President Salva Kiir and the then-US Vice President Joe Biden in Nairobi, Kenya in September 2010. Credit|Associated Press

U.S. President Joe Biden has notified Congress of his intention to extend the national emergency on South Sudan, saying the situation continues to pose a national security threat to his country.

In his letter to congress yesterday, Biden said South Sudan’s situation is still posing an unusual and extraordinary threat to U.S. foreign policy.

The emergency was declared by President Barrack Obama in 2014, a few months after the war erupted in Juba in December 2013.

The order was extended several times during the civil war.

The emergency meant that the transfer of assets, in the form of property or interests would be blocked for some individuals whose actions are considered to threaten peace in South Sudan.

The measure would also affect those who threaten transitional agreements, expand the conflict, commit human rights violations, and target women and children.

It also included those who recruit and use child soldiers, attack peacekeepers, and aid workers, and help donate to such activities.

Yesterday, Jose Biden said the national emergency in South Sudan should continue beyond April 3, 2023.

“The situation in and in relation to South Sudan, which has been marked by activities that threaten the peace, security, or stability of South Sudan and the surrounding region,

“Widespread violence and atrocities, human rights abuses, recruitment and use of child soldiers, attacks on peacekeepers, and obstruction of humanitarian operations, continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States,”

Biden added he has determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13664 with respect to South Sudan.

Section 202(d) of the U.S. National Emergencies Act provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, within 90 days before the anniversary date of its declaration, the President publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date.

The government of South Sudan is yet to comment on the matter.