III 

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; 


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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, 


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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; 


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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 the Senate— 

2 (1) supports a sustainable peace and democracy 

3 in South Sudan; 

4 (2) calls on the incumbent government and all 

5 other signatories of the R-ARCSS to— 

6 (A) take concrete and meaningful steps to 

7 create an enabling environment, to include secu8 rity arrangements for Juba and the unification 

9 of forces, for all relevant stakeholders to parVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Jan 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR371.ATS SR371

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1 ticipate actively in the formation of the 

2 RTGoNU and South Sudan’s democratic devel3 opment and post-conflict stabilization; 

4 (B) take immediate action to resolve peace5 fully the remaining political issues for negotia6 tion during the Pre-Transitional Period, includ7 ing agreement on the number and boundaries of 

8 states; 

9 (C) adhere to the cessation of hostilities 

10 and ensure humanitarian access; 

11 (D) immediately release all political pris12 oners and fulfill their responsibility to protect 

13 civilians; 

14 (E) ensure respect for the right to freedom 

15 of expression, association, and peaceful assem16 bly; and 

17 (F) cease recruitment and immediately re18 lease all child soldiers under the command or 

19 influence of the South Sudan People’s Defense 

20 Forces (SSPDF) and its associated militias; 

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

22 of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development 

23 in East Africa to engage South Sudanese leaders 

24 and parties to uphold their commitments to the 

25 peace agreement, including maintaining the ceaseVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Jan 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR371.ATS SR371

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1 fire, to make good-faith progress toward peacefully 

2 forming the RTGoNU, and to resolve other key 

3 issues; 

4 (4) calls on the Secretary of State and the Ad5 ministrator of the United States Agency for Inter6 national Development (USAID) to— 

7 (A) intensify bilateral and multilateral dip8 lomatic efforts to demonstrate the commitment 

9 of the United States to helping achieve a per10 manent and sustainable peace in South Sudan 

11 on par with its commitment to ameliorate the 

12 suffering of the South Sudanese people; 

13 (B) elevate and consult additional voices in 

14 South Sudan to broaden the constituency and 

15 shared responsibility for maintaining peace and 

16 fulfilling the commitments of the Pre-Transi17 tional and Transitional periods; and 

18 (C) continue to support civilians, particu19 larly women and children, who have been ad20 versely affected by the civil war, and provide as21 sistance to meet humanitarian needs and sup22 port peacebuilding, conflict prevention, transi23 tional justice, and reconciliation efforts led by 

24 local civil society; 


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

2 States Permanent Representative to the United Na3 tions to monitor implementation of the UNMISS 

4 mandate authorized by United Nations Security 

5 Council Resolution 2459 (2019) and ensure that any 

6 return or relocation of IDPs from United Nations 

7 Protection of Civilian sites are safe, informed, vol8 untary, dignified, and conducted in coordination 

9 with humanitarian actors; 

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

11 with the Secretary of the Treasury to continue to 

12 monitor human rights abuses and corruption in 

13 South Sudan and take decisive action using authori14 ties granted under the Global Magnitsky Human 

15 Rights Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of 

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

17 (7) urges the Secretary of the Treasury to exer18 cise all options to prevent, detect, investigate, and 

19 mitigate money laundering activities; and 

20 (8) supports implementation and subsequent re21 newal of the United Nations Security Council arms 

22 embargo in South Sudan to prevent continued illicit 

23 acquisition of arms and military equipment by all 


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1 parties and the proliferation of weapons throughout 

2 the country. 

Æ 


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