UN Security Council rejects arms embargo on South Sudan
The U.N. Security Council defeated a U.S.-sponsored resolution that would have imposed an arms embargo and targeted sanctions on South Sudan on Friday, rejecting arguments that it would help diminish fighting and avoid mass atrocities.
In order for a resolution to be adopted by the U.N.’s most powerful body it needs nine “yes” votes and no veto by a permanent member. In Friday’s vote, seven council members voted in favour of the resolution and eight abstained, so it was rejected.
U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power told the council after the vote that the resolution was meant “to show that the architects of mass atrocities and those who defy the demands of the Security Council day in, day out, will face consequences.”
She said the resolution “would not have been a panacea — we are not naive … but the arms embargo would have had some significant effects” in slowing the import of weapons and reducing the violence.