UN extends partial Sudan arms embargo for a month

The UN Security Council voted unanimously to extend, for one month, the existing arms embargo on Sudan's Darfur region while members continue negotiating a contentious US proposal to make the ban nationwide. The temporary renewal preserves the current restrictions as diplomats work toward a possible change in the sanctions regime.

Washington has pushed to expand the embargo across Sudan to increase pressure on the warring parties in the conflict that began in April 2023. US Ambassador Jeff Bartos said the current measures are more than two decades out of date and called for a countrywide arms ban, broader listing criteria to cover crimes such as conflict-related sexual violence, kidnapping for ransom and attacks on humanitarian workers, and a stronger mandate for the panel of experts that monitors the sanctions.

Russia and Sudan have both resisted efforts to widen the embargo. Russia, which holds veto power on the council, signalled during closed consultations that it would block any attempt to broaden restrictions and described such a step as a red line. Sudan's UN ambassador, Al-Harith Mohamed, argued that a total arms embargo would conflict with the UN Charter's provision on a state's right to self-defence and with a nation's ability to equip its armed forces to protect sovereignty.

The Darfur arms embargo dates to 2003, imposed after rebel uprisings and a government counteroffensive involving militias known to opponents as the Janjaweed. That earlier phase of violence has been linked to as many as 300,000 deaths and 2.7 million people fleeing their homes. The more recent fighting that erupted in April 2023 has killed at least 59,000 people, displaced roughly 13 million, and pushed parts of Sudan into famine, according to aid groups and council statements — factors driving the international debate over whether and how to revise the sanctions.