The transitional government of South Sudan continues to impede the implementation of the peace agreement signed during President Donald Trump’s first term, leaving the country on the brink of a return to all-out war.
Numerous well-respected investigative bodies have documented how corrupt officials and entities, including Crawford Capital, Ltd., have siphoned money from South Sudan’s treasury and stolen foreign assistance funds intended to support the South Sudanese people.
The South Sudan People’s Defense Forces, controlled by President Salva Kiir, has conducted a military offensive in northern Jonglei State that has displaced 300,000 people and created the conditions for a potential famine in large parts of South Sudan. There have also been credible reports of human rights violations and abuses and ethnically motivated killings of the Nuer people.
That’s why Secretary of State Marco Rubio is taking steps to impose visa restrictions on members of South Sudan’s transitional government.
President Trump has stated that the United States will also champion peace in South Sudan through the United Nations. That’s why the U.S. is focused on getting the United Nations peacekeeping mission for South Sudan, or UNMISS, back to basics: to keep the peace, to protect civilians, support humanitarian access, and to be accurate in its reporting to [the Security] Council, said U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz.
The United States remains deeply concerned that South Sudanese President Kiir’s actions are driving the nation backward while exploiting international support and obstructing those that are genuinely trying to help.
Between October 2025 and March 2026 UNMISS recorded that more than 480 times peacekeepers were blocked, humanitarian access was denied, repatriation flights were obstructed, bases were forced to close, and millions of dollars were lost and wasted in South Sudan.
For the first time in many years, the Security Council is taking a serious step to streamline UNMISS, so it can focus on core peace and security tasks.
According to the UN Secretary-General’s own report, electoral preparations in South Sudan remain minimal to non-existent. Credible elections require the outstanding provisions of the 2018 peace agreement to be implemented first, said Ambassador Waltz.
“So, if the transitional government truly means to hold free and fair elections, it must first return to genuine dialogue among the parties to that agreement. And genuine dialogue cannot happen while key leaders are imprisoned, including the head of the second-largest party to the agreement, who remains under arrest and on trial.”
“Future U.S. support for elections, including through the United Nations, will depend on whether South Sudan’s leaders put their own public resources behind elections, public services, and government salaries,” warned Ambassador Waltz.
“The United States will continue to stand with the South Sudanese people, who want to live in peace and dignity,” said State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott. “We will continue to use all tools available to expose and promote accountability for members of the transitional government, [South Sudan People’s Defense Forces] officials, and other individuals who steal from the South Sudanese people and threaten peace.”
