sudan in particular to IDPs, refugees, and returnees, and end use of hospitals, schools and other civilian premises for purposes that could make them subject to attack, stresses the obligation to respect and protect all medical personnel and humanitarian personnel, including national and locally recruited personnel, exclusively engaged in medical duties, their means of transport and equipment, as well as hospitals and other medical facilities, stresses that returns or other durable solutions for IDPs or refugees must be undertaken on a voluntary and informed basis in conditions of dignity and safety, and notes that freedom of movement of civilians and their right to seek asylum should be respected;
13. Calls upon the GoSS to resolve housing, land and property issues for the realization of durable solutions for IDPs and refugees, including through efforts to develop a National Land Policy and to create a secure environment for the safe, informed, voluntary, and dignified return, relocation, resettlement or integration into host communities for South Sudanese IDPs and refugees when and to locations where conditions are conducive;
14. Calls upon parties to ensure full, equal, meaningful and safe participation and involvement of women in all spheres and levels of political leadership, the peace process, the transitional government, and ongoing reform processes under the peace agreement, further calls upon parties to recognize the need to protect women-led organizations, and women peacebuilders and human rights defenders, from threats and reprisals and provide a safe environment to enable them to carry out their work freely, and fulfill the commitments set out regarding inclusivity, including with respect to national diversity, gender, age and regional representation in the Revitalized Agreement to ensure the implementation of the 35 percent minimum participation level for women’s representation at all levels, which has not yet been achieved, regrets the low participation of women in the transition roadmap, and encourages their meaningful participation in the implementation;
15. Condemns continued acts of sexual violence, including conflict related sexual violence, and demands all parties to the conflict and other armed actors prevent further commission of sexual violence, and to implement the actions called for in resolution 2467 (2019) to adopt a survivor-centered approach to prevent and respond to sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict related situations and to hold those responsible accountable including through the prompt investigation, prosecution and punishment of perpetrators, as well as reparations for victims as appropriate, and strongly urges the SSPDF, the SPLA-IO, and the National Salvation Front (NAS) to fully implement the joint and unilateral commitments and action plans they have made on preventing conflict-related sexual violence;
16. Strongly urges all parties to armed conflict in South Sudan to implement the actions called for in The Conclusions on Children and Armed Conflict in South Sudan adopted by the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict on 19 July 2023, urges all parties to fully implement the January 2020 Comprehensive Action Plan to End and Prevent All Grave Violations Against Children, and calls upon the GoSS to implement the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict and to strengthen the legal framework to safeguard children’s rights in South Sudan;
17. Calls upon the GoSS, while taking note of paragraph 3.2.2 of Chapter V of the Revitalized Agreement, and to ensure that all victims and survivors of sexual violence have equal protection under the law, and equal access to justice, and to advance respect for human rights of women and girls in these processes, through the provision of legal aid and medical support and psychosocial counselling, notes that implementing transitional justice measures, including those in the Revitalized Agreement, are key to healing and reconciliation, urges the GoSS to prioritize expanding and reforming and strengthening all components of the rule of law and justice sector, including at the subnational level, in order to strengthen protection of civilians, combat impunity, and promote accountability, including for the grave violations perpetrated against children described by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, and calls on the international community to extend support to establishing the Hybrid Court for South Sudan; and calls upon the GoSS and African Union to overcome their current impasse and establish the Hybrid Court for South Sudan;
18. Expresses its intention to consider all appropriate measures, as demonstrated by adoption of resolutions 2206 (2015), 2290 (2016), 2353 (2017), 2428 (2018), 2471 (2019), 2521 (2020), 2577 (2021) and 2633 (2022), against those who take actions that undermine the peace, stability, and security of South Sudan, stresses the sanctity of United Nations protection sites, underscores that individuals or entities that are responsible for or complicit in attacks against UNMISS personnel and premises and any humanitarian personnel, may meet the designation criteria, takes note of the 20 February 2018 Special Report of the Secretary-General on the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (S/2018/143) that the steady re-supply of weapons and ammunition to South Sudan has directly affected the safety of United Nations personnel and UNMISS’s ability to carry out its mandate, underscores the measures adopted by the Security Council in resolution 2428 (2018), including the arms embargo, to deprive the parties of the means to continue fighting and to prevent violations of the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities, Protection of Civilians and Humanitarian Access (ACOH), and demands that all Member States comply with their obligations to prevent the direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer of arms and related materiel of all types, including weapons and ammunition, to the territory of South Sudan as set out in relevant Security Council resolutions;
UNMISS Operations
19. Recalls its resolution 2086 (2013), reaffirms the basic principles of peacekeeping, as set forth in Presidential Statement S/PRST/2015/22, including consent of the parties, impartiality, and non-use of force, except in self-defence and defence of the mandate, and recognizes that the mandate of each peacekeeping mission is specific to the need and situation of the country concerned, and that the Security Council expects full delivery of the mandates it authorizes;
20. Requests the Secretary-General fully implement the activities and existing obligations listed in paragraph 20 of resolution 2625 (2022) in the planning and conduct of UNMISS’s operations within the limits of the mandate and area of operations and in line with existing United Nations guidelines and regulations;
United Nations and International Support:
21. Reaffirms paragraphs 21–28 of resolution 2677 (2023);
Reporting:
22. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to report violations of the SOFA or obstructions to UNMISS on a monthly basis;
23. Due to increased risks of violence ahead of elections, further requests UNMISS, in coordination with the Secretary-General, to provide reporting on the security situation, which will include protection of civilians and force protection evaluations, 90-, 60- and 30-days before any election, including threat of intercommunal violence on the security situation, addressing any shortcomings as necessary;
24. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Security Council on implementation of the UNMISS mandate and the obstructions UNMISS encounters in doing so in a comprehensive written report to be submitted within 90 days of the date of adoption of this resolution, every 90 days thereafter, and underscores that such reporting should provide integrated, evidence-based and data-driven analysis, strategic assessments and frank advice to the Security Council and should include attention to:
• Whether and how each of its activities undertaken pursuant to paragraph 3 have contributed toward advancing the strategic vision described in paragraph 2, and what challenges and obstacles the mission faced in advancing the strategic vision, using the data collected and analyzed through the Comprehensive Planning and Performance Assessment System (CPAS), the mission’s implementation of the Integrated Peacekeeping Performance and Accountability Framework (IPPAF) and other strategic planning and performance measurement tools to describe the mission’s impact and overall mission performance, including information on undeclared caveats, declining to participate in or undertake patrols and their impact on the mission, and how the reported cases of under-performance are addressed,
• Progress made on the elements in paragraphs 5, 6, 7, and 8 above,
• Implementation of priority measures referenced in paragraph 9 above,
• How it has implemented the capacities and obligations described in paragraph 20 in the planning and conduct of its operations, including regarding its posture and footprint, specifically improved movement capabilities, Teams Sites and Temporary Operating Bases,
• Analysis of risks associated with climate change that may adversely impact peace and security in South Sudan, and implementation of the UNMISS mandate,
• Providing recommendations, where appropriate, for Security Council action to address obstacles identified through strategic planning and performance measurement tools;
25. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.