SOUNDS LIKE A JOB FOR THE...AFRICAN UNION?

A Security Force for Darfur (New York Times, International Herald Tribune, August 17th, 2004)

Much more could be done to feed and treat the displaced if Khartoum fully cooperated with the relief efforts. Providing unrestricted access and security for aid groups could save hundreds of thousands of lives over the next few months. Every government in the world ought to view that as a moral imperative and make clear to Khartoum that denying such access will cost it dearly. Sudanese officials are more likely to grasp this message if other Arab and African governments reinforce it. Until now, too much of the pressure has come from Washington and London, and not enough from Sudan's neighbors.

Over the longer term, Darfur's displaced need not just emergency food and medical treatment, but also a security force they can trust enough to return to their homes and start providing for themselves again. That force should come from the African Union, with financial help from the Arab League, the United States and other rich nations. Some African troops are already in Darfur guarding a small contingent of African Union cease-fire monitors. Now is the time for the union to show it is not just a mutual protection group of governments good, bad and indifferent, but a defender of African humanity.

Anyone who argues that stopping genocide in Sudan is a job for the African Union really doesn’t care a whit about these wretched people. And who would the chattering classes blame when they failed?