The European Council has added three persons involved in serious human rights violations to the list of those submitted to a travel ban and an asset freeze in view of the situation in South Sudan.

Those sanctioned individuals are former army Chief of Staff General Paul Malong; Deputy Chief of Defense and Inspector General Malek Reuben Riak; and Information Minister Michael Makuei Leuth. The Council said it has adopted this decision “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.”

This marks the first time that the EU has decided to sanction persons in view of the situation in South Sudan, in addition to those sanctioned by the United Nations. The decision brings the total number of persons under restrictive measures in view of the situation in South Sudan to nine, as six persons were already listed by the UN.

The legal acts were adopted by written procedure. They will be published in the Official Journal of 3 February.

The sanctions follow five months after the U.S. Treasury Department took similar action against the three men. The U.S. Treasury Department said the move was "for their roles in threatening the peace, security, or stability of South Sudan."