Key Points
- The proposed force is intended by the UN to help uphold the August 2015 peace agreement between the government and the opposition Sudan People's Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) led by former first vice-president Riek Machar and prevent further outbreaks of violence, following the July 2016 unrest in the capital. Its mandate authorised under UNSCR 2304 (2016) gives the force a peace enforcement role.
- The negotiations are likely to drag on as South Sudan raises concerns over the new mission undermining its sovereignty, and the force which is eventually deployed will likely have a much watered-down mandate or insufficient military capability to operate effectively to curb violence anywhere except the centre of Juba.
- The UN will seek to impose an arms embargo on South Sudan and to deploy a force with a robust mandate to Juba to shore up security there; however, troop contributions to this force from the region are likely to be problematic, further delaying deployment and inhibiting the force's capability to achieve its mission.
EVENT
The United Nations and South Sudan are in disagreement over the mandate of a proposed 4,000-strong protection force to be deployed in Juba under Security Council Resolution 2304 (2016) passed on 12 August.
The South Sudanese government rejected the US proposal for the United Nations to send an additional 4,000-strong brigade to the country as part of a multinational intervention force on 10 August and reiterated its objections even after UNSCR 2304 (2016) authorising the force was approved by the UN Security Council on 12 August, stating that it would undermine the country's sovereignty. The announcement came after Juba had agreed with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) on 5 August that it would accept the deployment of such a force, although it later complained that the UN proposal was inconsistent with what it had agreed with the IGAD.