[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 119 (Tuesday, July 23, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5175-S5176]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              SOUTH SUDAN

  Mr. WELCH. Madam President, 13 years ago last week South Sudan became 
an independent country. I want to congratulate the people of South 
Sudan on this milestone. The United States has long supported the 
aspirations of the people of South Sudan in their struggle for 
independence and democratic governance. John Garang, the leader of the 
Sudan People's Liberation Army, would visit the Senate to build support 
for the fight for self-determination.
  Today, despite those efforts, South Sudan is a textbook case of a 
failed state where, despite rich oil deposits, millions of destitute 
people depend on international aid for their daily survival. Last week, 
the United States announced more than $57 million in additional 
humanitarian assistance to address urgent needs of hundreds of 
thousands of crisis-affected people in South Sudan.
  In 2005, the year John Garang died, the United States, Norway, and 
the United Kingdom--known collectively as the Troika--supported Kenya 
and the other regional member states of the Intergovernmental Authority 
on Development to broker the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, or the CPA. 
The CPA ended what, at that time, was the longest armed conflict in 
Africa and gave the people of South Sudan an historic opportunity to 
vote in a referendum that culminated in their Declaration of 
Independence on July 9, 2011. Their hope, and the hope of the United 
States and our allies, was that South Sudan was finally beginning a new 
democratic chapter based on the rule of law--with security, competent 
and honest elected leaders, and new opportunities for equitable 
economic development and trade.
  The return of political violence in South Sudan in December 2013 was 
shocking to both the people of South Sudan and the international 
community. The leaders of South Sudan took up arms to consolidate their 
grip on political and economic power. Motivated by greed and personal 
ambition, they sacrificed the hopes, aspirations, and welfare of the 
South Sudanese people who, in the years since, have lost everything--
including their hard-won self-rule. Today, their country is run by 
warlords who have driven the country into bankruptcy through grand 
corruption, impoverishing millions.
  The democratic aspirations of the South Sudanese people, their 
ability to live a dignified life, and opportunities to educate their 
children, have all been stifled. The warlords have established a brutal 
authoritarian regime that has no respect for human rights or civil 
liberties, and no regard for democracy and the rule of law. The U.S. 
Department of State and human rights organizations report a pattern of 
repression against political dissidents, as well as widespread sexual 
violence against women and girls.
  On July 3, 2024, South Sudan's Parliament passed repressive National 
Security legislation that gives a wide range of authorities to the 
National Security Service and its affiliated opaque institutions that 
have terrorized the people of South Sudan for years. The passage of 
this law reinforces the fact that the current government of South Sudan 
does not embrace human rights and democratic values. Such actions make 
it extremely difficult for the United States to find areas of common 
ground with South Sudan's leaders.
  My predecessor Senator Patrick Leahy was outspoken about the calamity 
facing the people of South Sudan and the need for new leadership. As he 
said on January 6, 2022, and later that year on August 6, the 
government of President Kiir and Vice President Machar has shuttered 
both political and civic spaces, increasing the risk of political 
violence. It was not long ago, in August 2021, when peaceful protests 
organized by the People's Coalition for Civil Action--PCCA--were met 
with death threats, arbitrary arrests, trumped up treason charges, and 
forced exile.
  One of the leaders of that organization Abraham Awolich was one of 
the ``Lost Boys'' who ended up in a refugee camp in Kenya at the age of 
10. From there, he was resettled to my home State of Vermont, and he 
later graduated from the University of Vermont. In 2011, he returned to 
his homeland to help with rebuilding the country, but like other pro-
democracy advocates, the government of South Sudan regarded him as a 
threat for standing up against tyranny and dictatorship, and he was 
forced out of the country. He returned to the University of Vermont, 
where he is working towards a Ph.D.
  Neighboring governments and the international community, including 
the United States, have given the leaders of South Sudan multiple 
opportunities to put their country on a path toward peace and 
democracy, as called for in the CPA. These gestures have been met with 
intransigence and a total disregard for the will of the South Sudanese 
people. The August 2015 Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in 
South Sudan was such an opportunity, but it was squandered when the 
leaders resorted to violence to resolve a political stalemate. The 
government claimed that the agreement was imposed on it, and President 
Kiir launched his own South Sudan National Dialogue, which he hoped 
would endorse his goal to remain in office indefinitely. The people of 
South Sudan, to the contrary, called on President Kiir and Vice 
President Machar to step down and blamed them for the instability, 
violence, and corruption plaguing the country.
  As if to confirm the fear and verdict of their people, forces 
controlled by Kiir and Machar again resorted to deadly violence in July 
2016. That round of violence resulted in many lives lost, the 
displacement of civilians, and the collapse of the 2015 agreement.
  The African regional governments, with the support of the 
international community, gave President Kiir and Vice President Machar 
another opportunity to do right for their people by negotiating the 
Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan, 
which was signed in 2018. That agreement was intended to last 36 months 
until an election. Nearly 80 months later, there has been no 
significant progress. Instead, President Kiir and his government have 
acted to frustrate peace, undermine democracy, and subvert the rule of 
law. Now, both leaders are contemplating another 24 months in office, 
something the people of South Sudan cannot afford.
  The fear of starvation is a reality for millions of people in South 
Sudan. The economy has collapsed, billions of dollars in oil revenue 
have been stolen and squandered, and there is a great sense of urgency 
to restore security and rebuild the economy. The country needs

[[Page S5176]]

a new system for transparently managing public finances to ensure that 
revenues from oil and other natural resources are protected and used to 
address the needs of the people.
  I have recounted this tragic history to provide context for the peace 
talks currently underway in Nairobi, Kenya. The High-Level Mediation 
for South Sudan, or the Tumaini Initiative, is another olive branch 
extended to the leaders of South Sudan. It seeks to chart a way forward 
for their people who have suffered for so long due to the greed and 
repression of their own leaders. The United States, Norway, and the 
U.K. should actively support the Tumaini Initiative, provided the 
process is transparent and has clearly defined goals that will finally 
realize the promise of the CPA and independence.
  The government of South Sudan must use this opportunity to take 
extraordinary measures to achieve lasting peace.
  The people of South Sudan expressed their preferences clearly through 
the National Dialogue. They blame the crises in the country on their 
corrupt leaders who they have called on to step aside. They have called 
on the Troika countries to help bring about a democratic transition, 
including a leadership succession plan and timelines for elections in 
which Kiir and Machar do not participate. That is a necessary outcome 
of the Tumaini Initiative if it is to succeed.
  The Tumaini Initiative should also ensure that a new security 
structure is established in South Sudan. The current military is 
corrupt, splintered, and unaccountable. A coherent plan with clear 
benchmarks will be needed to separate the warlords and other political 
actors from the military. The privatized units of the army will need to 
be combined and repurposed with a single national mission to defend the 
people and sovereignty of South Sudan and a mandate to stay out of 
politics.
  South Sudan has a long history of impunity. Human rights violations, 
war crimes, and the theft of public resources are rarely if ever 
punished, and the country suffers from a culture of lawlessness. The 
police and judicial system must be thoroughly reformed. The prosecution 
of war crimes by an international tribunal should be considered.
  The United States should support the call by the people of South 
Sudan for a new constitution that restructures power and state 
institutions. The Tumaini Initiative, with the support of the Troika 
countries, should support a broad-based political dialogue to produce a 
political consensus on a constitution that strengthens the country's 
democratic institutions, including an independent judiciary.
  While the people of South Sudan need to choose their future leaders, 
the conditions for a free, fair, and transparent democratic election do 
not currently exist. It will first be necessary to achieve agreement on 
a new constitution and a new security structure, with clear timelines 
and benchmarks that prepare the country for democratic elections.
  The Tumaini Initiative may be the last opportunity for the countries 
of the region, led by Kenya and with the support of the international 
community, to finally help end the South Sudanese people's nightmare. 
Their current leaders have betrayed them. Multiple previous attempts to 
persuade their leaders to fulfill their obligations under the CPA have 
failed. Millions of people are hungry and have lost hope for a better 
future. The Tumaini Initiative offers them that hope.
  The United States has invested billions of dollars and years of 
diplomacy to support the South Sudanese people. There are emerging 
democratic voices in the country that can help propel South Sudan 
forward. We should now play an active role in helping to ensure that 
the Tumaini Initiative achieves what previous attempts did not--a 
sustainable path to peace, democracy, justice, and a brighter future 
for the people of South Sudan.

                          ____________________