Juba, South Sudan,
July 03, 2021 – A leaked document obtained by Nyamilepedia reveals that the United States Government has lifted sanctions against South Sudan on grounds that the government has convincing efforts to eliminate the recruitment of child soldiers.
The document endorsed by former President Donald Trump was released on 17th July 2020 barely two months after the United Nations Security Council renewed arms embargo against South Sudan.
According to the document, the sanctions waiver was made under section 404(a) of the Child Soldier Protection Act 2008 “to allow for provision of Peacekeeping Operations (PKO) assistance”.
A part of the report says the U.S. has “certified the Government of South Sudan is taking effective and continuing steps to address the problem of child soldiers.”
The report, seemingly documented unilaterally without the input of the United Nations Security Council, points that the waiver of sanctions was also to support the peace-monitoring bodies to carry out their mandates.
“PKO funds will be used to continue to support the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring and Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM), which includes regional and international monitoring personnel that monitor, identify, and report on parties responsible for violations of the December 2017 Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities (COH) and the ceasefire provisions of the September 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS),” part of the report reads.
“PKO funds will also be used to continue support to the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC), which oversees the overall implementation of the R-ARCSS. Notably, the R-ARCSS requires the Government of South Sudan to refrain from the recruitment and/or use of child soldiers. Given the essential role these monitoring mechanisms play as the parties to the R-ARCSS continue to work to implement the peace agreement and form a transitional government, waiving restrictions to PKO assistance is in the U.S. national interest,” it continues.
The document points that on September 27, 2018, the government of South Sudan acceded to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict adding that the government worked with UNICEF to facilitate the release of more than 900 children from armed groups in 2018.
Other countries that benefited from the sanctions waiver included Afghanistan, Burma, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Iran, Iraq, Mali, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
Afghanistan, Iraq, and Mali, countries troubled with instability, received $729000 combined in International Military Education and Training, a program funded by the American government.
The report does not disclose how much financial support the United States Government gave the United Nations Mission in South Sudan to support their peacekeeping operations in the country.
