[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 380 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
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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, Mr. Booker, Mr. Rounds, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Cornyn,
Mr. Rubio, Mr. Van Hollen, and Mr. Coons) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
October 28, 2021
Reported by Mr. Menendez, with an amendment and an amendment to the
preamble
December 9, 2021
Considered, amended, and agreed to with an amended preamble
_______________________________________________________________________
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
guarantor 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 demonstrated a lack of political will for
sustainable peace, delaying implementation of the agreement, and in July
2016, new clashes in Juba quickly spread, returning the country to civil
war;
Whereas the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the
Republic of South Sudan, signed on September 12, 2018, reasserted the
Parties' commitment to a 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, the widespread suffering of South Sudanese
civilians, punitive actions by the international community, and 2 peace
agreements, the leaders of South Sudan have failed 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 the African Union and Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights found that parties to the conflict had committed acts that
constituted war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other violations of
international humanitarian law;
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, in September 2021, the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for
Human Rights and the Chairperson of the United Nations Commission on
Human Rights in South Sudan both reported that there were significant
levels of localized violence and a marked deterioration of human rights
conditions in South Sudan;
Whereas the situation in South Sudan persists while its neighbors face
increasingly urgent domestic and regional issues, including a fragile
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) restores United States diplomatic leadership
with regard to South Sudan alongside European and
African partners;
(B) advances United States policy goals for South
Sudan and the Horn of Africa and establishes a plan to
support a peaceful, prosperous South Sudan;
(C) identifies 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;
(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; and
(E) ensures that United States diplomatic
engagement is commensurate with the level of assistance
the United States provides to South Sudan, which
currently amounts to more than $1,000,000,000 in aid
each year;
(3) calls on the United States Mission to the United
Nations--
(A) to take steps to ensure increased effectiveness
of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan; 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 found to
enrich any party to the ongoing conflict; and
(B) 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 investigations into illicit
financial flows fueling violence in South Sudan;
(B) to work with the Secretary of State to update,
on a regular basis, 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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