UN envoy: South Sudan has potential, needs to hold elections

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — David Shearer said Wednesday he’s leaving the top U.N. job in South Sudan convinced the world’s youngest nation has the potential to become a tourist destination to rival any country in East Africa and the oil and mineral riches to spur economic progress — if it can eliminate corruption and establish a transparent and open government.

As the country approaches its 10th anniversary of independence from Sudan on July 11, it has a transitional government in place following a 2018 peace agreement, and a 2020 cease-fire. Shearer said in an interview with The Associated Press that though “it’s all moved too slowly,” it’s now time to focus on elections “and have a legitimate, popularly elected government.

“That needs to be the rallying cry as we go forward — to bring everybody on board and to put pressure on the government to actually speak up and hold those elections,” he said. “That doesn’t mean to say winner needs to take all, because that can create all sorts of problems. But we do have to allow people to have their say in what comes next.”

There were high hopes for peace and stability once South Sudan gained its long-fought independence from Sudan. But the country slid into ethnic violence in December 2013 when forces loyal to President Salva Kiir, a Dinka, started battling those loyal to Riek Machar, his former vice president who belongs to the Nuer people.

Numerous attempts at peace failed, including a deal that saw Machar return as vice president in 2016 only to flee months later amid fresh fighting. The civil war has killed nearly 400,000 people and displaced millions.

Intense international pressure followed the most recent peace deal in 2018, and in February 2020 a coalition government led by Kiir, with Machar as his deputy, was formed.

As U.N. special...