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South Sudan: David Shearer looks back on a period of ‘positive change’

South Sudan: David Shearer looks back on a period of ‘positive change’

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The more peace becomes enduring, the less protection civilians need: that’s been one of the key measures by which the UN mission chief in South Sudan – who left the UN’s top job in the country last Thursday - David Shearer, has judged his four-plus years in charge of the 20,000-strong peacekeeping force, UNMISS.

The New Zealander has needed all his political and humanitarian skills to leave behind a record of “positive change” in a country where a fragile peace is finally holding, following years of instability and brutal civil conflict.

UN News’s Matt Wells, began by asking him to describe the state of the world’s youngest country, when he first arrived in the capital Juba.

Audio Credit
Matt Wells, UN News
Audio
14'20"
Photo Credit
UN News/Daniel Dickinson