[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 14 (Monday, February 1, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S396-S397]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     SENATE RESOLUTION 404--SUPPORTING FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 
 COMPREHENSIVE PEACE AGREEMENT AND OTHER EFFORTS TO PROMOTE PEACE AND 
               STABILITY IN SUDAN, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

  Mr. FEINGOLD (for himself, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Wicker, Mrs. 
Gillibrand, Mrs. Boxer, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Byrd, Mr. Iskason, Mr.

[[Page S397]]

Merkley, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Bayh, Mr. 
Cardin, and Mr. Casey) submitted the following resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 404

       Whereas violent civil conflict between North and South in 
     Sudan raged for 21 years, resulting in the deaths of an 
     estimated 2,000,000 people and displacement of another 
     4,000,000 people;
       Whereas the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement 
     (CPA) by the National Congress Party (NCP) and Sudan People's 
     Liberation Movement (SPLM) on January 9, 2005, brought a 
     formal end to that civil war;
       Whereas the United States Government, particularly through 
     the efforts of the President's Special Envoy for Sudan Jack 
     Danforth, worked closely with the parties, the mediator, 
     General Lazaro Sumbeiywo, the members of the 
     Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and the 
     United Kingdom and Norway to bring about the CPA;
       Whereas the CPA established a 6-year interim period during 
     which the Government of Sudan would undertake significant 
     democratic reforms and hold national elections, and at the 
     end of which the South would hold a referendum on self-
     determination, with the option to forge an independent state;
       Whereas, while the parties have made progress on several 
     parts of the CPA, limited national government reforms have 
     been made and several key issues remain outstanding, notably 
     border demarcation, resolution of the census dispute, and 
     certain preparations for the 2011 referenda for southern 
     Sudan and Abyei;
       Whereas the NCP's delay and refusal to follow through on 
     some of its commitments under the CPA has fueled mistrust and 
     suspicion, increasing tensions between northern and southern 
     Sudan;
       Whereas research by the Small Arms Survey, published as 
     recently as December 2009, shows that both sides are building 
     up their security forces and covertly stockpiling weapons in 
     anticipation of a possible return to civil war;
       Whereas the Government of Southern Sudan continues to face 
     a range of challenges and continues to struggle with problems 
     of financial management, insufficient capacity, and a limited 
     ability to provide security in parts of its territory, 
     especially in the face of increasing inter-ethnic and 
     communal violence;
       Whereas humanitarian organizations and the United Nations 
     report that more than 2,500 people were killed and an 
     additional 350,000 displaced by inter-ethnic and communal 
     violence within southern Sudan throughout 2009;
       Whereas the Lord's Resistance Army, a brutal rebel group 
     formed in northern Uganda, has reportedly resumed and 
     increased attacks against civilians in southern Sudan, 
     creating another security challenge in the region;
       Whereas the Government of Southern Sudan and the United 
     Nations Mission (UNMIS) have not taken adequate steps to 
     address the rising insecurity and to protect civilians in 
     southern Sudan;
       Whereas, despite 5 years of peace, most of southern Sudan 
     remains severely underdeveloped with communities lacking 
     access to essential services such as water, health care, 
     livelihood opportunities, and infrastructure;
       Whereas Sudan is scheduled to hold national elections in 
     April 2010, and the people of southern Sudan and Abyei are to 
     hold their referendum on self-determination in January 2011 
     under the terms of the CPA;
       Whereas the holding of these elections, Sudan's first 
     multiparty elections in 24 years, could be a historic 
     milestone for the country and a step toward genuine 
     democratic transformation if the elections are fair and free 
     and all communities are able to participate;
       Whereas the existence of laws that grant powers to 
     government security services in Sudan to arrest and detain 
     citizens without charge and recent actions taken by the 
     security forces to restrict freedom of speech and assembly by 
     opposition parties have raised concerns that conditions may 
     not exist for fair and free elections in Sudan;
       Whereas the conflict in Darfur is still unresolved, the 
     security situation remains volatile, and armed parties 
     continue to commit humanitarian and human rights violations 
     in the region, raising concerns that conditions may not exist 
     for Darfurians to freely and safely participate in the 
     elections; and
       Whereas the security situation in the whole of Sudan has 
     profound implications for the stability of neighboring 
     countries, including Chad, the Central African Republic, the 
     Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, and 
     Uganda: Now, therefore be it
         Resolved, That the Senate--
         (1) acknowledges the critical importance of preventing a 
     renewed North-South civil war in Sudan, which would have 
     catastrophic humanitarian consequences for all of Sudan and 
     could destabilize the wider region;
         (2) supports the efforts of President Barack Obama to 
     reinvigorate and strengthen international engagement on 
     implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA);
         (3) encourages all international envoys and 
     representatives, including those of the permanent members of 
     the United Nations Security Council, IGAD, the African Union, 
     and the United Nations, to work closely together and 
     coordinate their efforts to bolster the peace accord;
         (4) calls on the parties in Sudan--
         (A) to comply fully with their commitments under the CPA;
         (B) to refrain from actions that could escalate tensions 
     in the run-up to the 2011 referendum;
         (C) to work expeditiously to resolve outstanding issues 
     of the agreement; and
         (D) to begin negotiations to resolve post-referenda 
     issues, including resource allocation and citizenship rights 
     in the case of separation;
         (5) calls on the Government of National Unity to amend or 
     repeal laws and avoid any further actions that would unduly 
     restrict the freedom of speech and assembly by opposition 
     parties or the full participation of communities, including 
     those in Darfur, in the upcoming national elections;
         (6) encourages the international community and the United 
     Nations to engage with local populations to provide 
     assistance for elections in Sudan and popular consultations 
     while also closely monitoring and speaking out against any 
     actions by the Government of Sudan or its security forces to 
     restrict or deny participation in a credible elections 
     process;
         (7) calls on the Government of Southern Sudan to work 
     with the assistance of the international community to design 
     and begin implementing a long-term plan for security sector 
     reform that includes the transformation of the army and 
     police into modern security organs and the training of all 
     security forces in human rights and civilian protection;
         (8) urges the United Nations Security Council to direct 
     and assist the UNMIS peacekeepers to better monitor and work 
     to prevent violence in southern Sudan and to prioritize 
     civilian protection in decisions about the use of available 
     capacity and resources;
         (9) supports increased efforts by the United States 
     Government, other donors, and the United Nations to assist 
     the Government of Southern Sudan to improve its governing 
     capacity, strengthen its financial accountability, build 
     critical infrastructure, and expand service delivery;
         (10) urges the President to work with the permanent 
     members of the United Nations Security Council, other 
     governments, and regional organizations at the highest levels 
     to develop a coordinated multilateral strategy to promote 
     peaceful change and full implementation of the CPA; and
         (11) encourages the President and other international 
     leaders to strategize and develop contingency plans now for 
     all eventualities, including in the event that the CPA 
     process breaks down or large-scale violence breaks out in 
     Sudan before or after the 2011 referendum, as well as for 
     longer term development in the region following the 
     referendum.

                          ____________________