[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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