EU Envoy Denied Access to South Sudan’s Detained First Vice President

Juba, South Sudan – April 11, 2025 – Dr. Annette Weber, the European Union’s Special Representative to the Horn of Africa, visited Juba on April 10, 2025, on a diplomatic mission at the behest of EU High Representative and Vice President H.E. Kaja Kallas. The visit aimed to address the escalating political crisis in South Sudan, but Weber was denied access to First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar, who has been under house arrest since March 26, 2025.

Weber’s agenda included high-level discussions on the deteriorating security situation and violations of the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS). She met with Vice President Dr. Benjamin Bol Mel, Information Minister Michael Makuei, Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Dr. Wek Mamer, and Cabinet Affairs Minister Dr. Martin Elia Lomuro. However, her request to visit Machar, a central figure in the peace deal and leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In Opposition (SPLM-IO), was refused by South Sudanese authorities, underscoring the deepening tensions in the capital.

Machar’s detention, following clashes in Upper Nile state and accusations of fomenting rebellion, has sparked fears of a return to civil war, which claimed nearly 400,000 lives between 2013 and 2018. Weber conveyed the EU’s grave concerns about ongoing violence and the erosion of the peace agreement, urging de-escalation and dialogue. The refusal to allow her access to Machar has raised alarm among international observers, who see it as a sign of the government’s tightening grip on opposition voices.

The EU’s engagement comes amid broader diplomatic efforts, including visits by African Union mediators and Kenya’s Raila Odinga, to salvage the peace process. As of today, Machar remains confined, and South Sudan teeters on the edge of further instability, with the international community pressing for his release to prevent a collapse of the fragile unity government.

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