[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 72 (Thursday, April 27, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2592-S2593]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              South Sudan

  Mr. President, the Trump administration has stated it will pursue a 
foreign policy focused on American interests that puts our national 
security first. I appreciate the President's commitment to a stronger 
and more respected America and stand ready to work with him to achieve 
that goal.
  A stronger, more respected America does not mean we disengage with 
the international community. In fact, it means just the opposite. While 
there are many important issues we must address here at home, we cannot 
lose sight of the places around the globe that are in need of American 
engagement.
  As we have seen with Syria and North Korea, it makes a difference 
when the United States acts, but not every international crisis gets 
front page headlines like Syria and North Korea do. One such crisis 
with little attention but in desperate need of U.S. leadership is South 
Sudan. Hunger emergencies are on the rise across Africa, but the 
situation in South Sudan is so grim that it has led the U.N. to use the 
word ``famine'' for the first time since 2011.
  ``Famine'' is not a word the U.N. or the international community 
throws around lightly. In order for the U.N. to officially declare a 
famine, a population must reach certain death rate, malnutrition, and 
food shortage thresholds. In blunt terms, a formal famine declaration 
means that many people have already started dying of hunger.
  The famine in South Sudan is almost entirely manmade. The much 
heralded August 2015 peace agreement has failed to bring peace to South 
Sudan, which has been mired in a civil war almost entirely throughout 
the young nation's lifetime.
  Thousands of civilians have been killed and millions more were 
displaced as a result of the civil war in South Sudan. Millions of 
those who are left in the country are facing a severe hunger crisis. 
Fighting between rival factions has left an estimated 4.9 million 
people--more than 40 percent of the country--in urgent need of food. 
That total is expected to rise to over 5.5 million people--5.5 million 
people--by summer if the international community doesn't act quickly. 
These innocent civilians are victims of competing groups that use 
hunger as a weapon of war while accumulating wealth by exploiting South 
Sudan's resources. Millions are suffering in South Sudan, but that is 
not due to shortage of food. It is because they are being denied food 
by a small few getting rich off the country's oil, gold, and livestock.
  Meanwhile, humanitarian aid workers trying to reach the hungry are 
being kidnapped and held for ransom. Some have even been killed. Food 
shipments are being blocked, crops are being torched, farmers and 
herders are being forced from the land, and civilians so fear for their 
lives, they have been driven away from the violence in population 
centers to remote locations where aid workers can't reach them to 
provide the relief they need.
  There is plenty of evidence to show that when people don't have 
enough to eat, they get desperate. Desperation fuels conflict. Conflict 
in a young country, in an unstable region, poses the risk of spillover 
into neighboring countries, further exacerbating human suffering. This 
is why U.S. leadership is needed.

[[Page S2593]]

  By that, I don't mean throwing money or military personnel into a 
conflict zone. In fact, that would likely exacerbate the situation as 
the structural causes will remain once the money dries out and the 
troops head home.
  The approach I am advocating is two-pronged. First and foremost, 
there absolutely is a need for the United States to take a lead in 
coordinating relief with NGOs and our international partners like the 
World Food Program--aid which has proven effective channels, the 
dedication and compassion of doers, not takers.
  Along with helping those who desperately need humanitarian aid, the 
international community must also take action to end the unchecked 
corruption that fuels the conflict in South Sudan. This is the 
structural cause of the crisis. We have to address this problem at its 
root. If we want to have any chance at long-term stability in South 
Sudan, we must seriously consider options that would end the corruption 
which enriches those in power at the expense of the citizens.
  I believe President Trump would support these efforts. The President 
understands how dire the situation in South Sudan is. The 
administration recently announced the continuation of the national 
emergency declaration for South Sudan, which was set to expire earlier 
this month.
  Earlier this week, Ambassador Haley rightfully called out the warring 
parties in South Sudan and urged the U.N. Security Council to move 
forward with further sanctions and an arms embargo. The Ambassador's 
words urging the Council to take action to break the cycle of violence 
in South Sudan are extremely encouraging. They show the administration 
understands that the United States must remain engaged in corners of 
the world that need our leadership. It is my hope that Congress and the 
President can work together to exert that leadership and put an end to 
the corruption that is causing so much suffering in the country.
  There is a role for soft power in a hard-powered administration. 
Human suffering is never in our national interest, no matter where it 
is happening. U.S. leadership, through diplomacy and smart foreign aid 
programs, help prevent situations which lead to serious threats to our 
national security.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Lankford). The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.