The United Nations Security Council has extended the mandate of its peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) until May 9, 2025, following a unanimous vote on Wednesday under Resolution 2778 (2025).
Described as a “short-term technical rollover,” the nine-day extension is intended to give Council members more time to deliberate the mission’s long-term future, as South Sudan faces mounting political and security challenges.
Established in 2011, shortly after South Sudan gained independence from Sudan, UNMISS has played a pivotal role in the fragile nation’s efforts toward peace and stability. Its key responsibilities include protecting civilians, enabling humanitarian access, monitoring human rights, and supporting peace implementation efforts.
Over the past 14 years, the mission has deployed more than 14,000 peacekeepers across the country and set up protection-of-civilian (POC) sites that currently shelter around 200,000 displaced people. During South Sudan’s brutal civil war from 2013 to 2018, these sites were credited with averting mass atrocities.
UNMISS has also supported the implementation of the 2018 Revitalised Peace Agreement by facilitating talks between President Salva Kiir and opposition leaders, including Vice President Riek Machar. Additionally, the mission has helped deliver vital humanitarian aid to remote areas, where more than 7 million people, over half of the population, suffer from acute food insecurity.
Despite its achievements, UNMISS has come under fire from both the South Sudanese government and local communities. Critics argue the mission has failed to prevent localised violence, particularly deadly clashes over land and cattle that claim hundreds of lives each year.
In 2023, peacekeepers were accused of not intervening during attacks near POC sites, raising concerns about the mission’s effectiveness. South Sudanese officials have also accused UNMISS of infringing on national sovereignty. In 2022, the government restricted UNMISS helicopter operations, citing security risks, which hampered patrols in volatile areas.
Tensions further escalated in March 2025, when Information Minister Michael Makuei demanded that the mission relocate its offices away from the vicinity of Juba International Airport, again citing national security concerns.
The brief extension comes at a precarious moment. Delays in implementing key aspects of the 2018 peace deal—including the failure to hold elections originally slated for 2024—have sparked renewed unrest. Fresh clashes in Jonglei and Upper Nile states have displaced thousands, while widespread flooding and an economic crisis have deepened the humanitarian emergency.
The UN Security Council has repeatedly warned that South Sudan’s instability threatens regional peace, especially as refugees continue to pour into neighbouring Uganda and Ethiopia.
Analysts caution that a premature UNMISS withdrawal could cripple humanitarian operations, many of which depend heavily on the mission’s logistical support. Such a move, they say, could worsen conditions for millions already on the brink.
