South Sudan

Floor Speech

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Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my deep concern about the ongoing situation in South Sudan. Next Monday we will mark the 1-year anniversary of the outbreak of civil conflict in that young country, which gained its independence in 2011.

Since that conflict began, as many as 2 million people have been displaced, while 1.5 million people are without secure access to food. 50,000 civilians are estimated to have been killed as a result of the fighting between the rival factions.

Alarmingly, Mr. Speaker, both sides have been stockpiling weapons and are expected to launch fresh attacks once the rainy season ends.

The international community, with strong American leadership, must encourage a peaceful resolution before further bloodshed occurs.

I want to commend the United Nations Mission in South Sudan peacekeepers for their hard work bringing aid to those in need, and I thank Secretary Kerry for his efforts to achieve a political settlement.

I traveled to Juba in 2007. As a matter of fact, the former chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, the gentlewoman from Florida, was with me. I saw a nation full of promise and hope for the future on the cusp of its independence. That bright future of possibilities for the people of South Sudan ought not to be dimmed by violence, instability, and enmity.

As Americans, we must exert our diplomatic arsenal to bring an end to the fighting and restore that promise of a peaceful and hopeful future for South Sudan.

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