American senator says South Sudan leaders failed to build sustainable peace

JUBA – South Sudan’s rival leaders failed to build sustainable peace, reinventing themselves as political leaders with a stamp of legitimacy from the global community, a United States senator said.

Senator Patrick Leahy said it was time for the global community to listen, stand with the population and reassess policies towards the young nation.

“It is time to listen to the people of South Sudan, and for the United States to reassess its policy toward South Sudan. The White House and the State Department need to recognize that the status quo in South Sudan has been a dead-end for years and consult with congress on a new way forward”, he wrote on January 31.

The lawmaker recommended the use Global Magnitzky Act to sanction key officials in South Sudan’s National Security Service for alleged involvement in extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention and torture, among others.

The Global Magnitzky Act authorizes the U.S President to block or revoke the visas of certain “foreign persons” (both individuals and entities) or to impose property sanctions on them if they are responsible for or acted as an agent for someone responsible for “extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.

According to the outspoken U.S senator, South Sudanese leaders have “consistently” failed to uphold their responsibilities to create the conditions for peace and prosperity.

The leaders, he further stressed, have prioritized self-preservation and corruption over the needs of the people they represent, acted in bad faith in the implementation of ceasefire and peace agreements as well as betrayed the cause of freedom, resulting in the loss of millions of lives.

Senator Leahly cited the senate resolution, which urged the administration of President Joe Biden to work closely with the Secretary of State to update, on a regular basis, the list of individuals and entities designated under the South Sudan sanctions program, including individuals at the highest levels of leadership in South Sudan and from within the National Security Service.

The resolution also urged authorities to coordinate in cooperation with the Secretary of State, United Kingdom and the European Union on South Sudan-related sanctions designations and enforcement.

“So rather than makeup falsehoods about those asking such questions, including me, the People’s Coalition for Civil Action, and other South Sudanese activists and organizations that want nothing more than for the promise of the R-ARCSS [Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan] to be realized so the people of South Sudan can enjoy the security and prosperity they are entitled to, I urge President [Salva] Kiir and Vice President [Riek] Machar to put their country first,” he stressed.