Barbara Lee: “December 15 will mark the 1-year anniversary of the conflict in South Sudan. Since fighting broke out last December, a…”

“December 15 will mark the 1-year anniversary of the conflict in South Sudan. Since fighting broke out last December, a humanitarian crisis has plagued this young nation. Almost 2 million people have been displaced, and an estimated 50,000 civilian deaths have occurred. And the situation is only likely to get worse in the coming months. The United States has played a vital role in supporting an independent South Sudan, and we have a vital role moving forward to ensure that the conflict does not deteriorate. As we have seen in protracted crises around the world, such as in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the longer that a conflict continues and tears at the social fabric of a country, the more difficult reconciliation becomes. As cochairs of the bipartisan Caucus on Sudan and South Sudan, Mr. McCaul of Texas, Mr. Capuano of Massachusetts, and myself are urging Members to sign a letter with us to the administration requesting the President to increase his political and diplomatic efforts to help bring this conflict to an end and to prevent further bloodshed. With 1.5 million people experiencing food insecurity in South Sudan, now is the time to ensure that we use diplomacy to bring this crisis to an end. So we are asking you to join us in this effort because we must continue to work in a bipartisan way with the administration to increase our political and diplomatic efforts. ____________________”