The UN Security Council on Friday approved an extension  by one year of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) with an adjusted mandate.

The Council mandated the UN mission to “use all necessary means” to “deter and prevent” sexual violence within its capacity, and “monitor, investigate and report incidents of hate speech.”

The 15-member council called for an end to ongoing conflict in South Sudan.

Through a unanimously adopted  resolution, the Security Council voted to extend the mandate of UNMISS through 15 December 2017,maintaining its core fucntions, while also maintaining a troop ceiling of 17,000, including a 4,000-strong Regional Protection Force, approved in mid-August.

Through the adopted resolution, the Council reiterated its increasingly grave alarm and concern regarding the political, security, economic and humanitarian crisis in South Sudan resulting from a political dispute within the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and subsequent violence caused by the country’s political and military leaders.

It also expressed its intention to consider sanctions against those whose actions undermined peace, stability and security in the country.

The Council demanded that South Sudan’s leaders implement the permanent ceasefire declared in the peace agreement and respective ceasefires.

File photo: The Security Council votes unanimously to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) through 15 December 2017. UN Photo/Manuel Elias