III 

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, and Mr. YOUNG) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Relations 

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; 

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; 


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•SRES 371 IS 

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 Transitional 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 


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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; 

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 


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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 economy, 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 reVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:03 Oct 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR371.IS SR371

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lated material or the provision of training, technical, and 

financial assistance related to military activities or materials until May 31, 2020: Now, therefore, be it 

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

2 (1) to reaffirm the commitment of the United 

3 States to support peace in South Sudan; 

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

5 other signatories of the R-ARCSS to— 

6 (A) create a secure, enabling environment 

7 for all relevant political leaders to participate 

8 actively in the formation of the RTGoNU and 

9 South Sudan’s political stabilization and post10 conflict development; 

11 (B) resolve peacefully the remaining polit12 ical issues for negotiation during the Pre-Tran13 sitional Period, including agreement on the 

14 number and boundaries of states before the ex15 tended deadline of November 12, 2019; 

16 (C) establish a RTGoNU by November 12, 

17 2019; 

18 (D) adhere to the cessation of hostilities 

19 and enable the delivery of humanitarian assist20 ance and protection; 

21 (E) immediately release all political pris22 oners and fulfill their responsibility to protect 

23 civilians; and 


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1 (F) ensure respect for and full exercise of 

2 the right to freedom of expression, association, 

3 and peaceful assembly; 

4 (3) that the Secretary of State and the Admin5 istrator of the United States Agency for Inter6 national Development (USAID) should continue to 

7 provide immediate lifesaving assistance to meet the 

8 dire humanitarian needs of the South Sudanese peo9 ple; 

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

11 Administrator should continue to support civilians, 

12 particularly women and children, who have been ad13 versely affected by the civil war, and should provide 

14 foreign assistance to support peacebuilding, conflict 

15 prevention, transitional justice, and reconciliation ef16 forts led by local civil society; 

17 (5) that the Secretary of State should monitor 

18 implementation of the UNMISS mandate authorized 

19 by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2459 

20 (2019) and ensure that any return or relocation of 

21 IDPs from United Nations protection of civilian 

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

23 conducted in coordination with humanitarian actors; 

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

25 with the Secretary of the Treasury, should continue 


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1 to monitor human rights abuse and corruption in 

2 South Sudan and take decisive action using authori3 ties granted under the Global Magnitsky Human 

4 Rights Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of 

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

6 (7) that the Secretary of the Treasury should 

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

8 mitigate money laundering activities; and 

9 (8) that the United States Government should 

10 support implementation and subsequent renewal of 

11 the United Nations Security Council arms embargo 

12 in South Sudan to prevent continued illicit acquisi13 tion of arms and military equipment by all parties 

14 and the proliferation of weapons throughout the 

15 country, and that the lifting of a United Nations 

16 arms embargo should be contingent upon— 

17 (A) sustained adherence to the permanent 

18 ceasefire, tangible efforts to end impunity for 

19 violence against civilians, and consistent, 

20 unimpeded humanitarian access in accordance 

21 with international humanitarian principles of 

22 humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and inde23 pendence; 

24 (B) holding free, fair, and peaceful demo25 cratic elections; and 


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1 (C) cessation of widespread abuses and 

2 violations by armed actors against civilians. 

Æ 


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