[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 371 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 371

  Reaffirming the support of the United States for the people of the 
  Republic of South Sudan and calling on all parties to uphold their 
 commitments to peace and dialogue as outlined in the 2018 revitalized 
                            peace agreement.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 22, 2019

    Mr. Coons (for himself, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Young, Mr. 
 Gardner, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Wicker, 
and Mr. Boozman) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
                 to the Committee on Foreign Relations

                           December 17, 2019

   Reported by Mr. Risch, with an amendment and an amendment to the 
                                preamble

                            January 15, 2020

       Considered, amended, and agreed to with an amended preamble

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Reaffirming the support of the United States for the people of the 
  Republic of South Sudan and calling on all parties to uphold their 
 commitments to peace and dialogue as outlined in the 2018 revitalized 
                            peace agreement.

Whereas the people and Government of the United States have a deep and abiding 
        interest in South Sudan's democratic development and post-conflict 
        stabilization;
Whereas the United States was a critical partner in the drafting and 
        implementation of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that laid the 
        groundwork for the 2011 referendum on self-determination, through which 
        the people of South Sudan overwhelmingly voted for independence;
Whereas the United States recognized South Sudan as a sovereign, independent 
        state on July 9, 2011;
Whereas, since the onset of the civil war in South Sudan in December 2013, 
        nearly 400,000 South Sudanese citizens are estimated to have been 
        killed, 1,900,000 have been internally displaced, and 2,300,000 have 
        fled the country and registered as refugees;
Whereas violence erupted in Juba in July 2016 and spread throughout the country 
        in violation of the August 17, 2015, Agreement on the Resolution of the 
        Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (ARCSS);
Whereas the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the 
        Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS), signed on September 12, 2018, 
        affirmed the Parties' commitment to the permanent ceasefire, 
        humanitarian access, and respect for human rights, and established two 
        phases of implementation, an 8-month Pre-Transitional Period followed by 
        a 36 month Transitional Period that includes the establishment of a 
        Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (RTGoNU), and 
        calls for elections 60 days prior to the end of the Transitional Period 
        to establish a democratic government;
Whereas the R-ARCSS stipulates that the signatories will create an enabling 
        political, administrative, operational, and legal environment for the 
        delivery of humanitarian assistance and civilian protection;
Whereas two extensions to the deadline to form the RTGoNU have been granted to 
        allow additional time to complete critical Pre-Transitional tasks, 
        including agreement on the number and boundaries of states and important 
        security arrangements;
Whereas the United States Department of State 2018 Country Report on Human 
        Rights Practices in South Sudan states that both the government and 
        opposition forces engaged in serious human rights abuses by perpetrating 
        extrajudicial killings, including ethnically based targeted killings of 
        civilians, and by engaging in arbitrary detentions, torture, rape, 
        beatings, and looting of property;
Whereas, on March 15, 2019, the United Nations Security Council extended the 
        mandate of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) for one 
        year and authorized UNMISS to use all necessary means to deter violence 
        against civilians, to prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based 
        violence, and to foster a secure environment for the return or 
        relocation of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees;
Whereas the people of South Sudan continue to suffer from a humanitarian crisis, 
        despite over $4,500,000,000 in United States humanitarian aid provided 
        since the conflict began, with more than half the population 
        experiencing acute food insecurity at the peak of the lean season in 
        2019, and humanitarian organizations are providing more than 5,300,000 
        people with lifesaving assistance and other vital support services, such 
        as medical care to survivors of sexual violence and facilitating access 
        to education to over 690,000 children;
Whereas South Sudan has been at the lowest tier of the Department of State's 
        Trafficking in Persons rankings since 2015, indicating that its 
        government does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination 
        of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so;
Whereas impunity for past atrocities, corruption, and capture of key sectors of 
        the national economy, such as the oil and mining sectors, continues to 
        drive violence in South Sudan, and signatories to the R-ARCSS committed 
        to the establishment of transitional justice and economic and resource 
        management measures;
Whereas the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 2471 on May 30, 
        2019, to extend its sanctions regime in South Sudan and renew the 
        prohibition of the supply, sale, or transfer to South Sudan of arms and 
        related material or the provision of training, technical, and financial 
        assistance related to military activities or materials until May 31, 
        2020; and
Whereas peace and security in South Sudan is critical to peace and security in 
        East Africa: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) supports a sustainable peace and democracy in South 
        Sudan;
            (2) calls on the incumbent government and all other 
        signatories of the R-ARCSS to--
                    (A) take concrete and meaningful steps to create an 
                enabling environment, to include security arrangements 
                for Juba and the unification of forces, for all 
                relevant stakeholders to participate actively in the 
                formation of the RTGoNU and South Sudan's democratic 
                development and post-conflict stabilization;
                    (B) take immediate action to resolve peacefully the 
                remaining political issues for negotiation during the 
                Pre-Transitional Period, including agreement on the 
                number and boundaries of states;
                    (C) adhere to the cessation of hostilities and 
                ensure humanitarian access;
                    (D) immediately release all political prisoners and 
                fulfill their responsibility to protect civilians;
                    (E) ensure respect for the right to freedom of 
                expression, association, and peaceful assembly; and
                    (F) cease recruitment and immediately release all 
                child soldiers under the command or influence of the 
                South Sudan People's Defense Forces (SSPDF) and its 
                associated militias;
            (3) calls on heads of state of member countries of the 
        Intergovernmental Authority on Development in East Africa to 
        engage South Sudanese leaders and parties to uphold their 
        commitments to the peace agreement, including maintaining the 
        cease-fire, to make good-faith progress toward peacefully 
        forming the RTGoNU, and to resolve other key issues;
            (4) calls on the Secretary of State and the Administrator 
        of the United States Agency for International Development 
        (USAID) to--
                    (A) intensify bilateral and multilateral diplomatic 
                efforts to demonstrate the commitment of the United 
                States to helping achieve a permanent and sustainable 
                peace in South Sudan on par with its commitment to 
                ameliorate the suffering of the South Sudanese people;
                    (B) elevate and consult additional voices in South 
                Sudan to broaden the constituency and shared 
                responsibility for maintaining peace and fulfilling the 
                commitments of the Pre-Transitional and Transitional 
                periods; and
                    (C) continue to support civilians, particularly 
                women and children, who have been adversely affected by 
                the civil war, and provide assistance to meet 
                humanitarian needs and support peacebuilding, conflict 
                prevention, transitional justice, and reconciliation 
                efforts led by local civil society;
            (5) urges the Secretary of State and the United States 
        Permanent Representative to the United Nations to monitor 
        implementation of the UNMISS mandate authorized by United 
        Nations Security Council Resolution 2459 (2019) and ensure that 
        any return or relocation of IDPs from United Nations Protection 
        of Civilian sites are safe, informed, voluntary, dignified, and 
        conducted in coordination with humanitarian actors;
            (6) urges the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the 
        Secretary of the Treasury to continue to monitor human rights 
        abuses and corruption in South Sudan and take decisive action 
        using authorities granted under the Global Magnitsky Human 
        Rights Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of Public 
        Law 114-328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note);
            (7) urges the Secretary of the Treasury to exercise all 
        options to prevent, detect, investigate, and mitigate money 
        laundering activities; and
            (8) supports implementation and subsequent renewal of the 
        United Nations Security Council arms embargo in South Sudan to 
        prevent continued illicit acquisition of arms and military 
        equipment by all parties and the proliferation of weapons 
        throughout the country.
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