[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 380 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 380

  Reiterating United States support for the people of the Republic of 
South Sudan in their quest for lasting peace, stability, and democracy 
   after 10 years of independence and calling for a review of United 
                   States policy toward South Sudan.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 23, 2021

    Mr. Risch (for himself and Mr. Booker) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Reiterating United States support for the people of the Republic of 
South Sudan in their quest for lasting peace, stability, and democracy 
   after 10 years of independence and calling for a review of United 
                   States policy toward South Sudan.

Whereas the Republic of South Sudan became the newest country in the world on 
        July 9, 2011, following the Referendum on the Self-Determination of 
        Southern Sudan, in which 99 percent of Southern Sudanese voters voted in 
        favor of secession from Sudan;
Whereas the 21-year civil war in Sudan, the longest-running conflict in Africa, 
        caused approximately 2,000,000 deaths and mass population displacement 
        of approximately 550,000 refugees and 4,000,000 internally displaced 
        persons;
Whereas the United States played a significant role in supporting the resolution 
        of Sudan's civil war, facilitating peace negotiations, serving as a 
        witness to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the Government of 
        the Republic of the Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/
        Sudan People's Liberation Army signed in January 2005, and providing 
        substantial resources for the implementation of that agreement alongside 
        other international partners;
Whereas, on December 15, 2013, just 28 months following independence, the 
        political power struggle between President Salva Kiir and Vice President 
        Riek Machar, both of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), 
        erupted into open conflict between ethnically allied Dinka and Nuer 
        factions of the security services and quickly escalated into civil war;
Whereas, on August 17, 2015, after months of mediation by the Intergovernmental 
        Authority on Development, the Agreement on the Resolution of the 
        Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan was signed by President Kiir, 
        Riek Machar for SPLM-In Opposition (SPLM-IO), and Pagan Amum for SPLM-
        Former Detainees;
Whereas the parties to the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the 
        Republic of South Sudan delayed implementation of the agreement and 
        demonstrated a lack of political will for sustainable peace, and in July 
        2016, civil war returned to South Sudan as new clashes in Juba quickly 
        spread throughout the country;
Whereas the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the 
        Republic of South Sudan, signed on September 12, 2018, asserted the 
        Parties' commitment to the permanent ceasefire, humanitarian access, and 
        respect for human rights, and called for the establishment of a 
        Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity to lead South 
        Sudan to democratic elections after 44 months;
Whereas Kiir's presidential term has been extended 3 times since South Sudan's 
        independence, twice through amendments to the Transitional Constitution 
        of South Sudan and most recently through an extension of the 
        Transitional Period under the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of 
        the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan to 2023;
Whereas, despite years of fighting, 2 peace agreements, punitive actions by the 
        international community, and widespread suffering among civilian 
        populations, the leaders of South Sudan show little motivation to build 
        sustainable peace, and critical provisions of the Revitalized Agreement 
        on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan remain 
        unimplemented;
Whereas the conflict in South Sudan resulted in the deaths of at least 383,000 
        people from December 2013 to April 2018, according to a report by the 
        London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and caused one of the 
        worst displacement crises in the world with 1,600,000 internally 
        displaced persons and 2,200,000 refugees and asylum seekers in the 
        region as of May 2021, according to the United Nations High Commissioner 
        for Refugees;
Whereas South Sudan ranks 185th of 189 countries in the 2020 Human Development 
        Index, performed the worst of 180 countries on the 2020 Corruption 
        Perceptions Index, is perennially one of the most dangerous countries in 
        which aid workers operate, received the lowest ranking in the Department 
        of State's Trafficking in Persons Report every year from 2015 to 2021, 
        and has been on the Child Soldiers Prevention Act list for 10 years in a 
        row;
Whereas the United Nations declared a ``man-made'' famine in parts of South 
        Sudan in February 2017, and the United Nations Office for the 
        Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stated in March 2021 that ``South 
        Sudan is facing its highest levels of food insecurity and malnutrition 
        since independence ten years ago'';
Whereas, in February 2021, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 
        South Sudan ``found that ten years after independence, staggering levels 
        of violence continue and threaten to spiral out of control across 
        several regions in the country'';
Whereas the situation in South Sudan persists while its neighbors face 
        increasingly urgent domestic and regional issues, including the ongoing 
        political transition in Sudan, conflict in Ethiopia, and deeply flawed 
        electoral processes and political unrest in Uganda and Somalia;
Whereas the United States has been the largest donor to South Sudan, providing 
        more than $1,800,000,000 in development assistance since independence 
        and more than $6,000,000,000 in emergency humanitarian assistance since 
        the start of the civil war in December 2013;
Whereas, on July 9, 2021, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan marked 10 
        years in existence at a total cost of more than $10,300,000,000, and 
        total United States contributions are estimated to exceed $3,300,000,000 
        through 2021;
Whereas the leaders of South Sudan have consistently failed to uphold their 
        responsibilities to create the conditions for peace and prosperity, have 
        prioritized self-preservation and corruption over the needs of the 
        people they represent, have acted in bad faith in the implementation of 
        cease-fire and peace agreements, and have betrayed the cause of freedom, 
        resulting in the loss of millions of innocent lives;
Whereas South Sudan has not held an election since its independence and the 
        current leaders of South Sudan were appointed or installed through 
        transitional arrangements based on peace agreements;
Whereas South Sudan merits consistent high-level attention given the central 
        role the United States played in diplomatic efforts leading to the 
        independence of South Sudan and the enormous investments in humanitarian 
        and other assistance the United States has provided to South Sudan; and
Whereas, on July 9, 2021, South Sudan celebrated the 10th anniversary of its 
        independence: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) reiterates the commitment of the United States to 
        helping the people of South Sudan realize their aspirations of 
        an independent, stable, democratic, and prosperous South Sudan;
            (2) calls on the Secretary of State to lead a comprehensive 
        interagency process to develop a revitalized United States 
        policy toward South Sudan that--
                    (A) identifies a broader range of South Sudanese 
                political and civilian stakeholders, beyond President 
                Kiir and First Vice President Machar, with whom the 
                United States may work for the promotion of peace, 
                democracy, development, accountability, transparency, 
                and anti-corruption efforts;
                    (B) restores United States diplomatic leadership 
                with regard to South Sudan alongside European and 
                African partners;
                    (C) reflects the realities of the conflict and the 
                political context in South Sudan; and
                    (D) increases diplomatic efforts to urge regional 
                actors, particularly in Kenya and Uganda, to 
                investigate assets of corrupt South Sudanese elites and 
                ensure Kenya and Uganda are no longer havens for 
                conflict- and corruption-related proceeds;
            (3) calls on the United States Mission to the United 
        Nations--
                    (A) to demonstrate renewed United States leadership 
                with regard to the United Nations Mission in South 
                Sudan to orient the peacekeeping mission toward 
                increased effectiveness, clarity of purpose, and 
                eventual drawdown; and
                    (B) to call upon regional and international actors 
                to cooperate in enforcing the United Nations arms 
                embargo in South Sudan and take action against those 
                violating the embargo;
            (4) calls on the Administrator of the United States Agency 
        for International Development, in coordination with the 
        Secretary of State--
                    (A) to ensure that United States assistance adheres 
                to the principle of ``Do No Harm'' by pausing any 
                funding, including humanitarian aid, that is 
                manipulated to legitimize or enrich any party to the 
                ongoing conflict;
                    (B) to review United States diplomatic engagement 
                and assistance to South Sudan, which currently amounts 
                to more than $1,000,000,000 in aid each year, with the 
                goal of matching the level of United States diplomatic 
                engagement with United States assistance; and
                    (C) to ensure that the comprehensive review of 
                United States assistance programs to South Sudan, 
                started in 2018 to ``ensure our assistance does not 
                contribute to or prolong the conflict, or facilitate 
                predatory or corrupt behavior'', is completed and its 
                findings publicized; and
            (5) urges the Secretary of the Treasury--
                    (A) to prioritize investigative actions into 
                illicit financial flows fueling violence in South 
                Sudan;
                    (B) to work with the Secretary of State to add to 
                the list of individuals and entities designated under 
                the South Sudan sanctions program, including 
                individuals at the highest levels of leadership in 
                South Sudan and from within the National Security 
                Service; and
                    (C) to coordinate, in cooperation with the 
                Secretary of State, with the United Kingdom and the 
                European Union on South Sudan-related sanctions 
                designations and enforcement.
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