Ambassador Dane Smith, the U.S. Senior Advisor on Darfur, departs for Rwanda today on his latest trip to support international efforts to reach a definitive end to conflict in Darfur. Ambassador Smith will first visit Kigali, where he will meet with Rwandan government officials to thank them for their support to the African Union/United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) and discuss peacekeeping in that region of Sudan.

The Senior Advisor will then travel to Doha to encourage the Sudanese government and Darfuri armed movements to make progress on political talks aimed at reaching a ceasefire and negotiated settlement that will lead to improvements in the security and humanitarian situation in Darfur.

Finally, Ambassador Smith will travel to Sudan to promote peace and security in Darfur. He will visit several internally displaced persons camps to emphasize the need for Sudan to allow unrestricted access to UNAMID and humanitarian agencies in order to protect civilians and provide humanitarian assistance to people in need. This will be his fourth trip to Darfur in the past four months.