FILE - David Shearer, then the U.N.'s head of mission in South Sudan, speaks during a news conference in Juba, South Sudan, March 9, 2020.
The former U.N. mission chief in South Sudan, David Shearer, said he feels gratified to have been able to encourage and support the changes that have happened on his watch in South Sudan, including the formation of a transitional government. On his last day in the job last week, he acknowledged that the South Sudan peace process was moving far more slowly than it should be.
During a virtual press conference from New York, Shearer said that while he had seen positive change during his four-plus years as the top U.N. diplomat in South Sudan, he was also concerned that key parts of the 2018 peace agreement had yet to be carried out, and said those delays had come at a cost.
“One of those costs comes in the form of sub-national violence that is being seen much too frequently on the ground," he said. "It’s much more localized than the violence that’s seen between the political parties, but nevertheless it’s displaced many people and together with the flooding has resulted in some very acute material needs for the people on the ground there.”
The delayed appointments of governors, county commissioners and other local officials prevented authorities from stopping intercommunal violence, said Shearer. Given current conditions on the ground, UNMISS (the U.N. Mission in South Sudan) has focused on becoming more mobile and agile to be able to respond to events more quickly, and Shearer said those efforts have paid off.
29 bases
UNMISS operates 19 bases across the country and another 10 temporary bases. Because of improved security, four of five of the UNMISS Protection of Civilian (POC) sites are coming under the direct responsibility of South Sudan’s government, according to Shearer. Malakal, which has been the site of repeated outbreaks of violence, is the only remaining POC site under UNMISS control.
Shearer said he was leaving the job convinced that South Sudan can become a tourist destination that rivals any East African country, and that with its abundant oil resources, the government can jump-start economic progress if it can eliminate widespread corruption.
“There hasn’t been a statement of account coming from South Sudan, there has been no, apparently there’s been no formalized budget that’s been put in place, there’s no real transparency about where money is coming into the country and how it’s being spent, and all those are all important benchmarks of a modern state,” said Shearer.
Trying criminal cases
Aside from battling corruption, Shearer said, South Sudan needs to begin trying cases in the African Union hybrid court as required by the revitalized peace agreement, noting that UNMISS has provided support to local authorities to try criminal cases.
“We’re also working with the local police to improve their capabilities and increase the number of courts, prosecutions, justice systems within South Sudan, which enables people to be protected, as in any other country by rule of law,” he said.
The hybrid court is supposed to bring to justice individuals or groups who committed crimes during the country’s 5½-year conflict.
South Sudan erupted in violence in late 2013 over a power struggle between President Salva Kiir and Riek Machar, the vice president. The fighting left tens of thousands of South Sudanese dead and forced millions of the country's citizens to flee their homes. The peace agreement, signed by Kiir and Machar, calls for establishing transitional justice, accountability and reconciliation. South Sudan gained independence from neighboring Sudan in 2011.
Shearer said he remained confident that national elections could be held in South Sudan, provided all the signatories to the peace deal “are in agreement,” adding, “We should be able to do that really reasonably smoothly.”
Under the peace agreement, following a transition period, the parties agreed to hold national elections in 2023.
Newer articles:
- EU to sanction violators of the South Sudan peace agreement - 23/04/2021 08:18
- South Africa has failed to champion human rights in the world. But that’s changing - 23/04/2021 02:14
- Africa urged not to destroy out-of-date Covid jabs - 23/04/2021 01:27
- Final report of the Panel of Experts on South Sudan submitted pursuant to resolution 2521 (2020) (S/2021/365) [EN/AR] - 22/04/2021 21:24
- South Sudan: As the waters rise, so does hunger - 22/04/2021 18:29
Older news items
- EU allocates over €43 million in humanitarian aid to South Sudan - 22/04/2021 05:19
- Turkey delivers supplies to orphanage in South Sudan - 22/04/2021 01:45
- How did research on Chiefs’ Courts in South Sudan influence famine early warning systems? - 22/04/2021 00:30
- Second group of Vietnam’s level-2 field hospital No. 3 departs for South Sudan - 21/04/2021 20:31
- South Sudan - CCCM Cluster: Situation Report | February 2021 - 21/04/2021 12:59
Latest news items (all categories):
- The Collo Kingdom Remains Underdeveloped: Five Hundred Years Later! - 03/02/2025 12:57
- Attack on South Sudan cattle camps kills 35 - 03/02/2025 12:46
- في صفقة مثيرة.. الإمارات تشتري نفط الجنوب في باطن الأرض لمدة 20 عامًا - 03/02/2025 12:42
- South Sudan: Can oil production save the economy? - 30/01/2025 19:27
- 20 oil workers and crew die in South Sudan plane crash - 30/01/2025 19:20
Random articles (all categories):
- An Open Letter to leaders and Elders of South Sudan - 25/11/2015 00:12
- Ali Baba's News Paper( Simple Advice to Mr. President Salva Kiir) - 03/08/2011 01:00
- Sudan: Carter Center - Election Law Should Have Term Limits for President, Governors - 19/03/2012 09:09
- John Luk Joak Is Not Fit To Become the Speaker of South Sudan Parliament - 28/08/2013 19:00
- الحركة الشعبية والسقوط في الملاعب المعارضة - 29/03/2010 07:59
Popular articles:
- Who is the darkest person in the world, according to Guinness World Record? - 25/10/2022 02:34 - Read 68164 times
- No oil in troubled waters - 25/03/2014 15:02 - Read 22363 times
- School exam results in South Sudan show decline - 01/04/2012 17:58 - Read 21559 times
- Top 10 weakest currency exchange rates in Africa in 2023 - 19/07/2023 00:24 - Read 19226 times
- NDSU student from South Sudan receives scholarship - In-Forum - 29/09/2012 01:44 - Read 19201 times