Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration Eric P. Schwartz will visit Chad from November 14 � 18 and Sudan from November 19 � 23, 2010.
While in Chad and Sudan, Assistant Secretary Schwartz will meet with government officials and with representatives of international agencies, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and other international and non-governmental organizations engaged in the humanitarian assistance efforts in the region.
Both countries host multiple groups of refugees and have large populations of internally displaced people. In his meetings, Assistant Secretary Schwartz will assess how PRM humanitarian contributions have been used to meet the urgent needs of refugees in the region. He will focus on the challenges of support for protracted refugee and conflict-affected internally displaced populations in Chad and Sudan. Assistant Secretary Schwartz will also discuss plans for the local integration or resettlement in a third country of refugees for whom voluntary repatriation is not a durable solution, and explore ways that the international community can better support the return of refugees.
These meetings will also emphasize the U.S. government's commitment to the protection of vulnerable populations, with a special focus on the inclusion of women and girls in education, healthcare, leadership, and the economy. In light of the upcoming referenda in Sudan, Assistant Secretary Schwartz will also address the issue of preventing statelessness.
For more information, contact Beth Schlachter at (202) 453-9367.