The Council has transposed UN Security Council resolution 2428 (2018) which notably imposes an arms embargo and adds two persons to the list of persons and entities subject to restrictive measures.

The EU already had an arms embargo in place on South Sudan since 2011. The two persons added had also already been sanctioned by the EU autonomously since 2 February 2018 for being involved in serious human rights violations. The Council adopted these additional sanctions, then, in view of the ever deteriorating humanitarian and security situation in South Sudan and considering the lack of commitment by some actors to the ongoing peace process.

The Council last adopted conclusions on South Sudan on 16 April 2018. The conclusions noted that 2018 is a critical year for securing peace in South Sudan, as it is when the term of the transitional government of National Unity as set out in the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (ARCSS) comes to an end. They reaffirmed the EU's deep concern at the continued fighting and grave violations and abuses of human rights that have inflicted horrific levels of human suffering and left the country in ruins. In the conclusions, the EU urges all parties to the conflict in South Sudan to immediately cease fighting and participate in the peace process in good faith.

The total number of persons under EU restrictive measures in view of the situation in South Sudan is nine, of which eight are listed by the UN.