Security Council Sanctions Committee Briefed on Panel of Expert’s Final Report, Situation of Children Affected by Armed Conflict in South Sudan

On 11 April 2018, members of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2206 (2015) concerning South Sudan were briefed by the Panel of Experts on South Sudan in connection with the Panel’s final report, which was submitted in pursuance of paragraph 2 of resolution 2353 (2017).

During the deliberations, the Committee considered the Panel’s findings with respect to the political and security situation in South Sudan; violations of human rights and international humanitarian law; obstruction of humanitarian and peacekeeping missions; and arms procurement and the implementation of the sanctions measures in South Sudan.  The Committee also considered recommendations set out in the Panel’s final report.

The Committee also received a briefing by the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, which provided updates on developments in South Sudan since the last briefing by the Special Representative to the members in March 2017.

It was noted, inter alia, that, while the country was facing the conflict for the fourth consecutive year, violations against children had increased considerably compared to the preceding two years.  The United Nations had verified over 1,000 incidents of all six grave violations against children, affecting close to 1,400 children.  In particular, the recruitment and use of children, by all parties to the conflict, was assessed to be endemic.  The Office concluded that children were not just used on an ad hoc basis to temporarily boost military capacities of parties to the conflict or to provide services.  Instead, the children of South Sudan were the very fuel of the war, abused in a systematic and sustained manner which enabled the war effort to continue.