UN Security Council prolongs Darfur arms embargo but rejects US push for nationwide ban

On Thursday the UN Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 2830, extending the arms embargo on Sudan’s Darfur region for another two months, until December 11, and renewing the monitoring panel’s mandate through January 11, 2027. The council also maintained the broader sanctions regime first established under Resolution 1591 in 2005, which includes travel bans and asset freezes on listed parties. The United States attempted to broaden the embargo to cover all of Sudan, arguing that one outlet framework is over two decades old, but Russia and China vetoed the amendment, with Russia’s deputy ambassador stating any expansion would not be allowed.

Sudan’s UN ambassador countered that a nationwide embargo would infringe on the right to self-defence. The ongoing war, which began in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, has killed at least 59,000 people, displaced roughly 13 million and pushed parts of the country toward famine, with Darfur experiencing some of the worst violence.