H.E. Pelle Enarsson, the head of the European Union (EU) Delegation to South Sudan, assumed office in September 2025 and presented his credentials to President Salva Kiir last Month.
Radio Tamazuj sounded him out during an exclusive interview during which he said that for South Sudan to hold credible elections, conflict and violence have to be brought to a stop. He also said that there needs to be a fully inclusive dialogue between all the parties to the peace agreement, all parties need to agree on an electoral framework, and the government needs to allocate adequate financial resources to conduct the elections.
The envoy also contends that the Government of South Sudan spends too little on education and health and must invest more in its citizens. On a positive note, he said South Sudanese are resilient, and that there are unexploited natural resources, like the availability of agricultural land, and exceptional wildlife that could attract hordes of tourists.
Below are edited excerpts:
Q: Could you please introduce yourself to our audience?
A: I am a Swedish diplomat, and I have a long career in diplomacy, especially in the Horn of Africa. I grew up in Kenya, and I have worked as the Swedish ambassador to Eritrea, but I also have a long experience from working with the UN in New York, in particular, but also at the UN in Nairobi.
Q: Ambassador, based on your initial engagements and visits, what has been your overall impression of the country so far?
A: Well, I will try to summarize that in three words or three expressions. It is big, it has huge potential, and it has deep roots. Let me explain this; I have taken the plane a couple of times over the country to visit in Malakal and Boma, and the one thing that strikes me is how enormous this country is. In all directions, there is so much land and actually quite a few people. This brings a lot of challenges, like building adequate infrastructure to connect the regions, but the one feeling I have is also the enormous potential of South Sudan.
The people here that I meet here are immensely resilient and capable of surviving very tough conditions. There are unexploited natural resources in this country, there is the availability of agricultural land, and there is an exceptional wildlife that could attract hordes of tourists. And then I come to the last reflection or impression of the deep wounds of a very, very long war that started before the independence, of course. There is this sense of distrust, of ethnic divide, and the ongoing violence that is happening around us. That is really the tragic part of being here, and that is also why we need to work to end violence as a priority.
Q: As the new head of the EU delegation, what are your top priorities for strengthening the EU–South Sudan partnership in the coming year?
A: I mentioned the ending of violence, but I would like to frame it a bit more positively. I would say that the top priority is peace, peace, and peace. Peace in this country is absolutely the priority. We at the EU are of course also looking a little bit at the future. The third priority is to continue with our humanitarian aid because the needs are also great.
So on the peace, we are coordinating closely with the IGAD institutions of the African Union to support the implementation of the peace agreement and the transition to a democratically elected government. Of course, that is the whole ending of this peace agreement; this is the absolute top priority, without peace, there is no chance for development and to invest in the future, as I mentioned. (4:52) Ambassador Pele, as just mentioned about humanitarian, the EU has long been one of South Sudan’s largest humanitarian and development partners.
Q: The EU has long been one of South Sudan’s largest humanitarian and development partners. How is the EU adjusting its support at a time of growing donor fatigue and persistently high humanitarian and development needs in the face of escalating violence in the country?
A: We at the EU remain steadfast in our commitment to development and humanitarian aid globally, and I am very proud to represent the EU when others are cutting down. But it is also a fact that we need to look at how we support development and constantly review this. With our flagship global gateway program, the EU is using our financial instruments also to mobilize the private sector to leverage investments. There is actually one of those projects here in South Sudan.
In general, we are there, but of course, it is disturbing that we are working in an environment where there are fewer actors and donors to support.
Q: What are the main obstacles preventing the EU from shifting more decisively from humanitarian assistance to resilience-building and long-term development in South Sudan?
A: I would say again that the main issue is the conflict, violence, and the instability associated with that. There is also a lack of sufficient investment by the government in its own people. This government spends less than one percent on health and less than one percent on education. If we are going to move to support more long-term development, the government needs to start allocating much more resources to provide basic services to its citizens. Let me give you an example: we were planning to support smallholder farmers in Akobo to bring agricultural products to the market instead of relying on external food aid, but with the recent fighting in the neighboring counties, instead, 30,000 people have been displaced, and there is an increased need for humanitarian support. So, it becomes almost impossible when the conflict is as alive as it is today.
Q: Can you outline some of the key EU-supported development and infrastructure initiatives currently underway, including regional projects such as plans to import electricity from Uganda?
A: Despite the fighting going on, we are still working here to plan and proceed for the future. It is a kind of broad portfolio, but I will give you a couple of examples.
I already mentioned the one global gateway project, and it is about supporting a private sector investment to install almost 500 hybrid solar-diesel power systems for telecom sites all around South Sudan. In fact, we are inaugurating one in the outskirts of Juba later this week.
So, this is just an example of how a good private sector is investing in the future to ease communication. I would like to give you a couple of other examples. And you already mentioned the electricity connection between Uganda and Juba.
We are working together with the African Development Bank to invest in this electricity connection, and it will take several years to build and it will deliver cheap, reliable, and green energy to Juba. And of course, it would be impossible to build this if there is ongoing violence, but it is an example of these seeds for the future that the EU wants to support here in South Sudan. It is also an investment in the economic integration of the wider African region, so it has this regional integration aspect to it.
We have just finished building feeder roads in Northern Bahr el Ghazal to enable small-scale farmers to bring produce to local markets, many of whom are female farmers. We are supporting the reintegration of internally displaced persons. This week, I will actually inaugurate a new project to support authorities in Yei, Bentiu, and Rubkona to cope with the inflow of internally displaced people due to climate change and conflict.
This is a very interesting project as well, which may be difficult to imagine in a conflict state, but we are also investing in safeguarding the biodiversity and wildlife here in South Sudan, so that future generations can benefit from this incredible aspect. I mentioned this in the government national conference late last year, and the potential for tourism in this country is just amazing. It is just not possible under the current circumstances. I have a very good dialogue with the new minister for wildlife and tourism, and he is a champion for this and also sees the potential.
Finally, I would like to mention the ongoing support that the EU has been providing to the implementation of the peace that we have. The EU supports RJMEC, and we
support the UN so that they can support the elections here, and we support the constitutional-making efforts. So, in many aspects, we are heavily involved in the implementation of the peace agreement.
Q: Ambassador, South Sudan’s peace process continues to face hurdles, particularly around security arrangements and elections scheduled for December this year, while fighting persists in parts of the country. What conditions or benchmarks does the EU believe must be met before it can fully support a democratic process or elections?
A: The first is, of course, to end the violence; there can’t be elections here if there is ongoing violence. The second is that there needs to be a fully inclusive dialogue between all the parties to the peace agreement, and all parties need to agree on an electoral framework. That is not the case right now. And the third is maybe a more administrative thing, but the government needs to allocate adequate financial resources to conduct the elections. We cannot forget that it is very costly to run an election, and the government needs to really showcase that it is investing in this election.
Q: Ongoing violence in areas such as Jonglei, Upper Nile, and parts of Equatoria continues to displace civilians. Beyond humanitarian aid, what practical role can the EU play in improving civilian protection?
A: We have been very active in publicly condemning the violence and calling on all parties to respect international humanitarian law through statements both here in South Sudan and in Brussels. We coordinate closely with the UN and international humanitarian organizations and other diplomatic missions to help build political pressure on the government on granting access and delivering of humanitarian aid.
We also bring up these concerns in more private conversations with government officials. I hope to see some progress on humanitarian access and also to investigate some of the crimes that have been reported, including the bombing of a hospital, which is actually a war crime. So, we want to see progress also on accountability for the things that are happening. On a more local level or smaller scale, we do support local dialogue and conflict prevention mechanisms to prevent disputes from escalating and to decrease reliance on cattle raiding and violence in association with that. So, we have progress on that. I think what you mentioned in Jonglei and Upper Nile is part of the political problem, and there is also traditional violence that we need to deal with.
Q: Ambassador, the EU frequently emphasizes governance, accountability, rule of law, and human rights. How do you balance maintaining constructive engagement with the government while pressing for reforms in these areas?
A: That is a good question. This is the core task of diplomats. It is not always easy, but we try our best to balance this in the right way. Here in South Sudan, there is a particularity because we also have this added layer of the peace agreement, where many of the governance, accountability, and rule of law, transitional justice issues are actually regulated. So, our support to the peace agreement, I would put under this heading too, of governance and human rights, because you don’t only have the agreement, you also have the specific peace agreement, which has many reforms that need to be done.
Of course, the EU is not alone here; we have all the guarantees of the peace agreement, and here again, we work very closely with the AU and IGAD to push the implementation of the peace agreement. I will give you one example, a good example, I think, at the EU Human Rights Day in December, we invited the minister of information to join us in a dialogue with the audience at Juba University. I came out of that meeting very positively inclined because it was a very vibrant and interesting discussion. In the end, the minister signed a big board where he made a public commitment to protect journalists. We made it in front of the whole audience. I think that was a really strong moment where we worked in collaboration with the minister to emphasize the need for freedom of expression and the freedom of the press. One other aspect of this is, what is the aim here in the long run? The aim is, of course, that this dialogue with human rights accountability and governance issues is not an external actor that should be doing it. It is really a local civic dialogue that should happen here in South Sudan. The EU is supporting civil society capacity building and training, and I am actually very impressed by civil rights defenders and human rights activists here in South Sudan. Even if we have a very problematic situation with the war and the ongoing violence, my feeling is that civil society here is quite outspoken, and so I think there is total ground for actually creating something quite strong here in South Sudan in the future.
Q: Corruption remains a serious concern for international partners in the country. What concrete steps is the EU taking to promote transparency and accountability in South Sudan’s public institutions?
A: First and foremost, this is the responsibility of the government. They should be accountable to the population on the use of public institutions. That is the first thing to say. We do support public financial management reforms through this Multi-Donor Trust Fund that is implemented by the World Bank. So, we are also supporting this in financial needs. I don’t know if you saw the UN report titled Plundering a Nation: How Rampant Corruption Unleashed Human Rights Crisis in South Sudan, which the UN Human Rights Commission published last year, and it revealed the magnitude of the problem in South Sudan. If this practice of corruption continues, I think we will have to look closer also at punitive measures such as travel bans and sanctions.
I mean, it is completely unreasonable that outside donors should put the bill of a nation while some individuals enrich themselves. That is completely unacceptable.
Q: Youth and women make up the majority of South Sudan’s population, yet many feel excluded from political and economic opportunities. How will EU programmes seek to deliver more tangible benefits for these groups during your tenure?
A: Many of our projects are about supporting people, and much of that is directed towards women and youth.
In the IDP program that we are supporting with the IOM, I visited Malakal and met female small-scale business leaders who have received EU support to develop their enterprises there. In the vocational training center that also receives EU support, there was a whole room where female candidates were training to become hairdressers. So, I think in general we always factor in gender aspects in our program, and our programs are, including in the agriculture sector, most of which is directed towards strengthening the role of women. Actually, many women are the ones who are providing agricultural output in this country.
Now, when it comes to the political side, this is something where I hope young people feel a pathway towards being included in the political process. Of course, if there are elections here, my strong advice is for both women and young people to get engaged in the political process and create space for themselves. There are some very good examples of strong women in government already, so they should be role models for younger individuals, in my view.
Q: Finally, what message would you like to convey to ordinary South Sudanese citizens and to the transitional government?
A: I just really hope that we can support elections here in South Sudan. I think that would be an incredibly important step where South Sudanese citizens can make their voice heard directly and select their leaders, rather than having a transitional government, which is very difficult. But of course, the conditions that I mentioned earlier have to be met, but this is my hope that finally, through all these years of violence, there is a pathway out where people can elect their leaders and that the leaders are directly accountable to their citizens. This is what I think needs to be the next step in the development of South Sudan, and in that circumstance, all the investments we are doing might come to fruition. That’s my hope. Thank you.
Q: Ambassador, do you believe there will be an election come December this year?
A: Well, I mentioned the conditions earlier, and I am encouraged by what came out of the AU Summit over the weekend. The EU stands behind the AU and IGAD on this. It is not impossible, but there needs to be a lot happening in the next few weeks and months for that to be possible.