African foreign ministers pose for a picture at the 44th Ordinary Session of the African Union Executive Council in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Thursday, February 15, 2024. (Photo: AU/Facebook).

South Sudan has called on the African Union to campaign for the removal of “unwarranted sanctions” imposed on some of its member states, including South Sudan.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dr. James Pitia Morgan said the gesture will demonstrate AU’s seriousness in fulfilling its agenda.

Addressing the 44th Ordinary Session of the AU Executive Council in Addis Ababa on Wednesday, Ambassador Pitia said many African countries are now suffering under the sanctions imposed on them by “foreign countries.”

“We also want this August House to look into the issue of sanctions imposed on this African Union member states,” he said.

“It is the responsibility of the African Union to take a lead in removing these unwarranted sanctions imposed on its members if the African Union is really serious about fulfilling its agendas.”

“These (AU) agendas cannot be fulfilled when the other member states are languishing under the imposed sanctions by foreign countries to the African member states.”

The United Nations Security Council on May 30, 2023, extended for one year the sanctions regime imposed on South Sudan, including an arms embargo, assets freeze, and travel bans despite protests from Juba.

The sanctions regime was imposed in 2018 during the South Sudanese civil war in what the UN believes was a measure to control the flow of weapons into the country and protect civilians.

There are currently–U.N. sanctions–13, of which 8 are country-based regimes in Africa. That is Somalia, Eritrea, the DRC, Sudan, Libya, Guinea Bissau, Central African Republic, Yemen, and South Sudan.

Also, there are currently 14 UN sanctions regimes, 11 of which include arms embargoes, travel bans, and assets freeze measures.

Every sanction regime has a sanctions committee, a subsidiary body of the Security Council comprised of all 15 of its members, and all but three are supported by panels of experts.

Security Council sanctions have multiple purposes, including resolving interstate conflict, democratization, human rights and the protection of civilians, non-proliferation, and counterterrorism.

In February 2020, President Salva Kiir called on member countries of the African Union to help in lifting US sanctions against South Sudan’s leaders.