May 23, 2016

H.E. President Salva Kiir

H.E. First Vice President Riek Machar
H.E. Vice President James Wani Igga
Republic of South Sudan
Juba, South Sudan
RE: The Immediate Delivery of Humanitarian Aid to Address the Effects of Starvation
Your Excellencies,
We, the undersigned 75 organizations, scholars and prominent individuals, are alarmed by the drastic
humanitarian situation in South Sudan, with the Famine Early Warning Systems Network reporting
increasing death rates and a deepening humanitarian catastrophe. The World Food Program just issued
a report estimating that 5.3 million South Sudanese face severe food insecurity, a 15 percent increase
from last year, and is also reaching into non-conflict zone areas. While the formation of the Transitional
Government of National Unity is an important step, its first actions must be to end the fighting that
continues and to provide immediate unimpeded humanitarian access throughout the country to
alleviate the suffering of the South Sudanese people.
We urge the Transitional Government of National Unity to ensure immediate authorization for
humanitarian agencies to move throughout the country, including:

Coordinating checkpoints with humanitarian actors and removing unauthorized checkpoints,

Providing pre-clearance of all barge traffic by UN and humanitarian actors,

Ending the practice of imposing illegal payments and arbitrary request for material support,

Allowing civilians to move unimpeded to areas where they can access humanitarian assistance,

Ceasing restrictions on international and local staff from carrying out humanitarian activities,

Imposing a zero tolerance policy for those who impede humanitarian access,

Coordinating between humanitarian actors, members of government, and civil society actors to
ensure conflict sensitivity, thereby avoiding exacerbating tensions surrounding distribution and
access to resources, and

Requiring all commanders throughout the chain of command to immediately enforce the
ceasefire and permit ceasefire monitors freedom of movement to accurately report progress.

The international community must do its part, but you must also take serious and sustained action to
address these issues. Otherwise, the people of South Sudan will continue to suffer
We appreciate your attention to this critical matter and look forward to ways in which we can work
together to help the people of South Sudan through this dangerous time. We would like to invite you to
join us on a conference call to get your feedback on the above recommendations and to hear from you
any additional steps you are taking to alleviate hunger and to provide basic services to those in need.
Sincerely,
21st Century Wilberforce Initiative, Elijah M. Brown, Ph.D., Executive Vice President
African Freedom Coalition, Al Sutton M.D., President, New York, NY, USA
African Soul, American Heart, Debra Dawson, President, Fargo, ND, USA
Alliance for South Sudanese in Diaspora, Dr. Gatluak Thach, Executive Director, Washington, DC, USA
Alliance for the Lost Boys of Sudan, Joan Hecht, President, Jacksonville, FL, USA
Ambassador Group/South Sudan Institute, Peter Magai Bul, Co-Chair, Chicago, IL, USA
American Friends of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan and Sudan (AFRECS), Richard Parkins,
Executive Director, Alexandria, VA, USA
Aweil Youth Worldwide & Marginalized People of Sudan, Bol Gai Deng, Organizer, Richmond, VA, USA
Blue Nile Association for Peace and Development, Omer Abdelsawi Omer, Mulberry, FL, USA
Brooklyn Coalition for Darfur & Marginalized Sudan, Laura Limuli, Coordinator, Brooklyn, NY, USA
Christian Solidarity International-USA, The Rev. Heidi McGinness, Director of Outreach, Denver, CO,
USA
CLIP-Poverty, Sam Lony Geng, Team Leader, South Sudan
Coalition of Advocates for South Sudan (CASS), Kwaje Lasu, MPH, RCP, Chairman of the Board, Ypsilanti,
MI, USA
Collectif Urgence Darfour, Dr. Jacky Mamou, President, Paris, France
Colorado Coalition for Genocide Awareness and Action, Roz Duman, Founder/Director, Denver, CO,
USA
Colorado Episcopal Foundation, Anita Sanborn, President, Denver, CO, USA
Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy, Daowd Salih, Co-Founder and Board President, NJ,
USA
Darfur Action Group of South Carolina, Richard Sribnick, MD, Chairman, Columbia, SC, USA
Darfur and Beyond, Cory Williams, Co-Founder, Phoenix, AZ, USA
Darfur Interfaith Network, Martha Boshnick, Co-Chair, Washington, DC, USA

Dear Sudan Love Marin, Gerri Miller, Founder and Coordinator, Tiburon, CA, USA
Dialogue on South Sudan, Reuben Garang, Co-Founder, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Equatorian South Sudanese Community Association (ESSCA-USA), Kwaje Lasu, MPH, RCP, President,
Ypsilanti, MI, USA
Genocide No More - Save Darfur, Marv Steinberg, Coordinator, Redding, CA, USA
Hope With South Sudan
Human Rights & Advocacy Network for Democracy (HAND), Abdalmageed S. Haroun, Chairperson,
Brooklyn, NY, USA
Humanity United, David Abramowitz, Managing Director, Washington, DC, USA
Idaho Darfur Coalition, Marilyn Griep, Co-Founder, Boise, ID, USA
Institute for Sustainable Peace, Randall Butler, CEO, Houston, TX, USA
Institute for the Study of Genocide, Dr. Ernesto Verdeja, Executive Director, New York, NY,
Investors Against Genocide, Eric Cohen, Chairperson, Boston, MA, USA
Jewish World Watch, Mike Brand, Director of Policy and Programs, Encino, CA, USA
Jews Against Genocide, Sharon Silber, Co-Director, New York, NY, USA
Joining Our Voices, Slater Armstrong, Founder/Director, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
Jonglei Peace Initiative (North America), Dr. Isaac Gang, Executive Secretary, Austin, TX, USA
Massachusetts Coalition for Darfur, William Rosenfeld, Director, Boston, MA, USA
Mercy Beyond Borders, Sister Marilyn Lacey, Executive Director, Santa Clara, CA, USA
Never Again Coalition, Lauren Fortgang, Co-Chair, Portland, OR, USA
New York Coalition for Sudan, Eileen Weiss, Co-Founder, New York, NY, USA
OMNI Center for Peace, Justice & Ecology, Gladys Tiffany, Director, Fayetteville, AK, USA
Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition, David Rosenberg, Coordinator, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Presbyterian Church (USA)
San Diego Lost Boys of Sudan Charitable Corporation, Karen Richards, President, San Diego, CA, USA
Save Darfur North Shore, Lakshmi Sirois, Chair, Ipswich, MA, USA
Shine A Ray of Hope, Carmen Paolercio, Director, New Rochelle, NY, USA
Sisters Hope for South Sudan, Hanna Andrew Kong, Executive Director, Washington, DC, USA
South Sudan Village Technology Initiative
South Sudan Women United
St. Clare's Episcopal Church, The Reverend Ronald D. Culmer, Rector, Pleasanton, CA, USA
Stop Genocide Now, Katie Jay Stauring, Managing Director, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA), Hala Alkarib, Director, Kampala, Uganda
Sudan Advocacy Action Forum, Dr. Eleanor Wright, Moderator, Birmingham, AL, USA
Sudan Democratic Forum, Saifeldin Babiker, Executive Officer, San Francisco, CA, USA
Sudan Unlimited, Esther Sprague, Director, San Francisco, CA, USA
SW PA Bread for the World Team, Joyce Rothermel, Co-Chair, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
The Center for Democracy and Peace, Sabri Elshareef, Director, New Jersey, NJ, USA
The Elsa-Gopa Trust, Nell Okie, Director, Madison, CT, USA
The Institute on Religion and Democracy, Faith J.H. McDonnell, Director, Religious Liberty Program,
Washington, DC, USA
The Nile Institute for Peace and Development (NIPD), William Pay Tuoy-Giel, M.Ed., Founder and
Executive Director, Phoenix, AZ, USA
Waging Peace, Olivia Warham MBE, Director, London, England, UK
Hamid E. Ali, PhD, The American University in Cairo, Egypt
The Baroness Cox, House of Lords and President, Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust, London, UK
Autumn Earle-Rodriguez, Educator, Beaumont, CA, USA
Dr. Robert K. Hitchcock, Professor of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque,
Albuquerque, NM, USA
Prof. Mukesh Kapila, Former Head of the UN in Sudan, People4Sudan, Geneva, Sweden
Ellen J. Kennedy, Ph.D., Executive Director, World Without Genocide, Mitchell Hamline School of Law,
St. Paul, MN, USA
Khalid Kodi, Adjunct Professor, Boston College and Brown University, Boston, MA, USA
Amute Francis Lobalu, Human Rights Officer, South Sudan Human Rights Commission, Juba, Jubek State,
South Sudan
Dr. Deborah Mayersen, Historian, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
Allan Reed, Anya-Nya Witness, Sudan Council of Churches, USAID (retired), San Francisco, CA, USA
Eric Reeves, Northampton, MA, USA
Victoria Sanford, PhD, Director, Center for Human Rights & Peace Studies, Lehman College, City
University of New York
Dr. Gregory H. Stanton, Founding President, Genocide Watch, Arlington, VA, USA
Henry C. Theriault, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of Philosophy, Worchester State University, Worcester,
MA, USA
Ehag Ali Warrag, Editor in Chief, Hurriyat Newsletter