UNITED NATIONS, March 15 (Xinhua) -- The Security Council on Thursday adopted a resolution to extend the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan for a year, till March 15, 2019.
Resolution 2406, which was approved unanimously, also decides to maintain the overall force levels of the mission, known as UNMISS, with a ceiling of 17,000 troops and 2,101 police personnel. The troops include a Regional Protection Force at levels to be set by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres but not to exceed 4,000.
The resolution requests Guterres to take the necessary steps to expedite force and asset generation.
The resolution demands that all parties immediately end the fighting throughout South Sudan, and that South Sudanese leaders implement the permanent cease-fire declared in a 2015 peace agreement and cease-fires for which they respectively called in the following years.
It demands the leaders ensure that subsequent decrees and orders directing their commanders to control their forces and to protect civilians are fully implemented.
It demands the transitional government immediately cease obstructing UNMISS in the performance of its mandate, and cease obstructing international and national humanitarian actors from assisting civilians.
It calls on the transitional government to take action to deter and to hold those responsible to account for any hostile or other actions that impede UNMISS or international and national humanitarian actors.
The resolution indicates that the Security Council may consider all appropriate measures against those who take actions that undermine the peace, stability and security of South Sudan.
On Dec. 14, 2017, the Security Council renewed the UNMISS mandate for three months as a technical rollover to allow for the completion of a strategic review of the UN mission.
Shortly after its independence from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan plunged into civil war, in which up to 300,000 people are estimated to have been killed since late 2013. More than 1.5 million people having fled to neighboring countries, more are internally displaced. UN officials have repeatedly said the South Sudanese civil war is a man-made tragedy, blaming it on the greed of South Sudanese politicians.
