Source: United States Senator for Delaware Christopher Coons
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) joined Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) to urge the Biden administration to deepen its engagement in South Sudan as the United Nations expects to renew the mandate of its mission in the nation later this week. In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, the group stressed the need for accountability for South Sudan’s leaders amid continued deadly conflict, humanitarian crises, political corruption, and failures to institute basic tenets of democratic governance in the nation since it became an independent state in 2011. The Senators cited the passage of Senate Resolution 380, calling for a review of U.S. policy toward South Sudan, and the upcoming renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) as imperatives for action from the Biden administration to drive progress in the country.
“We urge the administration to deepen its engagement on South Sudan with an eye toward accountability for spoilers to the peace process, corruption and human rights violations, and a path to sustainable peace, including free and fair elections – the country’s first as an independent state,” the Senators wrote. “We also urge the administration to consider whether additional sanctions and other accountability measures on senior officials in the South Sudanese government, military, and National Security Service, or individuals and actors in the region who enable corruption and the perpetuation of conflict in South Sudan, could contribute to the pursuit of these goals.”
“South Sudanese leaders have failed to make meaningful progress toward holding free and fair elections, a condition of both the 2015 Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in Republic of South Sudan and the 2018 Revitalized Agreement,” the Senators continued. “The United States, alongside our partners in the international community, must be clear about real expectations and benchmarks for drafting a permanent constitution and the credible conduct of elections, which will include a vital role for UNMISS. Alongside this however, we must be prepared to take action against those, even at the highest levels, who continue to impede South Sudan’s transition.”
“To date, the international community has failed to meaningfully contribute to changing the course of events in South Sudan. We encourage you to seize the opportunity presented by the renewal of the UNMISS mandate to make needed changes to support the people of South Sudan on their path toward peace and democracy, while holding accountable those who have denied it to them,” the Senators concluded.
Read the full letter here.
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