How seriously is the World taking the crisis in Darfur?

By Scott A. Morgan

Feb 12, 2007 — Once again there are mixed signals eminating from the tragic situation in Darfur. It seems as if the more that the World tries to seriously address the situation the more Khartoum tries to shield itself from the scrutiny.

The facts of the crisis are now the following. Thousands of people have been killed in what can be best described as possibly Ethnic Cleansing. The Actors in this Drama the Janjiweed are acting at the behest of or with the outright assistance of the Sudanese Government. Whatever the case this conflict has caused Khartoum to lose the leadership of the African Union for the last two years in a row.

So what steps have the regional neighbors of Sudan and the west of the world taken? Well the AU has sent a peacekeeping mission to Darfur. That is good on the surface. However the mandate that the mission was sent there is inadequate. The Peacekeepers have no real power in a poorly defined mission. An attempt for the UN to take over the mission has muddled along for more than a year.

As this situation continues to fester in Darfur the violence has spilled across borders. There is a Refugee Crisis in Eastern Chad that may have induced more than one rebel offensive against that Government. In the Central African Republic French Troops and Planes intervened to quash one rebel offensive. It is widely believed that the violence in both countries is a direct result of the tenous situation in the West of Sudan.

So what can be done? Two attempted UN Missions to investigate the situation have resulted in Khartoum either declaring the staff persona non grata or denying them entry into Sudan. The United States has backtracked from an earlier statement that declared that the situation in Darfur was Genocide. The US Statement also felt that the situation can have a Diplomatic Resolution. This comes as several colleges and states debate divestment resolutions regarding Countries that do business with Sudan.

The numbers are chilling at this time at least 200,000 people have died. The World declared at the end of World War II that Genocide would never happen again. But what happened in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Kosova? The world waited until the last moment and then intervened. So when will the world step in to stop this Genocide that may not be one?

* The author comments on US Foreign Policy and Human Rights he can be contacted at [email protected]