[JURIST] South Sudan’s National Legislative Assembly [official website] voted Tuesday to extend the term of President Salva Kiir [official website; JURIST news archive] by three years. This move follows [Reuters report] the cancellation of elections that were to be held in June and the dissolution of negotiations to end the country’s internal conflict. The talks between opposing groups broke up three weeks ago with no plan set to continue negotiating. The lawmakers also voted to extend the assembly’s own tenure for an additional three years. Of the 270 legislators, 264 voted for the measure. However, opponents are displeased [AP report] because Kiir will be kept in power without consultation of the people. The conflict in South Sudan has killed more than 10,000 and left two million people displaced, and proponents of the measure hope the extended tenure will bring peace and stability to the region.

The South Sudanese Civil War [JURIST backgrounder] has persisted since December 2013 when Kiir accused his ex-vice-president, Riek Machar [Al Jazeera profile], of plotting to overthrow him. Earlier this month UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official website] urged [JURIST report] Kiir and Machar to end the hostilities and comply with international law to avoid sanctions. In late February UNICEF condemned [JURIST report] the abduction of young boys by an armed group in South Sudan. In early February Human Rights Watch reported that both parties in the conflict are recruiting children [JURIST report], with close to 600 child soldiers being used since the beginning of the conflict. Earlier in February the UN reported continued rights violations [JURIST report] just when the groups were on the brink of signing a peace deal. In January the UN reported attacks [JURIST report] on civilians based on ethnicity and political beliefs in Sudan that amounted to several war crimes.