Special Envoy Dispatched for Abyei Crisis and Darfur Talks

Special Envoy Dispatched for Abyei Crisis and Darfur Talks

Media Note
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
May 27, 2011

Ambassador Princeton Lyman, the U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan, is being dispatched to ongoing peace talks about Darfur in Doha, Qatar and to Sudan to address the recent crisis in Abyei and outstanding North-South issues. Ambassador Lyman travels on Saturday to Doha where he will join U.S. Senior Advisor on Darfur Dane Smith at an All Darfur Stakeholders Conference. He will urge the Sudanese government and Darfuri armed movements to reach a political agreement, commit to an immediate ceasefire, and take immediate steps to improve security and humanitarian conditions on the ground in Darfur.

From Doha, Ambassador Lyman travels to Khartoum and Juba, and will join Sudan envoys from the other “Troika” nations, the United Kingdom and Norway, to meet with Northern and Southern leaders to address the recent Abyei crisis and as part of a sustained dialogue with Sudanese officials on a wide range of issues, including full and timely implementation of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement and resolution of the Darfur conflict.

During his trip, the Special Envoy will also travel to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to support the ongoing African Union High-Level Implementation Panel efforts to resolve post-CPA issues. There, he will also be joined by the Troika envoys.

ENDS