Darfur: Negative progress but still hope

(For general background on the conflict in Darfur, click here.)

In the wake of the UN Secretary-General stating that the situation may be further worsening in the Darfur region, UN/AU officials said this past weekend: "warring parties have agreed to discuss ways of improving security in the region, but stopped short of promising ceasefires or new peace talks."

This truly demonstrates how the peace process has been devolving from making any progress, as the conflict in Darfur now enters its fifth year. At this point, several major attempts have been made to bring the necessary parties together for constructive negotiations...the most recent ones being in Libya in October 2007. It is extremely disheartening to see how parties have gone backwards to say once again that it is not possible to even talk about the potential for a ceasefire. As an LA Times article puts it: "The long-hobbled Darfur peace process has all but collapsed."

Furthermore, UNAMID, the new joint UN-AU peacekeeping force, continues to encounter obstacles to efficiently carry out its mandate. Although some resources such as desperately-needed helicopters are starting to trickle in, obstruction by the Sudanese government and logistical problems have been severely hampering any potential for progress.

Despite these state of affairs, activists congregated on April 13th around the world for a Global Day for Darfur, with masses gathering in London and students marching to the White House in Washington. The tenacity of young activists, spearheaded by a group called STAND which has over 1,000 chapters across the country, is truly unprecedented.

Sharing a similiar energy and passion towards this issue, Nicholas Kristof listed 8 concrete steps that the US administration could take to help end the conflict. As he says in his article, these steps do not guarantee that the genocide will end. However, if met, these benchmarks will definitely play a significant part in directing the current, shattered state of affairs towards a more workable climate for mediators and peacekeepers.