[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 371 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 371
Reaffirming the support of the United States for the people of the
Republic of South Sudan and calling on all parties to uphold their
commitments to peace and dialogue as outlined in the 2018 revitalized
peace agreement.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 22, 2019
Mr. Coons (for himself, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Durbin, and Mr. Young)
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee
on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Reaffirming the support of the United States for the people of the
Republic of South Sudan and calling on all parties to uphold their
commitments to peace and dialogue as outlined in the 2018 revitalized
peace agreement.
Whereas the United States recognized South Sudan as a sovereign, independent
state on July 9, 2011, following its secession from Sudan;
Whereas the United States played a key role in helping draft the 2005
Comprehensive Peace Agreement that laid the groundwork for the 2011
referendum on self-determination, through which the people of South
Sudan overwhelmingly voted for independence;
Whereas the people and Government of the United States have a deep and abiding
interest in South Sudan's political stabilization and post-conflict
development;
Whereas stability in Sudan is critical to peace and security in the region,
including for South Sudan, and the United States Government remains
committed to fostering Sudan's peaceful transition, as reflected by the
passage of Senate Resolution 188 (116th), which ``encourag[es] a swift
transfer of power by the military to a civilian-led political authority
in the Republic of the Sudan'';
Whereas, since the onset of the civil war in South Sudan in December 2013,
nearly 400,000 South Sudanese citizens are estimated to have been
killed, 1,900,000 have been internally displaced, and 2,300,000 have
fled the country and registered as refugees;
Whereas the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the
Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) signed on September 12, 2018 by the
political parties of South Sudan, affirms the Parties' commitment to the
permanent ceasefire and forbids human rights violations and restrictions
on humanitarian assistance;
Whereas the R-ARCSS establishes two phases of implementation, a Pre-Transitional
Period until May 12, 2019, which was subsequently extended to November
12, 2019, followed by the establishment of a Revitalized Transitional
Government of National Unity (RTGoNU) for three years;
Whereas the six-month extension of the deadline to form the RTGoNU was granted
to allow additional time to complete critical Pre-Transitional tasks,
including agreement on the number and boundaries of states and important
security arrangements;
Whereas the R-ARCSS stipulates that the signatories will create an enabling
political, administrative, operational, and legal environment for the
delivery of humanitarian assistance and protection;
Whereas the people of South Sudan continue to suffer from a humanitarian crisis,
with the United Nations reporting that over 6,300,000 people, more than
half the population, were classified as severely food insecure at the
peak of the lean season in 2019, including an estimated 10,000 who faced
famine conditions, and despite slight improvements in food security
during the harvest, the number of children under age five who are
acutely malnourished is projected to rise to 1,300,000 in early 2020;
Whereas humanitarian organizations are providing lifesaving assistance to more
than 5,300,000 South Sudanese people and are providing other vital
support services such as medical care to survivors of sexual violence
and facilitating access to education to over 690,000 children;
Whereas religious and faith-based organizations have played a key role in the
peace process and humanitarian response efforts in support of the people
of South Sudan;
Whereas at least 112 humanitarian aid workers have been killed since the start
of the conflict in 2013, including at least 15 in 2018;
Whereas the United States Department of State 2018 Country Report on Human
Rights Practices in South Sudan states that both the government and
opposition forces engaged in serious human rights abuses by perpetrating
extrajudicial killings, including ethnically based targeted killings of
civilians, and by engaging in arbitrary detentions, torture, rape,
beatings, and looting of property;
Whereas, on March 15, 2019, the United Nations Security Council extended the
mandate of the United Nations Mission (UNMISS) in South Sudan for one
year and authorized UNMISS to use all necessary means to deter violence
against civilians, to prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based
violence, and to foster a secure environment for the return or
relocation of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees;
Whereas impunity for past atrocities continues to drive violence in South Sudan,
and signatories to the R-ARCSS committed to the establishment of
transitional justice measures;
Whereas the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has reported that children
comprise approximately 25 percent of all reported cases of conflict-
related sexual violence, and the United Nations Commission on Human
Rights in South Sudan has reported that forced recruitment of child
soldiers is increasing, despite the 2018 peace agreement;
Whereas illicitly obtained wealth and revenue sources perpetuate conflict in
South Sudan;
Whereas leaders of South Sudan use violence and corruption as a means of
capturing key sectors of the national economy, such as the oil and
mining sectors, for purposes of personal enrichment; and
Whereas the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 2471 on May 30,
2019, to extend its sanctions regime in South Sudan and renew the
prohibition of the supply, sale, or transfer to South Sudan of arms and
related material or the provision of training, technical, and financial
assistance related to military activities or materials until May 31,
2020: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate--
(1) to reaffirm the commitment of the United States to
support peace in South Sudan;
(2) to call on the incumbent government and all other
signatories of the R-ARCSS to--
(A) create a secure, enabling environment for all
relevant political leaders to participate actively in
the formation of the RTGoNU and South Sudan's political
stabilization and post-conflict development;
(B) resolve peacefully the remaining political
issues for negotiation during the Pre-Transitional
Period, including agreement on the number and
boundaries of states before the extended deadline of
November 12, 2019;
(C) establish a RTGoNU by November 12, 2019;
(D) adhere to the cessation of hostilities and
enable the delivery of humanitarian assistance and
protection;
(E) immediately release all political prisoners and
fulfill their responsibility to protect civilians; and
(F) ensure respect for and full exercise of the
right to freedom of expression, association, and
peaceful assembly;
(3) that the Secretary of State and the Administrator of
the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
should continue to provide immediate lifesaving assistance to
meet the dire humanitarian needs of the South Sudanese people;
(4) that the Secretary of State and the USAID Administrator
should continue to support civilians, particularly women and
children, who have been adversely affected by the civil war,
and should provide foreign assistance to support peacebuilding,
conflict prevention, transitional justice, and reconciliation
efforts led by local civil society;
(5) that the Secretary of State should monitor
implementation of the UNMISS mandate authorized by United
Nations Security Council Resolution 2459 (2019) and ensure that
any return or relocation of IDPs from United Nations protection
of civilian sites are safe, informed, voluntary, dignified, and
conducted in coordination with humanitarian actors;
(6) that the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the
Secretary of the Treasury, should continue to monitor human
rights abuse and corruption in South Sudan and take decisive
action using authorities granted under the Global Magnitsky
Human Rights Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of
Public Law 114-328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note);
(7) that the Secretary of the Treasury should use best
efforts to prevent, detect, investigate, and mitigate money
laundering activities; and
(8) that the United States Government should support
implementation and subsequent renewal of the United Nations
Security Council arms embargo in South Sudan to prevent
continued illicit acquisition of arms and military equipment by
all parties and the proliferation of weapons throughout the
country, and that the lifting of a United Nations arms embargo
should be contingent upon--
(A) sustained adherence to the permanent ceasefire,
tangible efforts to end impunity for violence against
civilians, and consistent, unimpeded humanitarian
access in accordance with international humanitarian
principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and
independence;
(B) holding free, fair, and peaceful democratic
elections; and
(C) cessation of widespread abuses and violations
by armed actors against civilians.
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