His Excellency Roar Haugsdal, the Norwegian Ambassador to South Sudan, said they agree with UN Secretary General António Guterres’ assessment that the South Sudan peace agreement is in shambles.
During an exclusive interview with Radio Tamazuj, the envoy said the parties urgently need dialogue to find a path forward for the peace agreement to be implemented. He contends that dialogue cannot happen when one partner to the agreement is in detention and that the developments in South Sudan amount to a political crisis which cannot be addressed by violence, but through dialogue.
Amb. Haugsdal also says that for Norway to support South Sudan’s elections, which have been postponed twice already, they need to see the country in the lead regarding preparations.
Find below the edited excerpts:
Q: How do you rate the bilateral relations between South Sudan and Norway?
A: Norway has been a friend to the people of South Sudan for over 50 years, and of course, any friendship is built on honesty and trust. We are now at a time when it is necessary for us to clearly state that we are deeply concerned about the current developments in South Sudan. We, however, continue to focus on Norwegian priorities in South Sudan, which are supporting the implementation of the peace agreement and South Sudan’s transformation into a democracy.
Q: How do you assess the status of the implementation of the peace agreement in light of the current disagreements between some of the parties and the house arrest of First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar?
A: The UN Secretary General (António Guterres) said that the peace agreement is in shambles, and we agree with this assessment. The parties now need to turn to dialogue urgently aimed at finding the path forward for the peace agreement to be implemented. That dialogue cannot happen when one partner to the agreement is in detention. We cannot view the developments in South Sudan as normal; the current crisis is a political one and can only be addressed by dialogue, not by violence.
Q: Endre Stiansen, the Norwegian Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, recently visited Juba. What was the main agenda of his visit, and what did he discuss with President Salva Kiir and other officials? Did he see Dr. Machar?
A: Mr. Stiansen came to engage South Sudanese leaders in a frank manner regarding the current political crisis. His message was that partners to the peace agreement should avoid unilateral actions; dialogue is the only way. He also said that dialogue is what ends fighting, and we need de-escalation. The lack of access for us and others who have requested to see First Vice President Dr. Machar, who is a principal to the peace agreement, underlines the political nature of this crisis. We requested to see Dr. Machar, but it was not approved.
Q: There have been a lot of discussions about South Sudan’s elections scheduled for December 2026. What is Norway doing to help with this?
A: From our side, we are quite clear; the elections must happen in 2026. This is the last time for an extension. Norway did not support the previous postponement of the elections. Some of you may recall that during the meeting of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC), Norway abstained together with the Troika. There are now fewer than 19 months until elections are due to be held. Election experts say that you need at least 18 months to prepare for elections, so time is of the essence. South Sudan needs to lead, and if the wheels are set in motion and real preparations for elections are conducted, it will serve as a strong signal to the international community. However, voter registration is a vital first step, and we need to see it. The transitional government needs to return to dialogue to make this a reality, and an end to the fighting and humanitarian suffering is essential.
Q: Do you see any political will from South Sudanese leaders and politicians to hold elections?
A: At the moment, we need South Sudan to take the lead here. We need to see political will, for example, starting with voter registration, making the necessary laws for the elections, and also making the decisions for the elections. So far, we have not seen that, and time is now of the essence.
Q: Norway has been a long-time friend of the people and has generously supported South Sudan. What areas of humanitarian assistance and development cooperation are you currently involved in?
A: To look back at history, in 2023, Norway provided close to USD 100 million in humanitarian and other support in South Sudan. In the period from 2018 to 2024, Norway provided close to USD 600 million in support to the people of South Sudan. Norway’s objectives are to alleviate humanitarian suffering, promote human rights, freedom of speech, and the rule of law, and, of course, our number one priority has been to support the implementation of the peace agreement. In addition, our objectives are to combat sexual and gender-based violence and to improve food security by supporting increased food production. We also aim to build resilience and good governance; this includes ensuring transparency and proper use of public revenue.
Q: Are these efforts yielding the desired results, given the persistent challenges the country faces?
A: We are supporting several organizations on several of these issues, and civil society is important. We think that at the moment, the civic space is shrinking, and that is not the path that we want to see.
Q: Corruption remains a big issue in South Sudan. What have you done to help address this?
A: According to Transparency International, South Sudan is unfortunately the most corrupt country in the world. Norway is presently the co-chair of the Public Financial Management Oversight Committee, and we use every opportunity we get to highlight the need for accountability and transparency. Norway calls for greater political will to ensure that public revenue is managed responsibly.
So, the Public Financial Management Oversight Committee was intended to have this purpose, unfortunately, we do not see the progress that we wanted under this framework.
Q: What is Norway doing to support the media and civil society in South Sudan?
A: For us, civil society is fundamental to democracy; as such, community leaders ensure that national leaders hear the voice of the people. South Sudan’s civil society, in our view, stands as a beacon of hope in a very difficult situation. That is why Norway has, and will continue, to stand with the civil society and speak up for them. The civic space is shrinking at a time when South Sudan is supposed to move to elections. A conducive environment needs to be ensured for civic engagement and for elections.
Coming back to your question regarding press freedom, Norway’s commitment to freedom of the press and the protection of human rights is at the core of our foreign policy. We believe that any nation that ensures democracy, freedom of speech, and human rights will see stability, progress, and peace.
Q: What should be the international community’s step to resolving the political impasse in South Sudan?
A: Norway stands behind the African Union (AU) and IGAD efforts to promote dialogue in South Sudan. It is a clear signal that IGAD and the AU, and most of the diplomatic community and missions in Juba, agree on a message of de-escalation, dialogue, and the release of political detainees. It is the leaders of South Sudan who can move this forward.
Q: Is Norway going to contribute to funding South Sudan’s elections?
A: When it comes to the elections, as I mentioned earlier, we have been quite clear; for us to support South Sudan operationally on this, we need to see the country being in the lead. We need to see some concrete steps before we can engage. Before that is in place, I think there will be less support from the international community. The elections have been postponed twice, so we need to see that this time it is for real.
Q: What is your message to the people of South Sudan?
A: There have been a lot of questions about what the international community can do; rather, we ask South Sudanese political leaders what they can do. If we see change, I am sure the international community will support the progress, but it is important to mention that South Sudanese leaders need to be in the driver’s seat. It is time for them to put the people of South Sudan first.
The elections must happen in 2026. As a stakeholder in a peace deal that is to lead to democracy, Norway did not support the last postponement of the elections. There are fewer than 19 months until elections are to be held. Election experts say you need at least 18 months to prepare for elections, so time is of the essence. South Sudan needs to lead. If the wheels are set in motion and real preparations for elections are conducted, it will serve as a strong signal to the international community. Voter registration is a vital first step. However, the transitional government needs to return to dialogue to make this a reality. An end to the fighting and humanitarian suffering is essential.
Q: The transitional government said preparations were not in place for the polls to take place, and that is why they postponed. Will these be in place for the elections in December 2026?
A: The referendum that were held in 2011 was good, so we think that South Sudan’s leaders can organize good elections, but we need to see some political will when it comes to making the necessary preparations for the elections, and now it is 18 months till the elections and we are not seeing that yet. We hope that these things will be in place because we want the people of South Sudan to have elections, because we want legitimacy for the government.
For Norway, and perhaps the larger international community, to provide operational support to these elections, we need to see something happens on the ground: