Tokyo: Japan’s Cabinet approved a one-year extension of the participation of the Self-Defense Forces in the U.N. peacekeeping mission in South Sudan at its headquarters until May 31 next year.
The move came after the U.N. Security Council decided in March to extend by one year the mandate of the U.N. mission in South Sudan, or UNMISS.
With the security situation in South Sudan still volatile, the Japanese government hopes extending the participation of its SDF members will contribute to peace and stability in Africa.
Japan has dispatched personnel since November 2011, and four people are currently working with the mission.
The mission is designed “to advance a three-year strategic vision to prevent a return to civil war, build a durable peace, and support inclusive and accountable governance,” the U.N. Security Council said in a March press release.
In 2017, Japan ended its five-year deployment of Ground Self-Defense Force civil engineering units to UNMISS but has kept SDF members stationed at the headquarters.
Japan has participated over the years in peacekeeping operations under the restrictions of its war-renouncing Constitution, but UNMISS is the only U.N. mission in which SDF members are currently engaged. kyodonews.net
