The UN Security Council voted unanimously in favour of a resolution establishing a sanctions regime on warring factions in South Sudan, ahead of a deadline for the sides to reach a peace deal later this week.
The resolution voted in on Tuesday, stopped short of travel bans, asset freezes and preventing the purchase of more weapons, but threatens to punish those who interfere with the ongoing peace process.
All 15 UN Security Council members voted in favour of the resolution after it was proposed by the United States. US Ambassador Samantha Power said that "those who frustrate peace must begin to pay the price," adding the council was "sending a very clear signal to those who continue to choose war over peace - you will be held to account now as we urge you to compromise to reach an agreement and later when you are considering whether to follow through on its terms".
Meanwhile, South Sudan’s Ambassador to the UN, Francis Deng, labelled the move “counterproductive."
Commenting on the resolution Philippe Bolopion from Human Rights Watch called for an arms embargo to be put into force, saying,
“Those who are responsible for serious human rights violations should now be named and slapped with a travel ban and asset freeze, and countries or corporations that arm them should be exposed.”
South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has until Thursday to reach a deal with his former vice president Riek Machar, in a bed to end more than a year of conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.