[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 165 (Thursday, September 23, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6677-S6678]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 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

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

                              S. Res. 380

       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

[[Page S6678]]

     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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