As South Sudan stares at UN sanctions, it has plenty of company in Africa's list of shame

Lee Mwiti

05 Mar 2015 11:23

The UN sanctions hammer has fallen on at least 10 countries in recent years, and a houseful of rogue generals, warlords and crooked politicians.

 

SOUTH Sudan has come out fighting at a United Nations proposal to impose sanctions to end a protracted civil war, saying such measures would be counterproductive.

On Tuesday the UN Security Council unanimously passed a US-drafted resolution outlining a sanctions regime that will allow for worldwide travel bans and asset freezes for “spoilers” of the peace process and a possible arms embargo. However, no sanctions have actually been imposed.

“Any sanctions imposed on South Sudan, will not only hinder the peace process but will inherently be felt by our countrymen and women down to the very basic level,” Foreign minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin has said in a statement.

“We need to remove obstacles obstructing peace not create new ones,” he said.

South Sudan’s conflict began in December 2013 when President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar of planning a coup.

Fighting quickly spread from the capital Juba. Tens of thousands have been killed, one in six have been forced from their homes and millions more have been pushed to the edge of starvation.

Peace talks, brokered by regional bloc IGAD, got underway within weeks of the outbreak of the conflict but have only resulted in a series of broken ceasefires and empty promises. IGAD sanctions have been threatened but not imposed. The body set March 5 as the latest deadline for a final peace agreement.

Those identified as obstacles to a deal would then come under sanctions.

Meant to maintain or restore international peace and security by applying pressure, the UN sanctions regime has evolved over the years, from comprehensive economic sanctions to the more-employed targeted bans, which are thought to be easier on innocent populations.

But South Sudan would find itself in good company on the continent, joining a raft of other countries that have been hit with sanctions:

Central African Republic, 2013

The central African nation has been wracked by instability since March 2013, when mainly-Muslim Seleka rebels took power.

Thousands have since been killed and about a million displaced. Seleka gave up power following international pressure last year, but still controls parts of the country’s north.

Mainly Christian and animist “anti-balata” militia have since made the conflict protracted. 

Resolution 2127 of 2013 imposed an arms embargo on the CAR.

Resolution 2134 of 2014 added a travel ban on individuals identified by the Security Council Committee and an asset freeze on economic resources linked to individuals and entities identified.

The sanctions regime is set for review in December.

Guinea Bissau, 2012

The West African country of 1.7 million is still recovering from instability, having seen three coups and a leadership assassination since 2009.

An election in 2014 helped steady the ship, but West African governments have been exploring financial aid to prevent a total collapse of its economy.

The country has struggled to raise revenues as key cash crop cashewnut saw prices slide, while it has struggled to raise money from financiers.

With about 90 small islands off its shore, it is also a key drugs transit point.

Resolution 2048 imposed measures, with a travel ban on 11 individuals linked to the military command that took power after the last coup in 2012, including former army chief Antonio Injai

Libya, 2011

The UN could be forced to intervene militarily in the North African country.

NATO-led airstrikes in 2011 helped topple Muammar Gaddafi’s four decades rule, but the country has since been in the throes of a complicated armed power struggle between Islamists and the elected government.

The Islamic State has also put down its anchor in the country, presenting a major regional threat.

Resolution 1970 provides for an arms embargo, travel bans and assets freeze on 20 individuals and two entities, and measures to curb the export of illegal crude oil.

The individuals range from rebels to Gaddafi regime insiders and relatives.

Further resolutions have since both eased and tightened the arms embargo.

Sudan, 2005

Three sanctions regimes have targeted actors in conflict-torn Darfur. The Darfur conflict began in 2003 when mainly non-Arab tribes took up arms against the Arab-led government in Khartoum, accusing it of discrimination. 

Suppression of revolts there led to charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide against President Omar al-Bashir.

Some 300,000 people are estimated to have died, while millions have been displaced.

Further investigations into the crimes were however shelved last year by the International Criminal Court, citing a lack of efforts to get Bashit to appear before it.

The sanctions in place are arms embargoes, travel bans and asset freezes on four actors; a Sudan army officer, a local chief, a rebel leader and a militia leader.

Cote d’Ivoire, 2004

A disputed presidential election in 2010 led to the deaths of more than 3,000 people, in addition to the displacement of thousands in a conflict the split the country in half.

Resolution 1572 imposed an arms embargo on actors in the conflict, in addition to travel bans and asset freezes on six individuals, while five more were later on added.

They include former president Laurent Gbagbo and his wife Simone, whose refusal to accept electoral defeat sparked the conflict.

Some have since been delisted, including opposition leader Pascal Affi N’guessan.

Other aspects of the sanctions regime have since been eased, as the regional powerhouse goes into a crucial election later this year.

DR Congo, 2004

The conflict in eastern DRC has seen numerous sanctions imposed and eased, stemming from the anchor Resolution 1533 of 2004. 

Millions died of conflict, hunger and disease during the conflict between 1998 and 2003 and the region remains inundated by armed factions.

Individuals targeted read like a list of who is who, including key rebel leaders such as Thomas Lubanga, Germain Katanga, Sultani Makenga, Laurent Nkunda and Bosco Ntaganda. 

A cacophony of entities are also listed, from airlines to rebel groups and trading companies.  

Liberia, 2003

Sanctions were also been imposed on Liberia, which saw 15 years of civil war, embodied by the figure of Charles Taylor.

The arms embargoes, travel bans and resource freezes stemming from Resolution 1521 have also been both tightened and loosened over the years, as the country makes a bid to rebuild.

Rwanda, 1994

In May 1994 Security Council resolution 918 imposed an arms embargo on the sale or supply of arms to the territory of Rwanda, in reaction to the ongoing violence and genocide in the country.

In the following year the ban was extended to non- actors, but later lifted on the Rwanda government. The sanctions on non-state actors were lifted in 2008 following the signing of a peace pact.

Somalia, Eritrea, 1992, 2007

The two Horn of Africa countries also bear sanctions, which range from arms embargoes to bans on trade in charcoal. 

Somalia’s central government collapsed in 1991 leading to a free-for-all for warlords, while Eritrea is also accused of funding insurgents in Somalia.