The new UNMISS chief, David Shearer, has been talking to Radio Miraya in what constitutes his first one-on-one interview since arriving in Juba on 20 January.

In the interview, Mr. Shearer tells us a bit about his personal and professional background, the warm welcome he has enjoyed in Juba, and a new chapter in the relationship between the UN and the South Sudanese government. Looking forward, the UNMISS chief also talks about South Sudan as “a country with extraordinary potential” and gives an update on the status of the deployment Regional Protection Force.

Full transcript of the interview (plus audio below the transcript):

Radio Miraya - Welcome to this interview with the new Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan.

Mr. David Shearer, welcome to this first interview on Radio Miraya and also welcome to South Sudan

SRSG Shearer: Thank you very much, it’s nice to be here and nice to have my entry point into South Sudan on (UN) Radio Miraya.

Radio Miraya- Yes and we are curious, who is David Shearer?

SRSG Shearer: Well, I will not give you the long version, I will give you the short version. I am a New Zealander so my country unlike South Sudan is surrounded by water rather than by other countries which is much simpler in many ways. I grew up in New Zealand and I’ve worked overseas for 20 years in various countries around the world both with different humanitarian organizations but more recently with the United Nations in the Middle East, in the West Bank Gaza, Lebanon, Iraq, but I also spent some time most recently in New Zealand as a Member of Parliament. So I was an elected political figure and for a time I was the leader of the Labor Party in parliament, the oldest party in New Zealand.

Radio Miraya - And probably you have picked up some words in Arabic when you were in the Middle East?

SRSG Shearer:  I did a little bit but it’s pretty rusty, but I will say that one of the things that I remember most when I am looking back in my life was a time when I was much, much younger in 1981 when I travelled to South Sudan. It was a time when it was possible to travel on the Nile; I took a boat with a couple of friends from Kosti to the South of Khartoum and came down the Nile to Juba, so when I was told I had a job here I was very curious to see how Juba has changed from that time. I have to say it bears no relation to what I remember; it’s developed, it’s bustling, it’s got a major traffic problem that I don’t remember from before, so certainly the city has developed a lot.

Radio Miraya - So that brings me to the question of your impression at arriving in the country?

SRSG Shearer : Well, the people of South Sudan whom I have met, not just government officials but people I bumped  into, have been incredibly welcoming. The South Sudanese have a reputation for being warm friendly people and that’s certainly the impression that I have had so far, so I guess my first impression is that this is a country with extraordinary potential, with wonderful people and it’s a new country that is finding its way. I guess from my point of view we are looking at ways in which we can help a country along that journey.

Radio Miraya- Now you have come here as the head of the mission succeeding the former head Ellen Margrethe Loej. You have met government officials of course I think you concluded with visiting and seeing the President, so from this visits what do you see in terms of relationship between the mission and the government?

SRSG Shearer:  With all the meetings that I have had with the Foreign Minister, the First Vice President and Vice President, Cabinet Minister, and yesterday a long meeting with President Kiir, I think my message to them was that I am coming from outside of the country, I am new and am in listening mood. I want to hear want they have got to say, what they advise. I am also coming in at a time when the head of the United Nations, Secretary-General Guterres has just come into post. I spoke to him on the phone a couple of nights ago and he expressed the wish to have a good relationship with President Kiir and South Sudan. In some ways, this is a new page for the UN and our relationship with South Sudan.

Once again, all of the ministers and certainly the President whom I met on Wednesday were welcoming. My message to them is that the UN here in South Sudan is here to help the country move forward. We respect the extraordinary fight and journey that South Sudan that has taken to gain its sovereignty as a small nation. The way the country is run is up to the government and its people. It’s not something for the United Nations; we are here to support and I think the success of that support will be when the UN comes to leave, certainly when the peacekeeping mission comes to leave.  It will be wonderful if we got to the point where we feel we were no longer necessary, and that to me will be my biggest indicator of my success here in the country if I was able to do that. 

Radio Miraya - So what would be like your first priorities given the mandate you have?

SRSG Shearer:  I am very keen to travel to the regions of South Sudan , so before establishing an exact plan I want to try and do that; so I'm heading out north to Malakal  next week and I’m planning  to get around the country over the next month or so. But I guess the overall point that I would make is that the UN is here to support South Sudanese people and to support the Government of National Unity to be able to move forward to help bring peace and stability to the country and then enable a lot of the good work that’s going on here, in order to be able create the opportunities, the development opportunities that South Sudan needs. 

So there are emergency and humanitarian interventions that we need to begin with but I would like to think that if we can get peace and stability in the country that those humanitarian needs will slowly disappear and we can then move into some of the infrastructure projects, for example. President Kiir said to me that roads are a major priority for him. We’ve got engineering battalions as part of our peacekeeping mission that are working on the roads at the moment. I would like to accelerate those because they create the business opportunities; when we've got roads and infrastructure, then businesses follow.

Radio Miraya:  You’ve come after the July conflict and that has really shaken the peace agreement and shaken also the confidence of the world about the prospects of peace in the country. Then that was followed by the decision to employ the RPF in the country that is the Regional Protection Force.  Where are we at the moment?

SRSG Shearer: Well, this is something that, exactly as you say, following July there was a decision by the Security Council to put in place the RPF. It’s a force which is here to create greater confidence for people to come back to Juba and to create the conditions of stability; we are basically finalizing some discussions on where and when. So my expectation is that it's imminent; when you're bringing in 4000 people, there's a lot of work to be done. So there are a lot of people behind the scenes putting in an enormous amount of effort. But from what I understand, and the President said this to me yesterday, South Sudan welcomes the RPF.

Radio Miraya:  You are attending the African Union summit in Addis Ababa; what is there for the Mission and for the UN community that is in the country at the moment?

SRSG Shearer: Well it’s going to be an important place where African leaders from right across Africa, and in particular from the regions, gather together. So it is a great opportunity to meet a number of people in a very short space of time.  I think in some ways the summit is more important for the opportunities it presents for discussions. But having spoken to the Secretary-General a couple of nights ago, he's keen to meet with President Kiir in Addis Ababa.  The Secretary- General has met him several times before in his previous role as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. So he will renew his contacts with President Kiir , and then there's a another side meeting where  the UN ,African Union and IGAD will discuss the possibilities of support to the peace process and where we go from here. So it's more of an opportunity to get some common positions.

Radio Miraya:  As it will be the first time people might be hearing you speaking directly in an interview on the radio what would you like to say, given the few days you have been here?

SRSG Shearer - First I would like to thank you very much for to everybody who has given me such a warm welcome. I'm certainly going to do my best for the Mission, for the UN, and most importantly for the people of South Sudan. I really look forward to working with everybody here to take us all forward.

Listen to the full interview: