III 

Calendar No. 338 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST 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, and Mr. 

WICKER) 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 

[Strike out all after the resolving clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[Strike the preamble and insert the part printed in italic] 

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 United States recognized South Sudan as a sovereign, independent state on July 9, 2011, following its 

secession from Sudan; 


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•SRES 371 RS 

Whereas the United States played a key role in helping draft 

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 people and Government of the United States 

have a deep and abiding interest in South Sudan’s political stabilization and post-conflict development; 

Whereas stability in Sudan is critical to peace and security 

in the region, including for South Sudan, and the United 

States Government remains committed to fostering Sudan’s peaceful transition, as reflected by the passage of 

Senate Resolution 188 (116th), which ‘‘encourag[es] a 

swift transfer of power by the military to a civilian-led 

political authority in the Republic of the Sudan’’; 

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 the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the 

Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) 

signed on September 12, 2018 by the political parties of 

South Sudan, affirms the Parties’ commitment to the 

permanent ceasefire and forbids human rights violations 

and restrictions on humanitarian assistance; 

Whereas the R-ARCSS establishes two phases of implementation, a Pre-Transitional Period until May 12, 2019, 

which was subsequently extended to November 12, 2019, 

followed by the establishment of a Revitalized TransiVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:37 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR371.RS SR371

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•SRES 371 RS 

tional Government of National Unity (RTGoNU) for 

three years; 

Whereas the six-month extension of the deadline to form the 

RTGoNU was 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 R-ARCSS stipulates that the signatories will 

create an enabling political, administrative, operational, 

and legal environment for the delivery of humanitarian 

assistance and protection; 

Whereas the people of South Sudan continue to suffer from 

a humanitarian crisis, with the United Nations reporting 

that over 6,300,000 people, more than half the population, were classified as severely food insecure at the 

peak of the lean season in 2019, including an estimated 

10,000 who faced famine conditions, and despite slight 

improvements in food security during the harvest, the 

number of children under age five who are acutely malnourished is projected to rise to 1,300,000 in early 2020; 

Whereas humanitarian organizations are providing lifesaving 

assistance to more than 5,300,000 South Sudanese people and are providing other vital support services such as 

medical care to survivors of sexual violence and facilitating access to education to over 690,000 children; 

Whereas religious and faith-based organizations have played 

a key role in the peace process and humanitarian response efforts in support of the people of South Sudan; 

Whereas at least 112 humanitarian aid workers have been 

killed since the start of the conflict in 2013, including at 

least 15 in 2018; 


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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 (UNMISS) in South Sudan 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 impunity for past atrocities continues to drive violence in South Sudan, and signatories to the R-ARCSS 

committed to the establishment of transitional justice 

measures; 

Whereas the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has 

reported that children comprise approximately 25 percent 

of all reported cases of conflict-related sexual violence, 

and the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 

South Sudan has reported that forced recruitment of 

child soldiers is increasing, despite the 2018 peace agreement; 

Whereas illicitly obtained wealth and revenue sources perpetuate conflict in South Sudan; 

Whereas leaders of South Sudan use violence and corruption 

as a means of capturing key sectors of the national econVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:37 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR371.RS SR371

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•SRES 371 RS 

omy, such as the oil and mining sectors, for purposes of 

personal enrichment; and 

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: Now, therefore, be it 

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’ comVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:37 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR371.RS SR371

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•SRES 371 RS 

mitment 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; 


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•SRES 371 RS 

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 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate— 


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•SRES 371 RS 

1 (1) to reaffirm the commitment of the United 

2 States to support peace in South Sudan; 

3 (2) to call on the incumbent government and all 

4 other signatories of the R-ARCSS to— 

5 (A) create a secure, enabling environment 

6 for all relevant political leaders to participate 

7 actively in the formation of the RTGoNU and 

8 South Sudan’s political stabilization and post9 conflict development; 

10 (B) resolve peacefully the remaining polit11 ical issues for negotiation during the Pre-Tran12 sitional Period, including agreement on the 

13 number and boundaries of states before the ex14 tended deadline of November 12, 2019; 

15 (C) establish a RTGoNU by November 12, 

16 2019; 

17 (D) adhere to the cessation of hostilities 

18 and enable the delivery of humanitarian assist19 ance and protection; 

20 (E) immediately release all political pris21 oners and fulfill their responsibility to protect 

22 civilians; and 

23 (F) ensure respect for and full exercise of 

24 the right to freedom of expression, association, 

25 and peaceful assembly; 


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1 (3) that the Secretary of State and the Admin2 istrator of the United States Agency for Inter3 national Development (USAID) should continue to 

4 provide immediate lifesaving assistance to meet the 

5 dire humanitarian needs of the South Sudanese peo6 ple; 

7 (4) that the Secretary of State and the USAID 

8 Administrator should continue to support civilians, 

9 particularly women and children, who have been ad10 versely affected by the civil war, and should provide 

11 foreign assistance to support peacebuilding, conflict 

12 prevention, transitional justice, and reconciliation ef13 forts led by local civil society; 

14 (5) that the Secretary of State should monitor 

15 implementation of the UNMISS mandate authorized 

16 by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2459 

17 (2019) and ensure that any return or relocation of 

18 IDPs from United Nations protection of civilian 

19 sites are safe, informed, voluntary, dignified, and 

20 conducted in coordination with humanitarian actors; 

21 (6) that the Secretary of State, in conjunction 

22 with the Secretary of the Treasury, should continue 

23 to monitor human rights abuse and corruption in 

24 South Sudan and take decisive action using authori25 ties granted under the Global Magnitsky Human 


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•SRES 371 RS 

1 Rights Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of 

2 Public Law 114–328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note); 

3 (7) that the Secretary of the Treasury should 

4 use best efforts to prevent, detect, investigate, and 

5 mitigate money laundering activities; and 

6 (8) that the United States Government should 

7 support implementation and subsequent renewal of 

8 the United Nations Security Council arms embargo 

9 in South Sudan to prevent continued illicit acquisi10 tion of arms and military equipment by all parties 

11 and the proliferation of weapons throughout the 

12 country, and that the lifting of a United Nations 

13 arms embargo should be contingent upon— 

14 (A) sustained adherence to the permanent 

15 ceasefire, tangible efforts to end impunity for 

16 violence against civilians, and consistent, 

17 unimpeded humanitarian access in accordance 

18 with international humanitarian principles of 

19 humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and inde20 pendence; 

21 (B) holding free, fair, and peaceful demo22 cratic elections; and 

23 (C) cessation of widespread abuses and 

24 violations by armed actors against civilians. 

25 That the Senate— 


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•SRES 371 RS 

1 (1) supports a sustainable peace and democracy 

2 in South Sudan; 

3 (2) calls on the incumbent government and all 

4 other signatories of the R-ARCSS to— 

5 (A) take concrete and meaningful steps to 

6 create an enabling environment, to include secu7 rity arrangements for Juba and the unification 

8 of forces, for all relevant stakeholders to partici9 pate actively in the formation of the RTGoNU 

10 and South Sudan’s democratic development and 

11 post-conflict stabilization; 

12 (B) take immediate action to resolve peace13 fully the remaining political issues for negotia14 tion during the Pre-Transitional Period, includ15 ing agreement on the number and boundaries of 

16 states; 

17 (C) adhere to the cessation of hostilities and 

18 ensure humanitarian access; 

19 (D) immediately release all political pris20 oners and fulfill their responsibility to protect ci21 vilians; 

22 (E) ensure respect for the right to freedom 

23 of expression, association, and peaceful assembly; 

24 and 


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1 (F) cease recruitment and immediately re2 lease all child soldiers under the command or in3 fluence of the South Sudan People’s Defense 

4 Forces (SSPDF) and its associated militias; 

5 (3) calls on heads of state of member countries 

6 of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development 

7 in East Africa to engage South Sudanese leaders and 

8 parties to uphold their commitments to the peace 

9 agreement, including maintaining the cease-fire, to 

10 make good-faith progress toward peacefully forming 

11 the RTGoNU, and to resolve other key issues; 

12 (4) calls on the Secretary of State and the Ad13 ministrator of the United States Agency for Inter14 national Development (USAID) to— 

15 (A) intensify bilateral and multilateral dip16 lomatic efforts to demonstrate the commitment of 

17 the United States to helping achieve a perma18 nent and sustainable peace in South Sudan on 

19 par with its commitment to ameliorate the suf20 fering of the South Sudanese people; 

21 (B) elevate and consult additional voices in 

22 South Sudan to broaden the constituency and 

23 shared responsibility for maintaining peace and 

24 fulfilling the commitments of the Pre-Transi25 tional and Transitional periods; and 


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•SRES 371 RS 

1 (C) continue to support civilians, particu2 larly women and children, who have been ad3 versely affected by the civil war, and provide as4 sistance to meet humanitarian needs and sup5 port peacebuilding, conflict prevention, transi6 tional justice, and reconciliation efforts led by 

7 local civil society; 

8 (5) urges the Secretary of State and the United 

9 States Permanent Representative to the United Na10 tions to monitor implementation of the UNMISS 

11 mandate authorized by United Nations Security 

12 Council Resolution 2459 (2019) and ensure that any 

13 return or relocation of IDPs from United Nations 

14 Protection of Civilian sites are safe, informed, vol15 untary, dignified, and conducted in coordination with 

16 humanitarian actors; 

17 (6) urges the Secretary of State, in conjunction 

18 with the Secretary of the Treasury to continue to 

19 monitor human rights abuses and corruption in 

20 South Sudan and take decisive action using authori21 ties granted under the Global Magnitsky Human 

22 Rights Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of 

23 Public Law 114–328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note); 


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1 (7) urges the Secretary of the Treasury to exer2 cise all options to prevent, detect, investigate, and 

3 mitigate money laundering activities; and 

4 (8) supports implementation and subsequent re5 newal of the United Nations Security Council arms 

6 embargo in South Sudan to prevent continued illicit 

7 acquisition of arms and military equipment by all 

8 parties and the proliferation of weapons throughout 

9 the country. 


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Calendar No. 338 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 371 

RESOLUTION 

Reaffirming the support of the United States for 

2018 revitalized peace agreement. ments to peace and dialogue as outlined in the calling on all parties to uphold their committhe people of the Republic of South Sudan and 

DECEMBER 17, 2019 

Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the 

preamble 


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