In 2017, a group of senior South Sudanese officials led by Kuol Manyang Juuk (Juuk) decided to use Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) troops, artillery, and other heavy weapons to strengthen local fighters against a rival tribe. Juuk reportedly admitted that he had mobilized the SPLA to take part in attacks against the rival as it was his duty to protect his tribe. Juuk, along with Lomuro, has been identified as a key minister opposing the Hybrid Court for South Sudan. As of late 2018, Juuk and other senior South Sudanese government officials were overseeing an effort to train tribal militias to prepare for the possibility of renewed violence upon the return of Machar to South Sudan.
Juuk is being designated for being responsible for or complicit in or having engaged in, directly or indirectly, actions or policies that have the purpose or effect of expanding or extending the conflict in South Sudan or obstructing reconciliation or peace talks or processes.
South Sudan Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. part 558; Executive Order 13664
Regime
OFAC country specific
Target State
South Sudan
Measures
Blocking Property, Suspending Entry
Official Information
On July 1, 2014, OFAC issued the South Sudan Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 558 (79 FR 37190, July 1, 2014) (the “Regulations”), to implement Executive Order (E.O.) 13664 of April 3, 2014, “Blocking Property of Certain Persons With Respect to South Sudan” (79 FR 19283, April 7, 2014), pursuant to authorities delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury in E.O. 13664. The Regulations were initially issued in abbreviated form for the purpose of providing immediate guidance to the public. OFAC is revising the Regulations to further implement E.O. 13664. OFAC is amending and reissuing the Regulations as a more comprehensive set of regulations that includes additional interpretive guidance and definitions, general licenses, and other regulatory provisions that will provide further guidance to the public. Due to the number of regulatory sections being updated or added, OFAC is reissuing the Regulations in their entirety.
On April 3, 2014, the President, invoking the authority of, inter alia, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), issued E.O. 13664. In E.O. 13664, the President found that the situation in and in relation to South Sudan, which has been marked by activities that threaten the peace, security, or stability of South Sudan and the surrounding region, including widespread violence and atrocities, human rights abuses, recruitment and use of child soldiers, attacks on peacekeepers, and obstruction of humanitarian operations, poses an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States and declared a national emergency to deal with that threat.
