The Japan Times - US proposes expanding UN Sudan arms embargo to entire country

The Darfur arms embargo, in place for over two decades, is set to expire on September 12, 2026 if a new agreement is not reached.

Expanding the restrictions to all of Sudan would require a vote of the UN Security Council, with veto-holding Russia warning on Monday against new measures that would impact the Sudanese army.

US envoy to the meeting Massad Boulos said the Council "should take steps to curtail... fueling of the conflict, especially as external support also risks drawing more regional actors and neighbors deeper into Sudan's conflict."

"That is why the United States has put forward a strong resolution that provides for four key things: one, expanding the arms embargo across the entire territory of Sudan," he said.

The measure would also bring drones under the arms restriction regime and grow the number of experts scrutinizing the existing embargo.

It would also increase the experts' coordination with other expert panels to identify violations of the arms embargo and asset freezes and travel bans in force on parties to the conflict, Boulos said.

- 'Urge you to expand it' -

The war, now in its fourth year, has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions as ever more sophisticated weaponry including armed drones are deployed to the battlefield, taking a deadly toll on civilians.

The army holds sway in Sudan's central and eastern regions, while the Darfur region in the west and parts of the south are under control of the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Before Washington's call, Rosemary Di Carlo, the UN's Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, warned a "worrying aspect of the conflict in Sudan is its increasing complexity."

"The sophisticated weaponry used continues to point to ongoing external support to both parties", she said.

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher added that "in recent weeks, fighting in Sudan has been characterized by the heavy use of drones and localized ground combat in areas less affected by rainy season conditions."

Darfur, a vast western region that alone is the size of France, has faced some of the worst violence, with displacement camps invaded and repeated ethnic massacres killing thousands at a time.

Peacebuilding activist Eva Khair told the Security Council "although they have denied such allegations, external actors are enabling this catastrophe."

"Weapons continue to flow into Darfur in contempt of this council's resolution 1591, adopted two decades ago to protect Darfur's population from the worst, " she said.

"The role of multiple actors in supplying weapons, mercenaries, other forms of military assistance, and diplomatic cover to the RSF on the one hand, and military, logistical, financial assistance to the SAF (army) on the other illustrates the increasingly globalized nature of the war in Sudan.

"The council's arms embargo in Darfur must be enforced, and I urge you to expand it to the whole of Sudan."

S.Fujimoto--JT