From his perch as one of the co-chairs of the South Sudan Caucus, U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Fla., is pushing an arms ban in that African country.
Rooney, who is the chief sponsor of the proposal, teamed up with the other three co-chairs of the caucus--U.S. Rep. Mike Capuano, D-Mass., U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb., and U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif.--in bringing out the bill on Tuesday. They were joined by U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel, D-NY, the ranking Democrats on the U.S. House Foreign Affairs and U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-NJ, the chairman of the House Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations Subcommittee.
The Florida Republican and his congressional colleagues noted more than 50,000 South Sudanese had been killed in the civil war and, despite a UN agreement to end the conflict, violence continues.
On Tuesday, Rooney and the other representatives made the case for their proposal.
“The time for an arms embargo in South Sudan was yesterday,” Rooney said. “The situation has become dire, with reports of violence on a daily basis. It is up to the United States of America to use its strength as the world super power to put an end to this. The people of South Sudan need the leadership of the international community to bring peace to their country and stop the senseless and brutal violence.”
“It’s clear that South Sudan’s political leaders don’t plan to live up to their obligations under last year’s peace agreement, so it’s time to dial up the pressure. I’m proud to cosponsor this bill which would lead to real consequences if attacks against civilians and recruitment of children in South Sudan continue,” said Engel. “I’m grateful to Congressman Rooney for his hard work on this legislation, and I hope Congress acts on this measure soon.”
There is no Senate companion yet to Rooney’s bill. The proposal was sent to the U.S. House Foreign Affairs and Financial Services committees this week.
